The New York herald., 1921-02-06
Mankinds Meat Supply Making an Army Order15
America Was Not Prepared

THE ARMY OF 1918. BY Col Robert
! Howe.
/ Reviewed by H. L. PANCBORN.
Col Mccormick has done two things
of Importance in publishing this frank
book: He has given one of the best
analytical outline summaries of the
various stages. the vital events, of the
war from a military standpoint. that
kas as yet been written and, with this
as a background. he presents facts.
makes criticisms. and produces argu-
ments as 10 the proper determination
of the future military policy of the
United States that should engage the
attention of every citizen, and should
have great weight with the Congress
and the incoming Administration.
Much of what he says will be unpalat-
able to many readers; he states his
facts with unsparing directness and
does not shrink from puncturing some
popular notions. Some of his asser-
tons will doubtless be questioned, but,
he claims, unhesitatingly. they are
true, however, and controversy about
them can only result in establishing
their accuracy" The greater danger
may be that their Importance will be
lost sight of. and that public under
standing and opinion may remain in
different.
Col. McCormick's conclusions are
fully entitled to the most careful con-
sideration. He is eminently qualified
| to expound, to criticise and to suggest.
He has served as an officer in the
Regular army also in the National
Guard and in the Reserve. and thus
has studied, and been a part of, the
army from these three variant angles.
He is peculiarly well qualified to see
the evils of the jealousies rivalry and
lack of team play" among these
branches. His actual service included
duty both as a line officer and as a
member of General Pershing's staff.
Moreover, before our entry into the
war he made extensive tours of OBJ
servation among the allied armies. on
both fronts, as a guest of Field Mar
shall Joffre. of Sir John French, and
the Grand Duke Nicholas. Also. when
the National Guard was mobilized
along the Mexican border. he was a
Major in the 1st Illinois Regiment
and took part in that singular adven-
ture. In France he served as Major
of Artillery In the 1st Division until
after the battle of Cantigny. and. as
a result of distinguished service there
was promoted to a full Colonelcy. Be-
yond this military experience, he spent
much of his youth in Vienna, st.
Petersburg and Paris. where his
father was American Ambassador, and
is fully familiar with European life,
it's society. politics and general condi-
tions. Few men are so comprehen-
sively qualified to express an opinion
upon our military affairs. And lastly,
his ownership of the Chicago Tribune
and his part in local and national af-
! fairs have given him access to sources
of information denied TO most writer's
| His narrative of events. Of the crea-
! ton mobilization. and transportation
| of the great American Army and Its
service in France in 1917 and 1915
is terse. forceful. and immensely sug-
| gestive. He gives full measure OF
credit where it was due, but does not
hesitate to try to get the whole thing
into better focus than that of the
| current popular notions. Space is
lacking for even summary of his
detail. but one may confidently recon-
mend the reader who is truly in search
of truth to study his pages.
Two great conclusions stand out:
First, that Of all the armies engaged
there were but two of the first rank
the French and the German. which
were so evenly matched that victory
rested with the French largely because
of their better morale at home. be-
| hind the lines--all other aids to VIC
| tory, even including the British Navy
our own forces. and American sup
plies being secondary TO the primary
| fact of the supreme excellence Of the
/ French army. Secondly. that the
! United States as a whole is practically
! ignorant Of the lessons of the war
and still worse largely Indifferent. II
| Is here. in his final chapter that Col
McCormcl's book is of greatest value
Saws he:
I'VE have finished another war in
which our soldiers suffered unneces-
sary losses and hardships because OF
our failure to prepare. while the coun-
try at large has suffered almost moth
ing and the Congressman and the
President who failed to prepare for
war have suffered not at all.
! Congress cannot be expected to un-
derstand the subject. Our only hope
lies in the formation Of sound doc
trine which will be accepted by the
public. This is rendered difficult
by the fact that few Americans saw
more than one phase of the fighting
in which an American army took part
The American Army in turn, saw only
] q \ small mart of the war. and the