Evening star., 1920-11-21
ARMY
| PROBLEMS CITED
Gen. March, in Annual Report,
| Foresees Difficulty in OBJ
| tanning Officers.

Little difficulty in obtaining the
2So.0 men necessary to make up the
treace-time Army authorized by Con-
gress is anticipated. Mai. Gen. March.
chief of staff. said in his annual re-
port, made public today by the War
Department The problem Of obtain
| Ing the 17.717 officers needed for the
reorganized Army is difficult. how
ever and was rendered more so, Gen.
March said. by delay I'm the enactment
| of legislation governing the reorgan-
| iEation Of the Army.
The magnitude of the problem of
selecting the additional officers re-
quired to complete the permanent
complement" said Gen. March. "and
the tremendous effect which will in
evitably be exercised upon the future
efficiency Of the entire Army by the
character and qualifications Of the
| new officers to be selected. Is indi-
Gated by the fact that the actual
strength Of the entire Army in com
but $3.50. Of whom about $50 held
/ provisional appointments
Notes Further Complications.
The general added that the problem
was further complicated by the res
| ignation of 1.647 regular officers in
! the fiscal year ending last June 80.
the period covered by his report.
Approximately $4,000 applications
from former officers and reserve Off
GERS for transfer to the regular estab-
/ 'ishment were received by the War
| department before the lists were
closed. the general continued. and the
| task of selecting from these appli-
| cants the ten thousand additional Of
| icers needed to fill out the Army
quota Is still under way.
Gen. March had this to say Of the
Army reorganization legislation
passed by the last Congress:
The act provides for "a Re Regular
and 1900 officers. It does not pro-
| vide for universal military training
nor for the application of the draft
system in future emergencies. 1t may
| be stated without further qualification
| that an adequate reserve of trained
soldiers available for use in an emer-
Eency is an essential prerequisite to
any plan for national defense and the
! creation and maintenance of such re-
serve without military training is i'm
POSSIBLE"
| Cites New and Permanent Policy.
Gen. March said a new and perma-
nent policy. whereby the War De-
| sponsibility for the education and
recreation of the enlisted personnel
has been promulgated as the result of
war experiences and the illiteracy
so strikingly prevalent in the draft
Army" Functioning through three
sections. education, camp activities
and moral training. the new service.
Gen. March said. has set up machin-
cry to train technicians and mechan-
! les to meet the Army's needs and to
raise the soldiers general intelligence
! in order to increase his military eff
ciency and to fit the soldier for a def
mite occupation upon his returning
/ civil life
+, Reviewing the work of American
| military forces abroad. Gen. March
! disclosed that the cost of maintaining
he American Army OF occupation on
s257 100000 which Germany is obli-
gated to pay under the terms Of the
| armistice. OF the total due, the gem
eral said, slightly more than $34.O00,-
600 had been paid or 1iquidated. 1eav-
ing approximately $222.000.Oo0 due the
United States from Germany.
| The American occupation in Ger
! many, the general added. has been
clean. dignified, just and forceful.
| free from tyranny and characterized
by 2 minimum Of friction with the in
l:abftant6."
! Discusses Army DemobiIixation.
Reviewing the rehabilitation of the
war Army, now completed, Gen. March
| reported that on returning to civil
life the 8S4 900 enlisted men and 69, 900
officers Of that Army remaining in
| service July l. 1919. the department
adopted policy of releasing the men
not required for military purposes as
! rapidly 40 they could be absorbed BY
| tho country.
Hundreds OF thousands of men were
returned promptly to their families
ana Industrial employment who might
not have been released for months un-
der system Of industrial demobil-
ixetjon or based largely upon indi.
the general
"The absorption Of these men into
the general life Of the country and
ment assisted in the permanent re-
vitalization Of industrial life and ex-
pedtted the return Of the country to
normal peace-time conditions. No de-
mobiiization IN history has presented
complexity. and none has been car
rted out in q more expeditions,
thorough or orderly manner"
Taking up the disposition of war
material and tho liquidation Of con-
tracts. the report stated that after the
signing OF the armistice the depart-
ment was confronted with the gigantic
task OF settling $4,000 separate busi-
nesses. aggregating a total of ap-
proximately. $4,000. .0o0, 900.
'The work." Gen. March said. 'fs
with celerity. an equity and an
economy that makes it one Of the out
standing accomplishments Of the
war;"
Laudation Of the Army.
The report concluded:
In all Of these activities with which
the Regular Army has been chiefly
charged. both officer and enlisted man
have displayed that high sense of
loyalty. pride, Justice. frmness. dig
nifty and responsibility that has
always won them the respect, ad-
miration and friendship of every ma
tionality with which they have been
associated.
n07EN HIlRT IN WRECK