Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1917-09-13
PREPARING FOR WAR.

Three years after commencement
OF the European conflict and five
months after our entry into it, finds
us feyerishly preparing for war afield
and afloat. On land on sea and in the
air the government has begun to get
ready. A few thousand troops are in
France learning how to drill and
mastering the rudiments of modern
warfare. They are regulars it is
! true, but more than two-thirds are
regulars in name only, because two
thirds of them were raw recruits
when they sailed volunteers, who
responded to the first call to the col
ors. Among them were some who
got almost their initial lessons in the
manual of arms on their way across
They were the best material in the
world, but they were far from being
the finished product, through no fault
of their own We have a few Destroy
ers in European waters Everybody
knows they are less than fifty in num-
Der, because there were less than
sixty in commission when war was de-
clared, and none have been added to
the navy list since that date. But we
are preparing to send re-enforcements
Of new destroyers al soon as they can
be constructed Within the fort
night congress has been called upon
TO authorize the money to build the
shipyards at which they will be built
Next year and the year after the de-
liveries of the new destroyers will be-
gin. Meantime the few we have are
doing good work; but they cut a
very, very small figure owing to the
fact that less than fifty cannot do
the work of five hundred
Great plans have been prepared for
our conquest of the air, but today
there is not a single fighting aero
plane in the United States. Congress
has appropriated more than half bill
lion of dollars to build our army of
the air, but that takes time and time
cannot be bought. We are expert
on various types of engines
and preparing to turn out a large
number some Of these days, just as we
are training a large number of young
men to fly the aeroplanes which we
are preparing to construct. We are
to reorganize the army to
conform to the French system, as
was urged by forward-looking army
officers two years ago and again one
one year ago and pleaded for by Mar
shall Joffre when he was here four
months ago; but that will take time.
We are preparing to take over and
Equip plants for the construction of
lilies and ammunition, and we are
preparing to build field guns of the
modern type, but there is not a sim
lie field gun of that sort in the Unit
ID States today Not only must we
ssemble the machinery for their
construction, but we must train the
abor necessary to build them. That, !
90, we are preparing to do. SO with
hips, we are preparing to build
nough ships TO transport and main \
ain an army of million men in
rance. But the optimistic tell us l
hat if we can land such an army in
rance before 1919 we shall be do
lg remarkably we'll, in view of the
act that five months after we declar- !.
d war we have just begun to prepare
} contract for the ships
1t is well to face these facts lest 4
e lose our perspective regarding our !,
)ming part in the struggle 1t will n
e very Notifying to our little force Il
France and our defenders on our G,
SIS than fifty destroyers abroad if ri
The folks back home labor under ia
D inflated imagination in respect IL
what we are contributing to the III
ar today in the way of fighting Z,
rces Facing these facts helps us Il,
so to realize that we are only en- 81
lied to prepare for war five months ii
ter we declared war because the
rtish fleet and the French and Brit
h armies stand between the United
ates and Germany Our army and
IVY. and particularly their few rep N
sentatives in or near the theatre of
ton are very free from any spirit
boastfulness. The officers and
en- of both services know that up to &c
tie our participation in the con- ~
let is largely nominal. In their let on
RS home officers and men are beg ST.
ng their families and friends not to ef
asst about the preparations We are pc
aking or confuse them with the ac- g
al prosecution OF the war. We can !
grateful to our allies for the privi-
&c OF beginning our belated prepar-
ion behind their protecting arms,
{ we should not blind ourselves to ~