The Monticellonian., 1917-05-17
ARMY,S WEAKNESS IN ARTIL- LERY IS RECOGNIZED AND
 WILL BE REMEDlED.
OUR FIELD PIECE THE BEST
Lessons Learned From the Experiences of the European Belligerents-.Plenty of Machine Gun Detachments Will Be Provided in New Army.
By EDWARD 8. CLARK.

on the frontier of Mexico found tnem- i selves turned overnight" into field artillery regiments. Infantry outfits which showed marked soldierly quali- ties were made into artillery outfits The need of artillerymen and of artil- lery is great.
 The new army will have field guns and more field guns. The lessons of Europe since the beginning of this war have not been lost.
 There is no secret about the weak ness of the American army in field guns and in field-gun ammunition. The equipment of the artillery is sharp problem, but 1t is said it will be solved and solved quickly.
 American army officers prior to the outbreak of the war in Europe knew that artillery was to be the main re- liance in their future campaigns. It is doubtful, however, if Uncle Sans officers appreciated the extent of the development of the artillery arm which would be necessary to meet the condi- tions of modern warfare. The French had the best field artillery on earth and the French officers had q realiz- ing sense of what superiority in this arm of the service would mean to them, but even the Frenchmen prob ably did not grasp the full significance of the situation as it was to confront the world within few weeks after the ~coming of the conflict.
 Our Field Gun Unsurpassed.
 It is said by men who are supposed to know that our own field piece is equal in efficiency to that of the French seventy-five If this be true the Unit ed States has a weapon which has no superior in the world The regiments of artillery will be increased all out of proportion to the army equation of other years. Activity in artillery mak ing will mark the operations of the near future, and coincident with the making of the weapons will be the training of the men for this new com manding branch of the war service.
 Years ago Gen. John NJ. Schofield urged the increase of the artillery branch of the service Tn his youth Schofield served in the artillery and his urgent plea that the proportion of batteries be increased to meet what he said would be the future needs of the service was set down by the legiSla tors and by some army officers simply to the generals love for the branch in which he had been an officer. Now the officers of the army are willing to give General Schofield credit for far sightedness. Things have turned out just about as he said they would turn out There will be something like the proverbial feverish activity in artil- lery and artillerymen making in the next few months.
 Thousand upon thousands of the young men who soon are to he part of the army of the United States will be assigned to the field artillery. There is no more appealing service In peace time or in wartime. Even in dash and in high spirit of battle maneuvers the cavalry has no finer excitement and no finer enthusiasm.
 Cavalry Also Necessary.
 The cavalry during the present war has not had much to do except on the east front. Therefore there has been a feeling that the proportion of cav airy to the other branches of the serv- ice might be decreased when the new army is raised. There is little or no chance that such a decrease will be countenanced by the army authorities. On the west front in Europe the cav airy has been quiescent most of the time since the war began, but when the horsemen are needed they will be needed badly Their places cannot be taken by the men of any other branch of the service Cavalry regiments will be recruited, sent to the front and used when the time comes.
 The United States is short on ma chine guns. This is no military se- cret. for the fact has been blazoned not only at home, but abroad, for years. The enemy knows 1t, just as .e knows everything else connected with the past of our armed forces. The maehine-gun situation will be met just as the field artillery situation has been met The guns will be provided and the detachments of men to han dle them will be trained. It is the in- tention of the authorities to have just as many maebine-gun detaehments and just as many field-artillery batteries in service with the new army as are proved to be necessary by the lessons learned in the European conflict.
 The infantry, as ever. will be the backbone of the new army. The in- fantrv forces, of course, will outnum- Der the other men of the branches. The field artillery today Is the saliva ton of the infantry. The foot soldiers advance behind the barrage fire. Their salvation is the field gun, and the infantry know it. The army is to be properly balanced between the branches, and each branch is to have enough material with which to meet the extravagant conditions of modern warfare.
 Home Guards Should Not Complain
 There is no censorship law like that which governs the speech and the writ