Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-16
Army and Navy News

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Maj. Gen. Jesse Mel. Carter. chief OF
the bureau Of militia affairs. recently
discussed the future of the National
useful organization.
His view is that. even il the fed
eral government desired to create
some substitute for this organization.
1t could not do 50 without amending
the national Constitution. The provi-
sions of the national defense act.
June 3. 1916. provide for the training
OF the National Guard on the same
lines with the Regular Army. SO that.
II the government. in return for Its
financial aid. draft the guard into its
service. there will be no confusion re-
sulting from the union Of the two or
CARNATIONS. The same act gives the
federal government a supervision Of
the omcers whom the governors Of
| the respective states appoint and en-
ables the War Department to insist
upon their measuring up to certain
standards.
I - 'hCA ouoOiO Oc a turn 10 LHc
pre-War military system the best that
| coutd DE hoped for the guard would
be that II should be brought up to a
greater degree of excellence than it
mas hitherto possessed. through in
creasing the requirements for Off
GERS. maui tanning the companies at
strength and holding each state to the
| maintenance of it's quota of troops
expressed in such units that, taken
together, they form tactical divisions
or integral parts thereof.
| But Gen. Carder believes that a
much broader field will be found for
the National Guard.
| 1T is generally believed that Con-
gress Will initiate universal military
training of some sort. and that tbs
| young men will come from those
camps with improved physiques and
| fairly well grounded in the elements
| of soIdierly duties. A record of thes.
men will be kept, and 1T Is quite pos
| sible that they will be assigned to
some division largely on paper) for
! prompt mobilizstion; certainly for
military duty. If called by Congress
for a period Of years, probably not
less than seven years Gen. Carriers
plan would permit any man on leav
ing the training camp to enter the
three-year service there, to be dis
charged from all further military
duty except in some such emergency
as the recent world war. BY insisting
that all officers Of the guard organi
cations should be either from those
who served in Europe in the presen,
war. had had trainin. in the Regular
Army or were members of the OFF,
Gers reserve who had demonstrated
their fitness. guard would soon be
developed quite capable to maintain
domestic order within the states and
eventually Of such power as to make
the idea Of sudden assault upon the
United States out Of the question.
Gen. Carter estimates that In the
course Of few years Of successful
and officers. all having undergone at
least six months careful training and
under officers quite worthy Of them.
would be able to take the field as
complete tactical divisions in two
weeks from the federal draft. With
zoo, 900 of the regular establishment
within the country. with one or more
millions of trained men from the
training camps, there would be sit
uation in this country quite different
from that which Germany saw in the
would have kept the United States
out OF the war.
Under the probable provision that
civilian officers will be eligible to
such rank as they successfully dem
onstrate by field test that they can
Gen. Carter should result in the very
highest type of civilian army COM
manded by civilians. The accom-
plishment Of this result would give
to the nation the ideal army OF
strength enough to secure protection
from without and with no danger Of
the development of militarism within.
Il Il Il Il +-
TIE able statement Of Assistant
Secretary Of War Crowell on the
-@-~ supply Of the Army
The Supply ana the PREPARATION to-
OF the army. duction for use In
time of war emergency has aroused
considerable interest on the part Of all
concerned in the we'll being of the
Army and ought to include in the
number every good citizen Of the
United States. although there is ar
| It's power destroyed. Secretary Crow
els plan in brief is to create a super.
secretary Of national defense. who a.
head Of the War Industries BOARD
maintained in skeletonised form. viii
keep in touch with all the industrie'
Of the land which may be needed f.
time of war for the Army or thu
Navy. Further, he would create {
civilian assistant to the Secretary o.
War, to be q sort of minister OF mu
nitions to supervise the supply OF tn
Army, reporting directly to the Sec
rotary and being in no way under tn
direction Of the chief of stan. VIII
must confine his activities solely I.
military operations. He would aoohs'
the Office of purchase. storage an
traffic, although in q great measur'
vesting its functions in the assistan
secretary. He would restore to tn
bureaus the purchasing OF supple
for their particular branches. al
though reserving to the assistan
secretary supervision and authorit'
himself to assume or to place In an
one division the authority to puf
chase for one or more divisions.
The discussion of this plan in Arm,
and Congressional circles has beer
quite intense and has resulted II
varied criticisms. The opinions as u
the need Of a super-secretary OF ma
tional defense seem to be unantmou'
that some such organization is neces
sary. In no one thing was the wa!
administration more badly handicap
ped than in the procurement OF sup
plies and equipment. This fact wa
not solely due to the existing organi
zation or to any lack on the part o
ofjcers to seek a remedy. It Is vel
known that the efforts Of MAI. Gen
Crozier to encourage trade produc
ton of ordnance supplies met Will
disappointment through the failure o
Congress to accept his pre-. rec
concentrations. With war the great
Army was to find where to procure
~ euanufacture Of military essen