The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-29
REORGANIZATION
 OF ARMY MARKS NEW ERA BAKER
Secretary Points Out In An nual Report That America, Though Peace-Loving, Is
 Often Engaged In War
By Associated Press

Washington, April 2S.--The postwar reorganization of the army marks new era in the military history of the coun- try, Secretary Baker declares in his an- nual report, made public today, as it provides an effective model on which great armies could be swiftly built in times of emergency.
 Reviewing the military activities of the nation since 1776, Secretary Baker says that, although the United States was ''the most peace-loving of all nations. it had been engaged in major domestic or foreign wars about one out of every four years during that period and that the military power of the country had been in active use in war or military op- erations of some kind about three out of every four years.
 Tt is apparent therefore, that while we do not need a great standing army, we must live in the world as it is while we struggle to make it what it should be-" MT. Baker says We must have a body of trained men large enough in numbers to be an effective working model upon which great armies can be swiftly built in event of emergency. A justice-loying people may be forced by tragic necessity to resort to war, but has no right to asks it's sons to fight it's battles outarmed and outShielded by an adversary
 WORLD WAR LESSONS
 In studying the lessons of the World war the war department had proceeded on the accepted theory that the infantry remained the backbone of the army, tke report said, although the importance of other arms of the service had been great ly increased by the swift developments of war.
 in armament were introduced and many of the instrumentalities devised are ap- parently only at the beginning of ther development" says the War Secretary. The infantry itself is no longer the foot soldier armed with the musket, but the foot-soldier with the long-range, high power repeating rifle, the automatic rifle and the machine gun, which, in some of it's uses, is analogous to light artillery. The advance of the infantry is no longer merely covered by protect ing artillery fire, but the path of the advance must be cleared of Instructions, and it's position, once attained, must De protected by artillery of great power and extreme mobility
 MT. Baker makes no comment on un!- versal military training, a plan rejected by Congress in enacting the new army reorganization bill, but in reviewing the provisions of the new military law, he says that one of. the most important features of the legislation is the pro- vision of Constant and systematic re- lationship between the National Guard and the regular army. This provision' Mir. Baker declares, will do much to ''preyent antagonisms which have in the past been the not unnatural but never theless unhappy characteristic of the re- lationships of the two forces"
 THE COST OF WAR
 MT. Baker declares that the one-year enlistment period authorized by Congress has not justified itself and asserts that from the point of view of the efficiency of the army, one-year enlistment periods are of little value.'' The report reviews at length the new educational and recrea- tional programme established since the war and declares that the time will come soon when the peace time army will be throughout an educational institution from which men will graduate better equipped to enter civilian pursuits ana with larger and firmer grasp on cIll- zenship and its responsibilities and privileges"
 The total cost of the war through the war department is placed by the Secre- tary at about s13.730, 5o0,500. and 1t IS stated that in the liquidation of claims and contracts the department saved the government S7 per cent of the outstand-i ing obligations at the end of the war Discussing the disposal of surplus war stocks, Secretary Baker recommends that in the future the departments plans keep in mind an effort to have on hand at the termination of war supplies ol a character, so far as consistent wltn army needs that could readily ana quickly be absorbed into the country commerce.