The Washington herald., 1921-06-23
Conferees Agree to Cut
Military Forces to
- 10000 Men.
CRUEL TREATMENT,
SAYS WADSWORTH
Navy Fixed at 100000,
Far Below Denby's
Request.

The Senate and the House have
finally agreed on the disputed army
and navy appropriation bills, and
in SO doing have defined the post
war military policy of America
This policy is to be one of main
tanning the smallest military estao-
lishments consistent with national
safety. with sympathy toward uni
versaI limitation of armaments on
land and sea. In fact, the man
power of the army and OF the
navy, as dictated by Congress. is
less than both the Secretary of War
and the Secretary of the Navy in
sisted would enable this country to
keep herself adequately prepared.
1t is to be presumed that the sec
retaries speak for their chief. the
President But Congress, control
ling the purse strings, has the final
word.
Back to Prewar Size.
And Congress has ruled that the
army will be 100000. its prewar
size. The Senate ended the dead
lock yesterday by accepting the
House amendment, after having
held out first for an army of 49,
900. mad then for a more gradual
reduction in strength. The House
amendment will mean that the army
must be cut from its present size,
100000, by October 1. which will
mean the arbitrary discharge of
10000 men
Sanafar wadsUorth chairman of
the Military Affairs Committee, op-
posed the drastic cut until the last,
and in finally yielding so that the
bill could become law by the begin
ming of the fiscal year July 1. said
"the cruelest treatment ever handed
out to the United States army"
Doubts House Economy.
Senators had favored reducing the
army by the expiration of enlist
ments, which meant ii would not
= have reached the 10000 figure be-
fore May 1, 1922.
wadsworth said that the apparent
saving of S4,0o0.000 through the
House method of reduction could
not be realized, and that eventually
il would not amount to more than
a fourth of that amount This. he
said, was because il will be neces-
sary to resume recruiting to keep
the army up to 10000. Action of
the Senate in approving the bill
made 1t ready for the signature of
President Harding.
Agreed on Cut In Navy.
The navy. il was agreed yester-
day in conference between delega-
tions of the two chambers, will have
a strength of 10000 during the en-
suing fiscal year. The Senate, sup
ported by Secretary of the Navy
DENLY, wanted 10000. whereas the
House voted for 1000
The conference agreed on virtu-
ally all questions in dispute in the
appropriations bill except the Borah
disarmament rider. The House is
to be given an opportunity to de-
eide whether it will approve the
Borah proposal. or will insist on
adoption of the Porter resolution.
The latter. presented by the Lower
Chambers foreign affairs commit
tee. extends a proposed conference
on disarmament to include all pow
ers, instead of the United States,
Great Britain and Japan alone, and
includes a discussion of land as well
as sea disarmament
Adoption of the Borah amend
ment is predicted.
The bill, as approved in confer
ence. carries an appropriation of
s414. 900, 900; the House originally
appropriated 1896. 900. 900; the SEN
ate added 800. 100000 and receded
from most of it at the insistence
of the House. Another meeting of
conferees is to be held. but agree
ment is assured. conferees said.
In both instances, it is thus
shown, the Lower Chamber has
enforced its will on the Upper. The
plea of the House was economy and
that no need exists for maintenance
of large military establishments at
this time.
The army, according to Secretary
of War Weeks, is preparing for the
reduction it will be required to
make. The General Stan has been
called upon to decide whether
forces shall be maintained as at
present. but in skeleton form, or
whether certain branches will be
abandoned.