The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-04-07
DEBATING ARMY
REORGANIZATION
Bill Provides for Merging
All Military Strength In
One Establishment
UNIVERSAL TRAINING
is PROVIDED
National Guard Merged With Regular
Army-Members Liable to State
Service in Peace and Federal Service
During War.

WASHINGTON, April 7.-Remiading
the senate OF the price America paid Tor
ullpfeparedness at the beginning of the
war with Germany ana asserting that
the measure under consideration pre-
sented Tor the first time rounded. com
plete national military policy for This
country, Senator Wadsworth New York;
as chairman of the military affairs commit
Tee opened the discussion OF the army
reorganization bill.
The bill provides for universal mill
Iaiy training and the merging of the en-
TIRE military resources of the nation into
single establishment. Before the pre-
sehtatlon had advanced far Interruptions
were made directing attention to features
OF the universal training plan, which made
PLAIN that this feature viii be debated
with the most animated interest
This BILL said Senator Wadsworth.
VIII give us for the first time a real mill
| tary policy. 1t merges the national guard
and the regular army into one army. The
fundamental idea is to make the citizen
reserve the dominant feature of the mil
ltary organization. This reserve is to be
much larger than the professional army .
Senator Wadsworth called attention to
the difficulties OF organizing the national
guard under the militia clause Of the con
stltutlon. This clause stands in the way
of establishing a national citizen soldiery
and so long as it remains must imposc
on the officers of tile regular army the
chief duties of developing the military es-
Enlistment. The committee bill avoids
| tins difficulty by organizing the national
guard OF the states under the army rather
| than the militia clause of the constitu-
ton.
Is it not true" asked Senator Hitch
cock (Neb.l, that under the plan Of com
pulsoIy military training the nation would
subject the young men thus trained TO the
liability to be called out for service with
out even the formality of a draft law be-
ing passed by congress- Would it not
give the government mortgage on their
military service if needed"
All men are liable to military service
from Is to - years of age" replied Sen
ator Wadsworth, in case of war. Ser
vice may be required of them whether
| they are trained or unframed, as we have
seen in the last war Under this measure
young men may elect to take their train
ing in the national guard If they do they
| assume a double liability; first to serve
| their states even in time of peace to sup
press Instruction and the like, and sec
| ond, in case of war, to be called into the
national service. On the other hand
those in the citizen army are not liable
to service III time of peace; they can he
called for service only by action of con-
gress
| The national guard will be organized
| practically as heretofore and liable to be
summoned to federal service. Officers Of
the national guard and the citizen army
will occupy the same status. The fullest
! possible measure of local control that pos
| sibly can be permitted viii be given to
| the citizen army Thus the question
whether regiment of that army shall be
established in Newark n j., composed OF
| Newark men, will be left to a board OF
officers that will be dominated by loca1
| people. The citizen officer is eligible fol
all the opportunities of the regular army
| if he wants to grasp them.
eve have fixed the regular army al
$4,000 men and $4,000 officers, and that i,
sufficient for the duties of that army