Evening star., 1919-08-31

line from the shore to the BritishI
fleet In the civil war Farragut kept
steamers V The present s IEq saw the
development of wireless telegraphy,
even of telephony,9!@:to high degree
of excellence.
Toward the close of the war the
perfection of the seaplane and or the
rigid airship. both carrying wireless
outfits, changed the system of scout
ink''so radically that the nation with
out these in their extreme deveiop-
ment has but an unbalanced ana 10
that extent an ineffective navy.
The submarine is most interest
ing factor in the future of naval war
fare. It, in conjunction with the
battleship fleet to an enemy shore al d.
most impossible. AS destroyer OF
commerce it has proven its efficacy
in a spectacular way. AS a planter
an unknown. unheralded approach upon
a coast. however well patrolled. ana
plant its spawn. not to be detected until
helpless ship makes deadly contact
with the mines.
It's value as a scout has never been
fully exploited. but its ability to ap-
proach an enemy and go away with
out detection to report what It mas
located is of immense value. The pos
sibility of a larger and more power
emergency is ominous in it's power
for evil.
The efficacy of the naval mine as
a means of defense and of onense as
well was demonstrated by the bar
rage of the North sea to the U-boat.
and by the mines planted by U-boats
on this side of the Atlantic-nearly
1000 miles from their base. Eut aft
! er a full consideration and study of
all the innovations the sailormen still
remain fixed in the old belief that it
is the heavy line of battleships SUP
ported with all subsidiaries that will
be triumphant in future wars. as in
this war. over the fleet which does
not possess equal strength in the line.
x x x
At the present rate of demobiliza-
tion the Army will be reduced to ap-
proX m tely
Army Must Have 225.ooo men by
Plenty of Officers. as the seere-
| tary of War and the chief of stafi
have frequently pointed out. such
! condition means loss of efficiency Tor
| the Army and of money for the gov
ernment.
Practically all the officers of the
Army are now assigned to inportan,
duties either with troops or In charge
of government property. Al least
eight out of ten of these officers are
holders of emergency commissions
and will be discharged from the mill :
tary service with the reductlon OF
the Army to tke peace-time basis
under the provisions Of the Army
Eighty per cent of the officers in
the camps flying fields and depots
of the Army will be out of the serV-
ice, and there will be no ofhcers
available to take their places. me me
buildings resulting will be enormous.
and will not be ckargeable to army
oficers or the War Department. MAJ /.
Gen. Merritte w. Ireland says tnat
in the hospitals s Of the sicn for
ment. and that without legislative
relief he will not have medical ofn-
GERS to give anywhere near the az
teption that their cases demand lot
proper treatment.
The hospitals containing these pa
tients are scattered from Siberia TO
France, Germany, Italy all over the
United States, to Alaska, Hawan. the
Philippines and wherever \else Uniteo
States soldiers are stationed Medi-
cal officers are needed for administra, :,
tive duties in the department and
they may be called to the borders OF
Mexico or even farther. Besides medi-
cal officers for the sick. the Army
must have dental, sanitary and vet
erinarian officers. To meet the de-
mand upon the corps Gen. Ireland
now has available approximately. 900
officers of the Regular Army Medical
Corps, besides a proportionate mum
ber of the other classes. and 5,1oO
emergency medical, sanitary, dental
and veterinarian officers.
In the absence of legislation to re-
lieve the pressure. all the latter class
will be discharged. and somewhere
other than in the Army will be the re-
sponsibility for the care of the sick
and wounded, to say nothing of main
tenance of the health Of the Army
Congress will undoubtedly take
some action to relieve this situation,
which is said to have arisen from the
misapprehension on the floor of the
House that instead of providing for an
army Of 225.O00 for the year it was
appropriating funds for a minimum
army of 325, 900 men. While such an
appropriation would not have met the
crisis, it would have helped.
The Senate has passed bill au-
thorizing the retention of necessary
emergency officers. not to exceed
$4,000, and the House has introduced
bill along the same lines, but with
some differences.
Meantime the Army is losing some
Of its most desirable officers. of the
class of young and able men who
have proven their adaptability for the
military service. SO the relief can
not come too quickly.