The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-03-02
PAST MISTAKES
in WAR SHOW We
PAID VERY DEARLY
Unpreparedness Being the
Chief Cause.-The Defeat
Of Montgomery.

nrSt between the colonies and the Con
tinental Congress and later between
the States and the Federal Govern
ment with respect to a proper mill
tary establishment have made it i'm
possible to organize an effective mill
tary force. During the critical hours
of the Revolution these jealousies
were so pronounced that it was Ques-
tionable whether the Continental ar
my could succeed in the war of the
Revolution. nor was success finally
achieved until almost autocratic pow
ers were vested in Gen. Washington.
we find by recurrence to the his
tory of the times that the colonies
were offering bounties to- militiamen
and the Continental Congress was Of
fering bounties in competition for en-
listment in the regular force, vy1ng
each with the other as to which could
maintain the larger force, with conse-
auent antagonisms which in the very
nature of things tended to disorgan-
txation and ineficiency. Not only
were these bounties offered to the
enlisted personnel, but grants of land
were made and pensions promised to
the officers.
most important things to be accom-
plished in order now to create an eff
fective military force is to revise the
history not only of the Revolution but
also Of subsequent wars in which the
United States has been involved so
that the people may fully understand
from the facts, of history how costly
these wars have been in blood and
treasure because of an ineffective ,and
inefficient system. The impressions
which the youth seem to receive from
q study of history is that victory has
followed in the footsteps Of our ar
mics in every way, when the truth is
that while victories have always been
accomplished in the end they have
come in spite of the defects in our mil
itary system
Washington's appeals to the Con-
tinental Congress, which were almost
constant. showed the inherent weak
nesses in the system, but his appeals
for assistance as rule fell upon deaf
ear until the latter years of the war.
The troubles which he encountered are
THOSE which the officers Of the army
have complained of in every subse-
quent war, and arise, first, from dual
control Federal and State, and, sec
ond, from the short term enlistment
and consequent lack of training. There
can be no effective system where the
control OF the army is placed in the
hands Of one set of officers directed
by the central Government and anoth-
er set Of officers appointed by the
states without proper coordination
and discipline, and where the enlist
ments are based upon short periods in
stead Of during the war.
In speaking of the short term en-
Tstment in letter to the president of
the Continental Congress Feb. 9, 1776,
Washington said:
THAT this cause preCipitated the
fate of the brave and much lamented
Gen. Montgomery and brought ON the
defeat which followed thereupon I
have not the most distant doubt of,
for had he not been apprehensive of
the troops leaving him at SO impor-
tant crisis, but continued the block
ade of Quebec, a capftulation, from
the best ACCOUNTS I have been able to
collect, must inevitably have follow
ed"
No one quegti ons the patriotism or
the courage OF the troops Of the Rev
oiution, nor does any ore question the
vaIor Of those who participated in the
later wars but as a rule it is safe to
say that the reverses of the armies of
the United States have been due large
1y to these two defects in our mill
tary system, to which must be added
the failure to provide for military
training, and MOTTO the lack of cou-
rage on the part Of those engaged
In the War Of 1872 the treaty of
Ghent was signed before the decisive
battle WAS fought at New Orleans I'M
der the leadership Of Cen jackson,
who knew nothing about the treaty or
its terms. That battle. and not the
treaty itself was the thing that deter
mined the issues between the two bel
hgerents, for the treaty left undeter-
mined every thing which led the two
countries to war
In the Civil War we had the re-
uiarkAble spectacle Of two splendid
armies training in the field and in ac-
tual engagement, and at what cost OF
life and treasure! Here again enter
Cd the two factors which Washington
complained Of, namely, short term
training and dual control With a
reasonably sized regular army under
Federal control, wen trained and well
Differed, there is no question but that
the Civil War might have ended in a
few months instead of having been
prolonged over a number Of years,
resulting in the destruction of the
flower and chiva1ry Of the youth of
the North and South and creating a
pension roll which at this time
amounts to- nearly $4,000, 600 per
annum.
The same trouble confronted our
Government in the war with Spain,
and we owe the early termination of
hostHtfes rather to the circumstance
that pitted against our army and ma
w was an inefficient navy and an un-
disciplined army of bankrupt power
thousands of miles from the seat of
actual operations.
The national defence act of 1916, so
far as the organization of the regular
army is concerned, unifes. strength
ems and organizes it as an efficient
force. An attempt was made, as far
as it was possible under the Consti-
tuition, to federalize the National
Guard. That attempted federaliza-
ton has not been successful and
probably cannot be made complete
success without amending the Consti-
tuition SO as to place both forces I'M
equivocal1y under the control of the
Federal Government when it is neces-
sary to use the National Guard as a