The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-11-01
PERSHING SUGGESTS
AN ARMY OF 100000
Gives Views in Detail to Con-
gress on Reorganization
for Peace Purposes.
WOULD FOSTER AVIATION
Lessons of War Call for Pre-
paredness and Universal
Military Training.
Special Despatch to THE SUN

WAbHiNVTONj OCt o1s-ItTi- Johh ~
Pershing. basing his Views on the les
sons learned in the great war. gave to
Congress to-day his recommendations
for the peace time army reorganization
and military policy of the United States
Emphasizing each with a brief state
ment OF facts and real war conditions
the General in appearing before a Joint
session Of the Senate and House Mill
tary Affairs Committees made the fol-
lowing outstanding recommendations:
The peace time strength of the United
States Army should be from 275,000 to
100000 officers and mon. or possibly
less. The $4,000 figure recommended
by Secretary of War Baker and Gen
March, Chief OF STAFF, is too great a
financial burden to be shouldered by the
country at this time.
Universal military training for a
period Of six months, he urged. not alone
for military advantages but also for the
physical. vocational and educational
benefits to the youth of the country,
with the provision that the men so
trained should constitute a reserve that
can be used in warfare only upon the
direction OF Congress.
A large reserve of officers who received
actual warfare training during the pres
ent war. held In readiness to meet ma
tional emergencies as we'll as interIia-
tional wars, Is essential.
As military policy the United States
should have (a) a permanent military
establishment large enough to provide
against sudden attack; OBJ a small force
sufficient for expeditionary purposes to
meet our international obligations, par
tIcularly on the American continent; Co
10
our internal requirements (d) a trained
citizen reserve organized to meet the
emergency of war.
Encoufag ement of miiit9ry, naval and
commercial aviation and the coordina-
ton of air deN elopment under one head
Continuation of the war powers of the
President during peace to reorganize the
War Department to meet changing con-
ditions. with the limitations that no
bureaus can be established or discoutin-
ued without authority of Congress.
Promotion Of officers by selection.
Military Education Urged.
A comprehensive programme of mill
tary education in the schools. with an in
creased number of detached officers.
Continuation of the Transportation
Department, the Tank Corps and the
Finance Department.
Staf officers should be assigned to the
work they are especially adapted to and
retained there permanently, with the ex-
ception of serving in the line one year
out of five.
Increased efficiency on the part of
the General Staff
Flat pay increase for all men in The
army.
Rank for army nurses.
vi
eral respects from those submitted by
the War Department, but principally on
the size of the army. His belief. that
the Government must economics as much
as possible in army expenditures seemed
to meet general approval of the COM
mittee.
The A. Z. r. commander expressed
the certain belief that force OF 100000
or slightly less made up of volunteers
will be sufficient for national defence,
but he strongly advocated universal
military training as an accompaniment
of the smaller army.
I'm considering the total strength of
the army" he said, ''all of us should
take into consideration the cost. we
cannot afford to adopt the principal OF
a large standing army at the enormous
expense indicated in this bill. After a
more or less casual study of the strength
required for all purposes 1 am Of the
opinion that we can place the outside
figure at from 275,000 to 800, 900 includ-
ing officers"
After Gen. Pershing's general state
ment before the committees several men,
bers who have opposed peace time pre-
paredness sought to show what they
thought was the individuality of the uni
versal military training. The General
answered all of these questions force
fully. Strengthening his position at every
step.
Senator's Kirby (Ark.), Mcclellan
(Tenn.) and Representative Quinn
(Miss.), Democrats, and James (Mich.) !.
Republican. indicated their opposition
to the system. Gen. Pershing's terse
and emphatic answer was that our in
ternational rights would never have been
violated II he had been adequately pre-
pared, and that universal military train