Norwich bulletin., 1921-05-31
WASHINGTON AFFAIRS
Especial to The Bulletin.)


 ting the size of the army at 15o,o00 | passes congress, and that is not sufficient l protection" MT. Weeks then showed that | at this moment more than 50,000 Ameri- | can troops are abroad There are 12,000 I on the Rhine, 16.000 in the Philippines, | i Is ,000 in Hawaii, 1900 at Panama, a i { regiment in Porto Rico, and 1000 in | | China. He explained that the medical | corps, ordnance, aircraft men, signal corps ! and coast artillery are already reduced 1 to their minimum, so all further reduction l must come from cavalry infantry and | field artillery. That would reduce the 1 | infantry to a number so small that we | should, have squads instead of regiments, | and the men would have to be spread l very thin to cover the great area of the ] United States I am in favor of rigid economy but do not believe the size of the army shoul abe cut down to number insufficient for protection. We can econ
 omize in some other way with the same l appropriation and I hope the army can i be maintained at a minimum of 115000 | Instead of at an average of 150, 000" Sec
 retary Weeks explained that to reduce 1 the army to an average of 15O,0O0 would necessitate first getting it down to 126.000 and then build up to the required number
 That will cost more than to keep the number at 175, 900, as the expense of re-
 cruiting is great, and moreover we should | lose thousands of train men only to re- ] place them with raw recruits said he Tt would be extravaganza, not economy, 1 to take that course" MT. Weeks explain l ed in detail to the senate committee just how such a result would be inevitable
 and the committee was so impressed with the strength of his argument that they
 amended the bill to meet his suggestions.
 It developed that the national guard throughout the United States is very slow
 in filling it's ranks. Only 9S.000 men have
 thus far been raised in all states since the war and that is far below the num- Der provided for by the government. MT. Weeks expressed the opinion that state
 and national guards should be made ade-
 quate for defense within their own states
 saying: When it is necessary We should
 send federal troops. but 1 think states
 should make ample provision to defend themselves from uprisings within their borders" Secretary Weeks shoWed that , he had reduced the number of civilian employees in the war department 25 per
 cent. since the 4th of March, when he as
 sumed office, and taken other steps to re- duce the expenses of that department but he is urging that no reduction of the army be made below 175,000. The army now , numbers 230,000 men and 14,000 officers. When asked if the troops ought to be
 Od5iiL IAOlS HUH IildIly dl lllIS time,
 MT. Weeks replied: T do not want to ex-
 press an opinion on that matter at this
 moment"
 AIr. Weeks stated that with an army of , only 150,000 the United States, though the greatest country in the world would 5 have the smallest army of any of the great nations. Tt would take strong arm , and abnormal methods to reduce it within f the prescribed time, and l think it should not be done" MT Weeks also
 called attention to the fact that many of the men who would be then discharged
 had enlisted under a three year contract
 and would probably sue for the pay for l their full term. Briefly summed up the l position of the secretary of war seems to v be an advocate of a standing army of not
 less than 175, ,000; a minimum size of
 army standard instead of an average size II a reduction of expenses as far as possible , especially in civilian employees cutting
 of certain red tape so the secretary oi 0 war may keep within the appropriation | by other reduction and economy rather Il than by cutting the size of the army tc , l figures and by methods which he believes ', unsafe and dnwise.
 - The president has not yet spoken, but n there is good ground to believe that Con II necticut will furnish, in former Presiden- ! alt, tH6 ueAI CHltI juSllCe or the UnIteC : States supreme court. And that office i: V the highest in the United States Ot . course, the appointment. of MT Taft i! < not yet a certainty, several plans art e known to be in the presidents mnd re - garding the chief justiceship, all of whicl
 concern MT. Taft. One is that MT Taf if be at once appointed chief justice an 4 other that Mir. Taft be appointed to tn, N supreme bench, as an associate justice Il but to succeed to the chief justiceshiD oI e the retirement of either Justice Day O l. Holmes. both of whom are expected to re l. tire in couple of years or so. in tn a meantime one of them being elevated t n the chief justiceship. There is consider
 able talk as to the possibility of Secretar- . of State Hughes resigning now or in tn '' near future, and being restored to hi v place on the supreme bench, which he re Il linqushed to become candidate for tn n presidency in'I916 The name of forme le Senator Sutherland of Utah seems to b l. next in strength. Mir. Hughes, it is sait ,e would welFlike to be back on the bencF iz but it is likewise said that Presiden 1S Harding feels that he cannot be spare iS from the cabinet at this moment And NJ tS Hughes could use the chief justiceship. r- One thing only seems assured. MT. Tat :. can have a place on the supreme benc if he wants it, and it is well understoo
 here that he is in full accord with tF
 idea But will he take anything but tF
 chief justiceship, after having been pres ,s dent? There is good reason to assum - that President Harding would like to pic i' Taft, Hughes and Sutherland for the s,
 preme court to fill existing or approachir
 vacancies, but just how he will distribu h. the positions is still matter of doub " with the name of Taft holding a fir
 place on the inside of the running trac
 at this moment.
 at The official summer season here is III full swing. The garden parties at u to White House. given by Mrs. Harding b1
 at which the president stands by her sit
 and receives the guests, are the chief a a traction. Take the one this week, for i he stance. The weather was Deerfect. Il e- hours from to ', and though the b
 fountains splashed in the sunlight, u
 sun was throwing the ma gnificent centu
 old oaks and great elrns into long shadoy +i0 on the lawn. Gay little marquee ten III of scarlet and white were scattered und sr- the trees, and beyond the spot whe
 President and Mrs. Harding stood t
 Marine band played almost continuous to it's full dress un-1orm of much scarlet al nv gold lace standing out sharply against t +o background of heavy foliage
 There is reason to believe that the Kn
 peace resolution will be passed by co
 gross within short time The delay Ii w. tlia+ s+ilI o-s+s ir E,Iro,,, 59 III nd on tbe narf of the nresident and
 to take no steps that might be misco
 strued by The German government 7a- others. There is no rupture between t president and congress over inc rasol