New-York tribune., 1919-05-15
General Staff Believed To Be
Drafting a Bill to Con-
form to the Secretary's
Idea of Reorganization
Guard Has Many Friends
Compromise to Include
Regulars May Be Final
Solution of the Problem
Ne,p York Tribune
Wdshfnoton Rnrenn

w sNSAAi-' ~ L O->s Ah1s 11'~SSSlSldT
Of War Baker has returned from Eu
rope. like Julius Kahn, chairman of tn
House Military Affairs Committee
much impressed with the Swiss citizen
soldiery system as the solution of tn
problem of future military prepared
ness in the United States, and it is re
ported that the General Staff is nov
drafting for submission to Congress
bill conforming to his wishes.
1t is not yet certain whether per
manent army legislation will come W
at the approaching session of Congress:
or be left over for the regular session
but the advocates of all the differen
plans for the military organization o.
the United States in the future ere
busy getting their respective proposal
into shape. There are three princiDa
projects, which are:
First-Continuation of present
regular army and National Guard
systems, both greatly strengthened
as compared with the past, but with
no system of universal military
training.
Second-Small regular army, prob
ABLY not more than 175, 900 men, and
a greatly improved National Guard
of at least $4,000 men, which may
have anything like the Swiss system
grated on it.
Thrd-Smali regular army and
system of universal military service
calling for one year with the colors,
or supported by the Swiss system.
Most Democratic System
The Swiss system is the most demo
cratic military service in the world
because it is entirely a citizen organi-
zation, there being no professional
army whatever, and only small num-
Der of professional officers to furnish
the personnel of the division and corps
officers and the general staff.
The conditions of service under the
Swiss system for ar infantryman are
In his twentieth year every fit man at
tends the recruiting school or training
camp for sixtyseven days. He then
goes into training for thirteen days
each year until he is twenty eight.
During this period he belongs to the
second line, and in cases of need this
4HS Is lHe uISI CdliSu W IuS COlOIS
after the twenty-year- old boys.
years the citizen-soldier is excused
from all active service At thirty-two
he enters the Landwehr and trains
seven days every other year At forty
he is transferred to the Landsturm and
trains twice, seven days each time, be-
tween that age and forty-eight at
which time his military duty to the
state ends. He thus serves total of
200 days in twenty light years.
During all that time he is poten>
.ial active soldier and has his COM
Dlete equipment in his possession and
knows his precise place in the war Or
ganization. In this way Switzerland
an instantly mobilizable
army of 900 men at an annual ex-
pense of only 50 600 900.
Many members of Congress are op-
posed to the Swiss system on the
ground that it is not adapted to a
country large in territory and in pop
ulation. They also oppose it because
they think Americans would oppose
any system that keeps a man under
certain military obligations and bound
to some regular training until he is
forty-eight years old. Such Congress-
'4-h dlc III ldNOI VI uIilNcISd IL aiming
Of any kind only as a last resort. In
that event. they hold, the citizen
der should get all his training in one
dosc-say q full year with the colors
and then be excused from any service
except in the event of war
Most OF the members who take this
general view favor Il good-sized regular
army and a reorganized, improved and
: trengthened National Guard. Some of
them, however. desire very small reg
ular army, with the national defence
system based on the National Guard.
Some advocate the application of some
measure of the Swiss system to the Ma.
tional Guard.
The ardent National Guard advo-
Gates are chary Of the Swiss system or
any other form of universal military
0 organization that may be coupled up~
WIN the regular army. Friends of the
'esoiar system maintain that to create
n eHcIent military organization, ready
'or any emergency, the universal train
hs or service idea, whatever its form.
nut De directly coordinated with the
.Seu'ar army. This would make the
National Guard superhuous.
May Be Easily Converted
On the other hand, it is pointed out
nat National Guard enthusiasts NAV
De easily converted to the Swiss or
sone sucn system, because under II
ne wnoie officers corps, with the ex.
;eptIon OF divisional corps and stae
'fficers, will be drawn from the c;t;.
sen-soidiers, such places going tn NV
"!tn military inclinations an: ab;i;,,,
"ho are willing to spend more t;mn nay ~
military study and training than tha
average citizen would care for. Tbns
n the event Of war, they would fror'
ne start, have q better STANDING than
ncy mad in the recent war. These oe'
'ceTs would have an opportunity cacb
fear 20 deal with large bodice If 49,,
n great camps, and would have far
nore service, experience and authorifv
han they have under the Nationsii
SuArd system
IL ~ Understood that the General
'tan ~ becoming more and more con.
ynced that it will he impossible IN
ecare enough volunteers to keep un =
si uiar army that would be sufficient
9 meet great emergency. and ia
nefe'ore. considering. with favor sux-
estions looking 70 gfsatiy increase
econd line Of some sort. II tine NJ
ionai Guard appears to have the fayny
Congress the general staff will sbans
- plans accordingly, and no also -
xhautd fnsfin. l. =,