Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-11
AMERICAN ARMY
STILL WILL PLAY
IMPORTANT ROLE
Great Military Machine Not to
Cease Operating at Once;
Troops to Go Over

military machine will cease to op-
! crate at once. America must play an
important part In disarming and
! guarding the enemy and until this
work is completed, even the move
ment of troops to France will be
continued, although on greatly re-
| duced scale.
American Garrisons May Stay
! During the interval between the
cessation of hostilities and the con-
is assumed that the major portion of
| General Pershing's eXpeditionary
forces in France must be retained
there. 1t is possible also that for
reasons of international politics,
some American garrisons may be
kept in disputed territory even after
the actual peace negotiations have
been brought to a close.
Troops which have seen the long,
est service in France probably will
| be returned home soon to be replac-
| ed by new men now in this country
who will perform guard or other
duty overseas. There are more than
one million men now in camps in the
| United States.
The question of disseminating the
calling of men to the colors under
! the selectiVe service act with the
ending of hostilities has been under
consideration. 1t is known that Ger
eral Crowder's advisers had favor
ed cancelling all outstanding calls as
soon as the armistice had been sign
| aH h1it fhiG n1aftar TO1IlGt ha nn9SpH
on by the general staff. The move
ment of large number of men to
camp was due to begin this morning
under the November calls which en-
brace about 100000 men.
Return home of American naval
! forces-battleship destroyers, sub
marines, converted yachts, supply
ships and other craft-also will fol-
low the end of the war. Definite plans
have not been revealed but it is as
sumed here that once disposition is
made of the German high seas fleet
and submarines in accordance with
the terms of the armistice, the
American dreadnoughts with the
British grand fleet together with
most of the destroyers and other
submarine hunters and conveying
craft will return.
Even with hostilities ended, how
ever, much other naval work aside
from that of taking over and guard
ing German and Austrian naval ves-
sells, remdins to be done. Removal of
the thousands of mines laid by the
Allied, American and German navies
will form no small part of this work
and undoubtedly the fleet of mine
sweeping and laying craft sent over
seas by the United States will assist
in this task. The greatest mine field
is that put down in the North Sea
as barrage against German sub
marines. The mines were manufac-
tured in this country and were laid
largely by American ships.
With the return of all German
submarines to their bases, Allied and
American shipping once more may
sail the seven seas without fear of
molestation and in disregard of the
regulations made necessary by Ger
many's unrestricted warfare. There
will be no more running at night
without lights, with its attendant
dangers of collisions and zigZagging
and deviation from established ship
ping routes.
Much Shipping to BE Freed
Much of the shipping used for
war purposes will be freed for peace
/ lllilG anu lllGIG Will lOllO"
a gradual relaxation of the restric-
tions as to food and other necessities
imposed upon the peoples of the
Allied countries. These changes
Twill not come Immediately, however,
for it is the purpose of the American
and of the Entente governments to
cooperate with Germany, Austria,
Bulgaria and Turkey as we'll as with
Belgium, Serbia and Rumania, in
furnishing as far as possible the food
and other supplies necessary for the
civilian populations of those coun-
tries.
These considerations of world
peace, important as they are, must
be adjusted as they develop. They
could not be planned in advance
as has been the breaking up of the
military forces of the United States
Great Britain, France, and the or
derly return of the millions of these
soldiers to their civilian status.
Individual Problem Confronts
In this country the problem has
been taken up with reference to its
| two chief phases-the strictly mill
tary, having to do with the demo-
| bilization of the Army and its safe
return to America, and the indus
trial, which deals only with the infil-
| tration of the soldiers to the ranks
of labor after they have been re-
| leased from the Army. A third
problem of rehabilitation will deal
with the mobilized industries of the
United States.
The military authorities have had
lander consideration for some time
the subject of rehabilitation of the
Army, but the plan which will be
used has not yet been officially ap-
proved. Breaking up of the Amer
lean EXpeditionary Forces, now
numbering two and one-quarter mil
lions of men, will begin in France If
this plan is adopted. The program
entails the gradual breaking up of
the large military units into seq
ments governed solely by the loca-
ton of the home of the individual
soldier.
Will Form Districts
The Unites States will be divided
into districts, each of which is to
be fed by one or more Atlantic ports
from Galveston to Bangor. Com
manding officers of divisions will be
instructed to detach, for instance,
men from the first rehabilitation
district" which might include men
| from Maine ana MaSSacnuSettS, ana
entrain them for a specified French
port where adequate shipping will
be waiting. These vessels will pro-
ceed directly to the ports selected for
the first district; and. disem barking
their passengers, will return on
routine schedule to meet the next
detachment of soldiers for that ter
.ritory.
BY carefully controlling the re-
turning shipments, military authori-
| ties helieXe thew can. to q great de-