New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-07-27
ROOSEVELT PLEADS
FOR future ARMY
Describes As Criminal Our Lack
Of Foresight Before Moose

Va VAV0AOut OVAV1U MVVOV
Pittsburgh, Pa. July 27.-Prepare
Tor the next national emergency by
introducing the principle Of obligatory
universal military training for young
men IN time of peace and universal
service In time of war for every man
| and woman in the country, was the
admoniton delivered by Theodore
Roosevelt TN an address he Delivered
here last night before the convention
| of the Loyal Order of Moose.
AS compared to the other great ma
lions of the world, he declared. Amer
leans had in this war exhibited them
selves miracle of inef1ciency.
Asserting that the United States
government announces that the meas
ures of preparedness now In progress
are temporary and will be stopped as
soon as the emergency is over, Colonel
Roosevelt characterized this as
criminal refusal to provide for the
future"
He summed up what America had
accomplished since the declaration of
a state Of war with Germany by say
ing that the United States did not now
have a single airplane fit to send
across the German lines and that
months must pass before one could be
manufactured, that America had no
heavy artillery to put in the battle
line and that Major General Pershing
and his soldiers would have to trust
to French and English guns. Ameri-
can submarine chasers operating with
the British fleet constituted, he said,
only tiny fraction of the English
force. 1t would be year after the
declaration of war before America
would have a fair mum Der of big cargo
ships.
Where U. S. Is Not Prepared.
1--WE have not enough rifles for our
men," said Colonel Roosevelt. I'VE
are painfully short in equipment. We
have not yet begun to assemble the
draft army. the first elementary off,
GERS training camps have not been
finished. the National Guard has only
just begun to mobilize.
I'VE have put fragment of our fine
little regular army into France and, as
1t Is composed almost exclusively of
infantry without artillery, it would be
helpless against any well-equipped
enemy were 1t not aided by our al
lies.
This Is the sum total Of the activ-
tiles of a nation of 100000 people,
and in possession Of incalcuable wealth
and boundless resources, during the
six months following its entry CATER
two and one-half years warning) into
the greatest war in history.
1.-The simple truth Is that, relative
ly to the other great nations of the
world, we have in this war exhibited
ourselves a miracle Of ineff1ciency; and !
we shall always be inefficient during
the first vital months of any war I'M
til we learn to prepare in advance.
TT is this utter unpreparedness
which should convey the real lesson to
us of this war. And remember that as
yet we, as a people, acting through
our government authorities, have not
taken one step to avert disaster In the
future by Introducing permanent
policy of preparedness: The meas
ures under which we are now acting
are temporary makeshifts. announced
to be such. We have been caught ut
terly unprepared in a terrible emer-
gency because we did nothing until
the emergency actually arose, and
now, our government announces that
what we are doing is purely temper
airy: that we shall stop doing 1t as soon
as the emergency is over. and will
then remain unprepared for the next
emergency.
1T is this blind refusal-from the
nations standpoint I can only call 1t
the criminal refusai-to provide for
the future that forces every honest
and far-sighted lover of America to
speak.
1--WE cannot afford to count for our
safety on anything but our own armed
strength; the only way to make our
strength effective is to make it ready
In advance: and the only way really
to make ready In advance is to intro
duce the principle of obligatory uni
versal military training in time of
peace for our young men, and univer-
sal service in time Of war for every
man and woman in the country. in
whatever position that man or woman
can do most effective work. This Is
the only democratic system