Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-15

House naval committee. It goes with.
out saying that the committee took no
action toward cutting down the eff
cheney Of that body, which has for Its
watchword, The First to Fight" Tho
size Of that compact little body will
be reduced to its former status. but 1t
will always be kept in readiness to
move.
In the course Of his statement Gen.
Barnett said that for five times at
least he had been called upon to en-
bark force Of from 1000 to 5000 ma
rines upon twenty-four hours notice
for duty outside the United States, and
never once had they failed to respond
to the order. The plan Of the corps
provides for always holding such a
force in readiness for any duty that
may arise
The Secretary Of the Navy and his
bureau chiefs and others before this
committee put things very squarely.
the policy of the Navy" they say. but
we tell you what the cost will be to
maintain the Navy that you authorize
In first-rate condition" If the naval
committee in it's proper desire to
check unnecessary OUTLAWS attempts to
accomplish the saving at the expense
OF naval efficiency 1t IS only following
precedent, but Is doing SO at the price
of false economy. That has not in
more recent years been the practice
of Congress, and this is not the time
to begin 1t. There is nothing to indi-
cate any such intention on the part
of the present committee. and 1t can
not be done If the idea of keeping a
second fleet in the Pacific, where 1t
may be needed, is put into execution.
At the time the United States en-
tered the present war. there was in
it's military
Heavy Artillery system no di-
Service in the War. with the de-
velopment and handling of heavy ar
tiIlery. The Germans early in the
war at Liege and other places showed
that she had prepared the heaviest
kind of mobile ordnance; and it be-
came necessary for the opponents Of.
Germany to create organizations SIM
liar in personnel and character and
to build or procure heavy guns TO
artillery. The French withdrew many
of their seacoast guns, mounted them
hastily and threw them against the
enemy. Both French and English be-
gan with feverish haste to design
and construct heavy mobile pieces to
States placidly waited during this
stormy period, and, when the storm
broke, was quite as unready with
heavy ordnance as Britain was
when two and half years before
the storm had broken upon her coun-
try.
Thus the war found the United
States without heavy mobile guns and
without an organization prepared to
handle them il they had been grow
ing on blackberry bushes. The divi-
sion most nearly approaching a heavy
artillery organization was the coast
artillery, and to it was assigned the
duty of organizing and training
personnel capable of handling artil-
lery consisting of all howitZers and
most guns above six-inch and all
guns of five-inch and up when Or
ganized as Army artillery. Also for
lack of better division to assign 1t
to, the coast artillery had charge OF
trench mortaFs and anti-aircraft guns
assigned to corps and Army artillery.
The Army ordnance bureau was
charged with securing the guns re-
mounts for the number of heavy guns
and mortars quietly removed from
the, coast defenses.
1t is practically impossible to learn
exactly how many heavy guns were
procured from the United States for
between the French and the British
a large number of, guns with their
ammunition was obtained for use in
the field. 1t is said that. IL the armis-
tice had been delayed many more
months, a liberal supply of excellent
pieces would have been sent from
this side.
Howbeit the responsibility of the
coast artillery was for the ofganiza-
tion and training Of the personnel;
and that was the job they had to un-
dertake under strongly adverse ccndi-
tons. In five successive training
camps. between June -. 1917. and
September rs, 1918, 1t commissioned
more than 5000 oficers taken from
the ranks. from the National Guard
and from civil life. More than 5000
officer candidates had assembled at
Fort Monroe and the schedule was in
full swing when the armistice put a
stop to the training Schools for the
further training of heavy artillery Of 4
fcers were established in France,
where they We're to receive the finish
ing touches Of their education. Mean
time. enlisted personnel from the Ma
tionai auard, civil life and drafted
men was being trained as heavy arr
Nearly $4,000 men were
thus trained, and as fast as required
sent to Francs-in all tkirty-se
regiments, eleven brigade headquar-
tiers. SIX trench mortar battalions, one
trench nortars=battery. one artillery
park, twenty anti-aircraft batteries,
six anti-aircraft battalions, one divi-
sion ammunition train and eight am
trains.
These organisations. which took
part with the Army in the lighting
from st. Mihiel to the Argonne. 70
Sedan, with the French and with the
British in their attacks all along the
line, handled for the most part Brit
ish eight-inch howitzers and French
guns from nineteen to forty
and with them did ex-
ceedfngly valuable work. Co-operat-
ing with them were the fiye big ma
val railroad guns. which successfully
directed their fire upon the Sedan
railroad.
The general verdict of the war will
apply. to the heavy artillery. The
whole section. personnel and material
had to be improvised. BY utilizing
the organization Of the coast artillery
this was accomplished as RAPIDLY and
as enaciently as could possibly be ex-
pected. The results would have been
far more effective il the War Depart-
ment had commenced preparations
earlier. Nothing but good words are
heard for the work Of the coast ar.
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