Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-08-24

j1NHE war found the War Depart-
ment in possession Of a feet
of seven transports of ancient
pattern and style and vener-
able in point OF, years and; faithful
service, but for the service in hand
worth about seven cents. The govern
! ment has acquired now some fifteen
] frst-class ships-among them some
! Of the big German liners taken over
at the beginning of hostilities and
others which have come since the ar
! mistice and which may remain.
| Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines. direc-
tor of embarkation. the man who
sent the armies and their supplies
over and brought the men and some
most of the chartered ships that
made SO large part Of the transport
fleet. But he put forth to the Senate
committee suggestion that Is
worthy of all consideration. He ad-
vises that the title to the vessels
able for transport service be retained :
and that. while the government leases
them to an operating company or
loans them to the shipping board or
makes other suitable. disposition of
them SO they will be a national
asset as commerce bearers. the oper-
ators must make no changes that will
UNIT them for transport service. but
must keep them under the American
flag and ready at all times to enter
Army service as transports, should
unhappy occasion require the move
ment of United States troops by sea.
! Gen. Hines urged that personnel of
these vessels should perforce be a
part of the Army reserve. so that at
all times there should be crews ia
fmiliar with the vessels in readiness
| to utilize them for Army transporta-
| ton.
| The Straightforward statements of
Lieut.. Gen. Billiard and Mai. Gen. Nc
| Andrews, not
Some High Officers only on ac-
From Overseas Talk. e1an, o. rank aas
and positions Of authority held by
them in the A. E. F.. but by reason
of the hard practical sense in what
they said, carried conviction to the
minds of those who heard them give
to the Senate military committee their
views on the War Department bill
under consideration in connection
with the adoption of a sane military
policy for the United States.
| Their views concurred on the two
most important subjects in the bill.
The size of the standing Army. $4,000,
is unnecessarily large for this country in
peace times; universal military train
| ing is a necessity, but the period-three
months named in the bills not long
enough to train the students very sue
! &C ssfully.
| Gen. McAndrews frankly said that
in his judgment so large a force as
times for this country, and that 1t
would be possible for the Army to
perform all it's ordinary functions and
to train $4,000 students a year with
much smaller force-approximatel
100000. He stated that the best
troops of the A. E: F. until they had
had much more than three months
! training were wholly unfit to enter
! the fighting sectors, and that eighteen
! months from the declaration Of war
had elapsed before the United States
was able to put a considerable force
of effectives in action. He added:
Senators, another time we may not
have eighteen months IN which to get
ready"
He pointed out that in peace times
the United States could not maintain
standing Army large enough to de-
fend the nation in event OF another
great war, and 1t would have again
country for its defense. Conse-
quently. he said. in order to be fully
prepared for the possible emergency,
it will be necessary to train the young
men of the nation so they can become
organized troops in less than eighteen
months. Gen. McAndrews had been
director Of the special division for
education and training in the A. E. F.
and therefore was in position to speak
with authority. when he declared that
three months training would not ,ac-
complish very much for the young
men who entered the training camps
for such a course. It would neither.
country an excellent soldier, He. adj
vocated a course of six months train
ing.
Both Gen. Billiard and Gen. Mean
drews declared that the matter OF first
Importance to the success of the A.
p. F. was the organisation of mod
ern general STAFF. They found on
their return to the United States that
the War Department had adopted sub
stantially the same system that Gen.
Pershing had created on the other
side. except that in France was added
a special staff division for the train
ing Of officers and men. and on this
side this function was made subdi-
vision. Each star had under various
names divisions Of operations. supply
purchase. storage and trafic): intelli-
gence and war. plans. The. A. E. F.
had also the training division.
The principles of an operating stan
were the same. The STAFF officers did
] the planning and -ordinAting for
the Army. They did not interfere
with the performance of the operat-
ing divisions.
n Vas freely intimated that these
two officers to some extent were re-
necting the views of Gen. Pershing.
Be that as it may, the committee will
undoubtedly call Gen. Pershing to
hear his ideas of a permanent policy
for the country. Thus far little has
appeared before the committee con-
corning the means to be taken to keep
up a material supply for a possible
Army on q war footing. supply of
officers is even more difficult to obtain
than of enlisted personnel; but If ex-
perience has taught anything in this
ration OF material must be ever ready
X + X +
The hearings of Maj. Gen. George
w. Burr and Brig. Gen. Frank T.
Hines. before
New Light on Army the military
Transport Division. tn. senate e
! threw a new light upon the subject of
| military transportation during the
! late war. Gen Burr, who was in COM
| mand Of the Rock Island arsenal at
the commencement of the war. gave
as an instance of the confusion that
| then prevailed as a result of lack of
prcpo 70 ton that ha acting IN a hint