Norwich bulletin., 1920-03-12
FREEMAN FAVoRs MILITARY
 TRAINING FOR ALL YOUTHS

Especial to The Bulletin)
 Washington, March 11.-Congress- man Richard P Freeman of New London made an argument for uni versal military training when he spoke this week in a general debate upon the army bill now before congress.
 MT. Freeman spoke as follows:
 MT. Chairman: I regret that this bill does not provide for universal military trainng. It is conceded by all of us that in time of war every
 able bodted American owes his country the duty of military service. It has been fully demonstrated that armies cannot be raised over night, and that the ordinary citizen with out previous military training is ab- solutely worthless for immediate use as soldier. Therefore it follows
 that in time of peace it is the duty of
 every capable American to render himself able to perform military ser
 vice should the emergency ever re- quire it. The more that are ready K for immediate military service, the
 easier will be the task of each indi-
 vidual, the less will be the risk of failure, the more speedy, the more certain the restoration of peace through victory. In the 65th congress
 there was a sharp difference of
 opinion over the adoption of con-
 scription. In view of the record
 there should be none now The adop-
 tion of the minority report of the.
 committee on military affairs was
 the most just, the most effective, the
 most far reaching piece of legisia-
 tion ever enacted by this democratic
 government of the people.
 Whether the pending treaty, with the essential reservations, is finally
 adopted or rejected the United States of America has more than ever be-
 come world wide power, with ever increasing responsibility. We are bound to be consulted and we ought to have voice, and an influential
 voice, in the determination of prob
 lems which may seriously affect our interests. If we attempt to speak
 without power we run the risk of war or humiliation, if we speak with power our voice will have adequate weight and authority.
 Although for several years I have seen service in the Connecticut Ma tlonal Guard, and as an enlisted man in the Spanish War, I must confess that I have devoted little time to the study of various plans for proper military establishment in the United States. But in common with all of you I do know that we live in l a great and prosperous country Through tremendius past sacrifices we today are citizens of a country
 rich in all things. and in view of l our vast resources l have always felt l that i'll time of peace we were not l doing enough in the proper way to l insure protection to our free insti- l tutions, and to our great national l wealth, that we were not doing l enough to prevent war or to lessen I the tremendous waste of our re- 1 sources in time of war. I have of 1 course realized that the mainten- 1 ance of an army of only 25,000 for 1 apparent saving, yet in the last two years. we have expended billions up- 1 on billions, we have now a national 1 debt of over twenty-five billions, our young men have suffered hun dreds of thousands of casualties, and
 thousands of our boys now lie under l the poppies of the fields of France.
 Perhaps this awful sacrifice was in evitable. We only know today that
 under the circumstances that we in part had permitted to prevail this sacrifice had become absolutely nec-
 essary and unavoidable. If six
 years ago we had been prepared for
 war, if Germany had only known that in a few days, instead of over
 a year, we would be able to raise
 and equip armies of over four mil lion men, that in a few weeks, in- . stead of over year, we would have
 been able to land millions of mer upon the shores of France, perhap. this worlds war might never have been. and this awful waste of mil.
 lions of lives and billions of dollars : might have been all together avoid.
 ed.
 I recall in the reading of wash. ington's Farewell Address the othel
 day by the gentleman of Illinois thes, words: Taking care always to kee, ourselves by suitable establishment. on respectable defensive posture . we may safely trust to temporar, alliances for extraordinary enaergen cies." If suitable establishment for defense was deemed necessary for the original states, with foui million population, and with finite, , resources, how much more necessar, is a suitable establishment toda1
 for the defense of nation of tn, world, with a hundred and ten mil ) lion population, with riches unliSn
 ited and ineaIcuable. Our, combine.
 military and naval estab1ishment
 should be built and maintained sole f 1 ly for the purpose of national de
 fense and never for the purpose. o = foreign aggression. For the purpos , of adequate national defense I be lieve that we should have an fin , comparable" navy. A navy of super
 6readnaugnts and battle cruisers, Q 1, destroyers and torpedo boats, o submarines and hydropianes, suffi
 cient to prevent any nation in tn l world from being able to transpor t troops across either the Atlantic O ] the Pacific. If we make our frs : line of defence of; this strength an, , | power we need never maintain | standing army of any great size. Tn f pending biIl authorizes a regula I l professional army of an eniiste \ strength of 299.0o0 men; in m, ? opinion we will never obtain in tim 1 of peace such an enlisted strength i . | such an army, and in this demo ! l cratic republic we never ought tt D l obtain it. I am much interested l . a provision in the Wadsworth hi
 which provides for an annual re.
 l ducton of the enlisted strength of tn regular army. I am in favor of al
 annual reduction of 20 ner csnt