The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-04-30
ENLARGE WAR BURDENS
LContinued From Page One.l

CONTINUED From Page One.l
originally reduced the German army
to 100000 men. Later this was tenn
porarily increased to 100000 in order
to enable Germany to meet internal
troubles and possible bolshevik as
saults from without.
German Force Large.
In reality. the most accurate infor-
nation from Germany shows that she
still has 100000 men under arms.
These consist OF her regular army OF
400, 900 men; OF 10000 soldiers tenn
porarily serving with the marine;
four large organizations attached to
the ministry of the interior for in
ternal defence totaling over 100000
men. With every indication and GER
tainty that Germany intends to main
tain as much of her military strength
as possible every European country
is forced to take this into consider
alton in her own army reorganiza-
ton.
England, for example, has definite
ly decided upon her new army organi-
cation which is for $4,000 men divid-
ed into fourteen divisions and organ
lied into regular and territorial
army. The budget for this military
organization is 125,OOO,000 pounds as
against 100000 pounds before the
war. This means military burden
four times larger than before the war.
Naturally, the size of Englands ar
my, just as much as the size Of Ger
many's army, dictates the size for
every other country.
United States In Line.
Ar WaChin ptnO Mite the rapnrn-
mendations of Secretary Baker for
an army Of 100000 men, the present
bills before congress provide only for
100000 men. Nevertheless, this is
double the United States electives of
before the war.
In Italy the reorganization of the
army provides for an increase from
108 regiments of infantry to 120 and
from 80 regiments of artillery to 80
drawn by horses and Is by tractors.
While a shorter period of military
service is provided for the financial
burden is UNNECESSARILY increased.
In France, the definite plans for the
reorganization of the army have not
yet been worked out. In the mean
time France has just called to the COL
ors her entire class of 1920 and as
her period of service has not yet been
changed they come under the old
three year term of service adopted
just before the war. With the neces-
sity of furnishing the great bulk of
the troops that are to hold down the
occupied portion of Germany for the
next fifteen-or thirty-years, as well
as furnishing the great bulk of the
troops for all the foreign expeditions
necessary for enforcing all the various
clauses of the peace treaty, France
70
creasing her prewar military burden
either in men or financially.
While Sweden appointed COM
mission to see If her regular army
could not be replaced by militia, the
force Of military events and increased
military organization on every hand
caused this commission to go out of
business last December.
Small Nations Follow.
In Holland, the action of the cham
Der in suppressing a military budget
Of 100000 forms caused the war
minister to resign.
Hungary is more determined than
ever that the peace conference shall
let her have a larger army than or
iginally conceded.
But the military pretentions-and
consequential burdens of Germany,
Hungary and the other defeated
IdllC luuCCu
with those of the new states that have
been born out of the war. All Of the
new border states that have come
out Of Russia, for example, insist on
maintaining armies that will be an
increase rather than decrease over
what the Russian army was before
the war.
Poland, Czecho- Slovakia, Rumania,
Serbia all feel that their existence
depends upon military strength.
While they haven't even had time to
think about recognizing their ar
mics on peace time basis, Il is alb
solutely certain that whenever that
time comes, each will insist on an in
dividual army that taken altogether
will more than Offset any reduction
that might have been hoped for by the
breaking up of the old time military
levy of Germany and Austria.
Aside from this actual increase in
the standing armies of the world that
Ga grande guerre" has brought on
the increased cost of living with it's
increased cost Of army maintenance
means that the world is looking for
ward to a greater and more crushing
military burden than ever before
carried.