Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-28
An Adequate Army
From the New York Times.

In the session just ended congress gave Sc.
rious and patient consideration to the question
hearings by the military affairs committees oil
senate and house. Officers from General Perish
| ing down who were qualified to express an opin-
ion have been called, and they have been en-
couraged to speak out So much frankness and
wisdom congress has never heard from the
army before. The army has learned lessons
from the great war and desires to profit by
| them Most of the officers appearing before
the committees have declared for a COM
paratively small regular army, considering that
the times are out of joint, and for some
system of universal training AS result the
general staff bill, approved by Secretary Baker
which called for regular force Of $4,000 men,
including all noncombatant units, was laid aside
by the house. The senate never took it Sc
riousy. Another reorganization measure, the
work of Senator Chamberlain and Representa-
tive Kahn, is also out of favor; not because it
does not contain excellent features including a
provision for regular my of about $4,000
men, but because expert opinion indicates that
it can be improved materially.
The opinion of the house committee on
military affairs seemed to be that combat
army of 100000 regulars would be adequate
with total strength in all branches of 285 600
men. With regard to universal training the
committee had an open mind In the house it
was apparently matter to be handled gingerly
members generally approved of universal train
ing, but were somewhat doubtful concerning
the judgment of their constituents. 1t is in
timated that the senate military affairs COM
mttee will begin all over again in the regular
session, drafting an entirely new bill Sig
nfcant of the fact that the adviser of the COM
mttee will not be Maj. Gen. Frank Mcintyre
whom Secretary Baker recommended but Col.
John M. Palmer of the general staff who has
been an outspoken critic of the bill for a large
regular ARMY to which the secretary had com
mtted himself AS member of the war plans
division of the general staff Colonel Palmer
has advocated universal military training an
organized citizen army and minimum regu-
lar establishment, which he would place at
100000.
the house and senate, assuming that Colonel
Palmers views are accepted by the latter will
be of much the same opinion. He would have
the regular establishment a nucleus of the de-
Tense forces, as appears from the following
statement:
The main feature of the military estab-
lishment of the United States should be
trained citizen army organized territorially
in divisions, army corps and field armies in
such manner as to permit immediate mo-
bilization in the event of emergency.
Colonel Palmer rejects the short term of
training proposed in the general staff bill. He
would make the minimum period six months,
after which there should be five years associa-
ton with citizen army organization, followed
by membership in an unorganizcd reserve to be
called out only in emergencies. The training
corps would be composed of regular army Off
GERS supplemented by volunteers from the citi-
zen army, which in the main would consist of
veterans of the European war. Every detail of
Colonel Pamers plan is worked out carefully
with view to giving the country mobile force
of several million men who could be rapidly
modified. Others have had the same end in
view, but no one else has given the subject SO
much study or been so tremendously in earnest
about realizing the plan of a peoples army.