Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-29
SAYS BAKER ARMY BILL
is "AS BAD AS 1T CAN BE-

New York, Sept. 29.-The Baker
March Army bill is characterized as
really as bad as can be-" patch
work" and thoroughly unsound' in
letter written by Major Tompkins
Mcllvaine, acting chairman of the
executive committee of the Military
Training Camps Association of the
United States, to Secretary of War
Baker, made public to-day by the
National Security League, of whose
committee on universal military in
struction and training, Major Nell
vaine is a member.
Major McIlvaine declares that the
bill does not represent the best
thought of the Regular Army and
lays particular emphasis upon the
excessive size of the standing army
called for and the inadequate train
ing period provided in the bill. His
letter to Mr.. Baker reads in part:
"Perpetuate Mistakes"
I'm my opinion, the so-called ad-
ministration bill in it's main features
is thoroughly unsound and would
perpetuate our worst mistakes.
"It provides for a standing army
of some $500 peace strength and
for three months training Cor rath-
er half training, since the period of
training should be six, not three
months), of the male youth of the
country, during their twentieth year.
But no attempt is made to organize
the young men so half trained into
citizen army and to give to any
selected percentage of them the fur
ther progressive training necessary
to qualify those selected to 4ccome
the reserve officers, noncommission-
ed officers and enlisted specialists,
without whom no citizen army can
be, organized and without whom we
must rely solely on professionals.
There is a great difference be-
tween half training and then turn
ing loose a number of young men as
private soldiers and creating an or
ganiZation-a citizen army-that can
be mobilized in an emergency and
that when mobilized will be ready
to take the field and function eff
ciently.
THE administration bill altogeth-
er loses sight of the fact that it takes
longer to train the officers-noncom-
missioned officers and enlisted spe-
cialists than it does the privates.
Without training these leaders in ad-
vance it is, from the citizen army
standpoint, largely a waste of time
and money to train the private SOL
diers.
ION the outbreak of war, we shall
have no organized federal force ex-
cept the Regular Army. Under the
terms of the bill, the Regular Army
in time of peace is to be recruited
wholly by voluntary enlistment as
heretofore, and as no adequate in
ductments have been or can be add
ed and as conditions after the war
will probably be less favorable to
recruiting than prior to the war,
there is no reason to believe that the
strength of the Regular Army would
in the future, be much greater than
in the past. In my opinion the Civ
| ing of educational and vocational
| training to the enlisted men of the
Regular Army will not in the long
| run prove much of a stimulus to re-
cruiting, (indeed, 1 doubt its prac-
| ticability, as we'll as its popularity. Z.
We must not assume that on the
outbreak of war even the Regular
Army could bethrown against the
| enemy as an organized whole. Far
from it. AS we cannot fight a mod
| ern war with the Regular Army
alone, it will be necessary to raise
| a citizen sarmy, through the draft
law, which the bill expressly pro-
vides shall not come into effect until
| after a formal declaration of war
| by the Congress of the United