The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1920-01-13
PRODUCTION or THOROUGH.
BREEDS MUST BE EN-
coURAcED.
PRESENT SUPPLY is SHORT
Army Would Need One Animal for
Every Two Men Should We Be
Called Upon to Engage In
Military Operation for
Any Reason.


task of the Remount Board Of the
United States army In organizing anu
maintaining a horse breeding and
supply scheme for the future forces
of national defense may be had by a
study or the reports OF the remouni
officers of the A. E. f., for the period
of 1917-191S. 1t was found In France
that the old theory that the prop
osition of horse strength to man
strength In armies should be two to
five was erroneous. One horse for
every two men was needed. To their
astonishment the officers Of the re-
mount service, many of whom had
never seen the inside Of a military
text book until q few weeks before
they received their commissions, dis
covered that six hundred horses were
required to equip a single infantry
regiment of war strength, that is a
regiment of 5000 to $500 men.
1t was next to impossible to obtain
horses In sufficient numbers to
properly equip even the artillery,
transport and ambulance services Of
the A. Il. f., because for period of
two years before the participation OF
the United States in the conflict the
entente allies had been draining the
country of horses of all sorts and
kinds. The A. E. f. had no cavalry.
Modern Armies Are Large.
Nowadays armies are reckoned by
hundreds of thousands, If not by
millions. The strength Of a single
division of the A. E. F., was greater
in men and horses than the Biggest
army commanded by Stonewall Jack
son in his entire career. The COM
bined armies of Lee and Meade thar
took part in the struggle of Gettys-
burg could have done no more in the
titanic conflict that terminated las
miles of the western front. If the
United States were called to arms,
whether to defend some interest
peculiarly our own or to fulfill
League of Nations obligation, the
mobilization of from 100000 to 1,000,'
900 soldiers might be necessary. If
the old theory that the correct pro-
portion of horse strength to man
strength in armies was still accepted
by military opinion, 100000 horses
would be required for the QUILTING of
half a million soldiers, 100000 for the
QUILTING of force of 100000 and,
If an army of half a million or
million soldiers had to be kept in the
field in a state of military efficiency
a reserve of 100000 to 100000 would
be necessary. If the future military
forces of the United States are to be
QUILTED with horses on one to two
basis with adequate reserves, AMI
such a scheme of Quitting would be
necessaryNif the armies of the United
States were to attempt intervention
in Mexico to- protect American or
European interests In the maintenance,
of the Monroe Doctrine, it will be
necessary to provide an immediat
mobilization force of from 100000 to
100000 with reserves equally strong.
Today the United States could no
properly outfit with horses an arm
of 100000 soldiers. There are horse
in the country, many of them. Blu:
they are mostly draught horseshoe
mans, Percherons, Clydesdales. Bel
CLANS, Shires, etc.-whose military use
fitness is limited to the dragging Of
heavy artillery Horses of these
types are not In the least serviceabla
to a mobile army. or an army of
maneuver, as the new phrase de-
scribes an army that must perform
marches of fifteen to twenty miles
day or retreat quickly If strategy sug-
gests retreat. They are too sluggish,
too lacking in spirit. The horses thar
are wanted are the light types and OF
these there are so few the aggregate
may properly be said to be
negligible quantity in any practical
scheme of national defense The gaso-
line motor long since made the pro
duction Of this type of horse un-
profitable. Farmers and stockmen
have ceased to raise light horse In
considerable numbers. The creation of
a new supply must be stimulated b.
the United States government, bu
nothing the government could d.
would suffice If there was any inter
ference with the production OF
thoroughbred stations. Stations OF
the thoroughbred types are indlspen
sibe because the offspring of sucn
stations, whether from mares
thoroughbred blood or from mares o.
no particular breeding, proved bes
in a half century of experlmentatlo:
conducted In Europe by the grea
military powers before the outbreal
Of the war of nations and the hall |
and three-quarter bred outstayed anc
outgamed the representatives of IN,
colder breeds under the hard con
ditions Of actual warfare betwee.
1914 and 1918.
Light, Horse Not Raised.
Since A Ia m lonoar nrofifohla 10