Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-08-17
TRAIN ALL FOR ARMS,
PROBABLE j. S. POLICY
Continued from First Page. }

! physically deficient or exempt for some
other reason. there remain CSC. 1000 to
be trained each year. In five years
time there would ]. be In the United States
tween the ages Of nineteen and twenty.
hve who had received at least three
months OF intensive military training.
With such reserve to fall back upon,
trained during the war, this country
would be in good shape il it was ever
attacked again.
One Of the most important features
OF any permanent military policy is
the training of a sufficient number of
officers to ofiicer and command an
army reaching into the millions of
men. Gen. March has given the SEN
ate military affairs committee some
interesting figures with regard to Of
ficers already trained and those who
are in the process Of training In tho
the Omcers' Reserve Corps, the num-
Der of officers commissioned are more
than $1,000 already and the number
demobilized. They have all been train
ed during the war, and very many Of
them took part in the actual fighting.
ssy erp s o do In ns 20
available in case Of another war.
Gen. March testified also that there
are applications of officers who have
in the Regular Army numbering u.s.
$50. The officers are commissioned in
the Officers Reserve Corps for periods
of five years.
Enrolled in r. o. T. c.
Then there is the r. O.. T. c.. the
Reserve Oficers' Training Corps. There
are 2SS institutions, colleges and uni
versities, where students are enrolled
in the r. o. T. C. These institutions
have a total attendance Of 133,204 stu
dents and Of these 9o.315 are actually
members Of the r. O. T. c.. including
both junior and senior divisions. Be-
sides these institutions whore tho
boys are given military training and
particularly the training required for
an officer, there are the summer camps
1880 men in these camps according to
the latest information.
When 1t Is taken into consideration
| the total number of officers during
! the war with Germany was only 1885,
! 900. in round numbers. although there
were approximately 100000 men in
! the Army. it appears that the United
States Is pretty well equipped for
| training the officers which may be
| needed to officer another great army
| should an emergency arise. Nearly a
| fourth Of the officers in the Army dur
| ing the war have already enrolled in
the officers Reserve Corps.
Has Three-Month Vacation.
In the plan for Universal military
training proposed by the general staff,
particular attention has been paid to
the matter of the convenience Of the
boys, so as to disturb as little as pos
sible their education and also their
work. For instance the college boy
Of nineteen has three-month vaca-
ton in the summer. and he would
| spend that three months in camp. For
the boy who Is working in the
| north and west. where there Is a wheat
| crop to be gotten in, the time would
, work in the fields; for the boy In the
! south, where cotton crops are to be
cared for. still another time for train
ing would be set. 1t will amount in
! effect to a zone system, the time for
| the training of the boys being set ac-
| cording to their best interests.
/ 1t Is not proposed at this time to
have the boys called upon for further
| training or service with the colors
after they have had their three
months training. ----
The vast improvement in the young
men of the country who were called
to the colors during the war, both
physically and in other ways, has
| made itself manifest as the mon have
been demobilized and returned to their
old homes and pursuits. It has been
reported by the Red Cross that there
was an average. increase in weight OF
the men amounting to twelve pounds
due to healthy life in the open and to
regular exercise and hours.
The camps at which the young men
will be trained are already construct,
ed, and they are located in all sections
of the country. SO that the men need
not be compelled to travel very long
distance for their training. Camp Dix
in New Jersey. would handle the New
Jersey and Pennsylvania men; Camp
Devens. in Massachusetts,. the New
England men, etc. There are seven.
teen of these camps. 1t is not pro.
posed to pay the men while they are
lin training, except that they will b
allowed IS . month for spending