The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-05-01
ARMIES
THAN BEFORE
Nearly Every Country is Planning
Greater Army and Navy Than
They Had Before
War.
MILITARISM Is RAMPANT
Only Exceptions Seems to be Ger.
many and Austria, Which are
Prevented by Terms Of
Peace.
by Henry Wood, United Press Staff
Correspondent

by Henry Wood, United Press Stat
Correspondent.
PARIS, April 19-(By Mail) Mill
tarism exists today in almost every
country in the world on bigger and
more crushing basis than before the
war.
La grande guerre," which was n
have been the worlds last war and
which was to have inaugurated an
era of universal peace and reduced
ornaments, has had for it's sole eff
feet to date the increasing of the mill
tary burden Of almost every country
in the world.
| In fact the only exceptions are
! those defeated countries whose arma.
ments were limited by the peace
treaties, but even these and notably
Germany and Austria-are doing
/ everything in their power to escape
the treaty clauses aid increase their
armies to much larger basis than
| is now stipulated
Even the United States presum.
i ably the most peaceful country in the
world, has failed to escape from the
mania for increased armies which
the last war" has entailed.
Coupled with the increased cost
of living. these. increased ornaments
and their increased cost of ma;ate~
nance will throw on the people Of
every country in the world military
burden infinitely larger and more
crushing than was borne before the
war. The only thing that makes t
seem supportable at all is that il it
is more than what it was before the
war, it is at least less than what the
military expenses were during the
war
While all nations OF the world have
not yet succeeded in reorganizing
their armies on the basis which the
recent wa appears to have rendered
necessary. yet in almost every coun-
try the reorganization projects are
under consideration, and there is not
a single one that does not provide
for an increase over what the mill
tary electives and costs were befo e
the war.
While, theoretically, the question
OF the military force to be main
tanned is purely an internal one
which every country has a right to
settle for itself, yet as matter of
fact, every country, as has always
been the case in the past, is obliged
to govern the size of its military eff
fectives and strength by what it's
neighbors are doing.
Likewise as in the past. Germany
is still the worlds predominating fac
tor in this respect The peace treaty
originally reduced the German army
1n0 Tofn 4.
porarily increased to 200, 900 in order
to enable Germany to meet internal
troubles and possible bolshevik as
saults from without.
In reality, the most accurate infor. I
nation from Germany shows that |
she still has 100000 men under i
arms. These consist of her regular
army of 100000 men; of 10000 sol
dlers temporarily serving with the
marine, and four large organizations
to the ministry Of the in
terror for internal defense, totaling
over 100000 men. With every indi-
cation and certainty that Germany in
tends to maintain as much of her /,
strength as possible. every I
European country is forced to take
this into consideration in her own
1IHly TeOTSdnlZdL1Ou-
England, for example, has definite
y decided upon her new army or
which is for 4S5,OOO men.
1ivided into fourteen divisions and
organized into regular and terri
orial army. The budget for this
military organization is 125,OOO,00O
pounds, as against $4,000, 900 pounds
'efore the war. This means mill.
airy burden four times larger than
,efore the war.
Naturally, the size of England's
rmy, just as much as the size of
army, dictates the size for
very other country
At Washington, despite the RECON- :
nendations Of Secretary Baker for I
n army of 100000 men, the present
ills before congress provide for
100000 men. Nevertheless, this is
ouble the United States electives
before the war.
In Italy the reorganization of the
rmy provides for an increase from Z
OS regiments of infantry to 100, and =
rom thirty eight regiments of artil- s
cry to thirty drawn by horses and n
fteen by tractors. While a shorter o
eriod of military service is provided t
Or, the financial burden is immeas- c
Tably increased. b
In France the definite plans for the
aorga nization of the army have not b
ct been worked out. In the mean. O
me France has just called to the II
olors her entire class Of 1920, and
$ her period of service has not vet e
cen changed, they come under the IL
Id three-year term Of service adopt. n
! just before the war. With the
ecessity of furnishing the great bulk c,
the troops that are to hold down II
lie occupied portion Of Germany for 81
lie next fifteen-or thirty-years, as "
ell as furnishing the great bulk of h
lie troops for all the foreign expedi- O.
ons necessary for enforcing all the c,
arious clauses Of the peace treaty, 81
rance hasn't ghost Of chance OF b.
ecreasing her pre-war military bur- O.
en- either in men or financially. fc
T. - I