Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-01-03
CONGRESS- IS
 SOUNDED ON ENVIRONMENTS 
Secretary Baker vors / Permanent Acquisition of
 Camp Sites by Land Pur-
 chase.

K Washington, Jam 2f-Secretary ot \ War Baker in statin3 today that he s if Intended to seek thee views of Con- gress on the question of purchasing the land on which army cantonnents are located, would not disclose what training camp sites had been recom- mended by the general staff for per- manent retention.
 He said specifically, however, that the disposition of the flying fields was not involved. He said the war de- partment thought some of the camps it would cost about $12,000,000 to ac- quire the sites already approved for this purpose.
 Secretary Baker expects to take up the matter when he appears before the house military committee.
 The secretary indicated that the program had no relation to recom- mendations that may be made at some future time with respect to the permanent military policy since there is to be a military establishment in any case, he said. the acquisition of several of the cantonment sites would be of benefit to the service. He added that they could be used for summer mobilization or for divisional or even larger maneuvers, as existing perma- nent facilities for the army do not provide for these purposes.
 Within the next few days, MT. Baker said, the army war college will complete the army reorganization bill upon which it has been working, and he will then seek hearings be- fore the military committee to take up the proposals. It is now under stood that the war college bill em- bodies the general staff and depart mental reorganization plans in addi- tion to the necessary legislative pro- visions under which tables of organi- zation for, the regular army can be issued. but there is nothing to indi- cate that that goes beyond the reg ular army or touches the question of permanent military policy. It has been held at the war department that this cannot be proposed until pro- ceedings at Versailles have gone far enough to Show what military force it would be wise for the United States to have always available for quick mobilization.
 Many auxiliary services and units were created during the war for which there is no authority in the reg ular military statutes. The new act will give opportunity for these to be given permanent status and also will state the views of the army itself as to the stress to be laid upon such new branches of the military establish ment as the air service. Incidental ly, the whole question of the future of the army air service, whether it is to continue as separate branch or be again amalgamated with the sig nal corps, will be taken up and it is anticipated that while the aerial forces will not be again placed under any other arm of the service, radical changes in the existing emergency or ganization will be proposed.
 r. With the presentation of the reor- ganization bill, the congressional com mittees will be told of the detailed expenditures to be made under the ap- propriations already submitted. These provide for regular army of half a million men, roughly but the esti- mates do not show the importance that is to be attached hereafter to such services as the tank corps, ar- l tillery, aircraft, transportation corps,