Evening star., 1919-11-23


an appreciable' portion of the re-
sources and wealth of the country as
to result in consequences of incalcu-
liable moment to the nation.
Difficulty at Landing Point.
obviously such an attacking force
will be at it's weakest during the De-
riod it is attempting to land it's
army on our shores. During this pc
riod only will it be possible to null
lify any numerical superiority of
troops that he may bring to bear by
resistance of trained and organized
force Of relatively small size. Only
by the provision of such a force can
we be assured that we shall be able
to utilize to full advantage our
greatest military asset, by gaining
the time required to develop our re-
sources and to organize an army
tingency.
1.-The size Of such q force. which is
essential If the country is to be af-
forded that degree Of protection
which a sound military policy re-
quires. must be determined by q con-
sideration Of our extended coast line,
by the necessary dispersion Of the
to coast, and by the necessity of pro-
viding for the safety of the Panama
canal and our other insular posses
sions"
With peace army of five CORPS
backed up by a system of universal
military training mo foreign country
could. in view of our performances in
this war, disregard our rights" Gen.
March said.
The Siberian Expedition.
The Siberian expedition was under
taken solely to keep open the Siberian
railroad and protect the Czechoslovak
forces, Gen. March said, and paid trib-
ute to Maj. Gen. William s. Graves,
commanding the expedition.
He and his men have performed a
difficult and arduous task with credit
to themselves and to the country" ("
the chief Of star wrote.
Gen. March disclosed the fact that
German agents succeeded, as early as
1915, in securing a copy Of the secret
code of the War Department. 1t was
replaced at once by an intricate sys-
tenn Of confidential Communication.
American operatives Of the intelli-
gence service, he added. were very
successful in solving the methods of
enemy spies, "more than fifty important
secret-ink spy letters" alone having
been discovered.
Concluding his report, Gen. March
said:
"The American soldier, from what
ever source, has, by his conduct and
by his reliance, cheerfulness, initia-
tive, aggressiveness and valor, won
the confidence and the unstinted
praise of his comrades in arms of all
nations. The magnificent perform
ance of Gen. Pershing and his COM
mand in this war will always be q
source of pride to all Americans"
The report gives in considerable
detail the organization of the depart
ment as built up during the war, and
tells Of the work done both before
and after the armistice by each
branch.
The story is told also Of the growth
Of the American military program
beginning with the sending to France
Of the 1st Division. through Gen.
Pershing's project for thirty divisions
in France by the end of 1918 to it's
ultimate goal of eighty divisions
abroad and twenty at home, worked
out by the chief Of staff himself. The
actual accomplishment of transport
ing and maintaining vast army
across 5000 miles Of sea has added
a factor to the military calculations
Of all countries, the report states,
and that it adds that it was equaled
in scope as a military movement only
by the return Of the Army and its
rehabilitation.