The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-10-04
GEN. WOODS SOUND SENSE

Ell hysterical agitation over the mighty
armament which is going to be loaded
upon us unless we permit his League OF
Nations uper-government to take
charge Of us, the cool, refreshing common
sense of General Leonard Woods testi-
mony before the Senate Military Affairs
Committee is as the shadow of great
rock in the desert.
General Wood does not even want as
big an army as President Wilson's Secre-
tary Baker wants. Secretary Baker want;
an army of 100000 men. General Wool
who was soldier and tried and proved
soldier during all the years that Secre-
tary Baker was vociferous apostle of
pacifism and unpreparedness, thinks an
army of from 100000 to 100000 men
would be all sufficient for our needs in
time of peace. But, back of this, he would
have second line of war preparedness
stronger and obviously better than that
which Secretary Baker advocates. He
would have heavy reserve of guns and
munitions, for one thing, constantly on
hand in our armories and arsenals. That
arms and munitions reserve he would
maintained up to the latest standards of
perfection, and he would have it large
enough to equip an army of 100000
men. "That would be your insurance pre-
MUM" he declared when he was asked
if this would not be "a great waste of
material" 1t would have been an insur-
ance premium, indeed, if we had had it
just about two years ago when we were
wasting hundreds of millions of very ma
terial dollars in our feverish, fumblin2,
helter-skelter scramble to get together
and make quickly available the arms and
munitions which we ought to have had
ready at hand, which General Wood, with
all the energy of his exceptionally strong
powers of argument, had been for years
urging us to have, and which such short
visioned pacifist dreamers as Secretary
Baker were doing all that in them lay to
prevent our having.
Secretary Baker, like good many
others of us, has learned good deal since
the not remote days when President Will
son, in his best doctrinaire tone of indul
gently tolerant superiority, was dismiss
ing preparedness as am academic ques
ton" Mr.. Baker now not only wants ;
standing army but big standing army
with thirty-two Major Generals ant
eighty EIGHT Brigadiers. General Woot
thinks we could get along with stand
ing army of half the size of Secretary
Bakers and with very material reduc
ton in the force of Brigadiers and Maiol
Generals. But, in the matter of enforced
military training for our young men o
10 years, General Wood doubles the TIM
designated by Secretary Baker and b,
just that much improves upon the Score
tary's recommendation Mr.. Baker woul,
have three months enforced training suf
flee General Wood urges that the train
ing should be six months. Sending me-
to war with only three months training
means sending them to needless slaugh
ter. "Give three months training only,
said General Wood, "and you double tn
number of your dead" How many of on
dead in France are dead because of lac
of preliminary training of their own an
Of the young officers who led them n
man knows and no man ever will know
Pat that enough of them thus needlessl
lost their lives to establish the truth Q
General Woods above quoted statemeI
we fully believe every competent mihtar
observer in the late war will confirm.
General Wood laid no stress on the ma
power value of universal enforced mil
tary training beyond its purely militar
SCOPE. He was not questioned along an
other line than that. But it does not nee
as rood an authority on general manhoo
efficiency as General Wood to tell us tn
benefit that would flow to the countr