The Washington herald., 1917-01-13
Army and Navy New.
se.t servsee cels.. !. City.

A plea that the price OF a single battle
chip or of half battle cruiser be ex-
pended upon the perfection of the great
est marine trench in the world"--the pro-
posed inland waterway from New YORK
harbor to Boston-was urged by Commo-
dore Jacob w. Miller in an address re-
Gently before the members of the Marine
Society Of the City OF New York.
This project could be carried out. he
explained, by deepening Hell Gate to take
vessels of forty feet draft. and by addi-
tfo- Il dredging in the Cape Cod canal,
ma & 1t available for vessels drawing
forty feet. The existence of such ina
itne trench" with all the possibilities 1f
surprise for an enemy of the coast OF
the United States, and OF security and
added striking power to the American
fleet, would be of incalculable value, he
! asserted
This improvement. II was pointed out,
would also greatly aid in the commercial
utility of the port, and would, In fact.
pay for itself aside from its military
value and necessity.
one of the most important navy yards of
the country. and for ships Of the first line
IS really "one entrance" port, is de-
fect in our system Of defense that offers
no excuse, the speaker declared. The
heaviest ships, he said. running into New
York hsrbor to refit would have to put
To sea by the narrow route OF the hook
directly into the nose of enemy sub
marines. There would be no guesswork
as TO their means of exit under present
conditions.
The report Of Mayor Mitchel's commit
tee on National Defense just made pub
lie, cites universal training under Fed
| erai control as the only solution OF the
nations military problem. The militia
system. the committee finds. is faulty and
cannot be depended upon in time OF need
Appended to the report was a synopsis
which stated that the committee merely
presents facts and draws from them the
conclusion that voluntary enlistment and
dependence upon the dual Federal and
State control have proved a failure"
The members of the Executive Commit
tee, all of whom signed the report. are
Willard d. Straight. chairman: Cleveland
n. Dodge, William N. Dykman. John
Mitchell. George w. Perkins, Alfred z.
Smith and Alexander NJ. White.
The report gives to the officers and en-
listed men of the State troops full credit
for their enthusiasm and spirit OF patri-
otic sacrifice" In urging universal mill
tary training, the committee directed at
tention to "an immediate need for an
adequate standing force for the protection
of the borders and other similar service
The report embodies information of eco
nomic and military character obtained
from official and unofficial sources War
Department data were studied. officers
and men OF the National Guard were
questioned, and. says the report. "a mill
tary expert and critic OF established rep
| utation" went to the Mexican border and
reported on facts there obtained.
REGARDING the eCOnomic side ~ is ar NJ cd
by bringing into service men with
heavy family and business responsibilities
although there was available in the coun-
try far more than adequate number Of
unmarried men who had not attained a
high economic value, the mobilization
showed that the National Guard scheme
of defense was economically unsound. 1t
caused widespread distress TO the depend
ents Of the militiamen and It took mature
men from positions where they had estab-
itshed their usefulness to commerce and
industry. The burden it threw upon en-
ployers was inequitably distributed. in
that some employers continued to pay
their men during service. while others cut
OF their mems pay. Under the prevailing
system of voluntary enlistment It was not
possible to select from the National
Guard, either before the mobilization or
afterward, the class of men most easily
TO be spared for military duty"