The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-02-12
US. ARMYFACES
RUIN IN LACK Of
/. APPROPRIATION
Assistant Secretary VAIN
wright and Cen. Harbord
Find Startling Conditions.

"Officers and soldiers are not
given the consideration In the mat
ter of quarters which public opinion
demands for prisoners In the penn
tentiaries of the several states.
The inconvenience and inadequacy
of quarters furnished In seVerai
places Is nothing short OF shametui'
they are not as good as those pro
vided for prisoners and lunatics IN
any ordinarily progressive com
munity."
In these words Assistant Secre.
tary Of War j. M. Wainwright ana
Major General Harboard. deputy
chief of staff, who made a recent IN
spection throughout the army, con
firmed the shameful state In which
the military branch Of the defenses
of the United States has been al
lowed to drift.
First publication of this was con-
tanned exclusively in The Washing
ton Times several weeks ago when
II was shown that Congress has per-
mitted the defenses of the country
to fall to such a state that New
York city itself Is now open TO
capture.
Reports Are Confirmed.
1t was limited in that first expose
that the morale OF the army Is on
the verge of being wrecked. Here
is confirmation of this from no less
a source than the heads of the army
itself, noted in the report which fol-
lowed this trip Of inspection.
There Is everywhere great I'M
easlness as to the future, especially
among officers who were appointed
after the war. No doubt before the
end of the year, with the meager ap-
preparations available, conditions
will grow worse, but the present
morale, maintained under such ad-
verse circumstances, Is a very high
tribute to the character of the
character Of the American soldier
and officer and to the army woman
Under present conditions army Of
Ulcers have come to feel that their
services may be ended at any time
and their pay cut at any moment.
Under circumstances such as these
1t is impossible for them, no matter
how greatly they wish to do so. to
devote the time for study.
So scanty are the appropriations
for pay by Congress that training Of
troops for war has practically
ceased. Not five regiments in the
regular army today are trained to
the use of infantry weapons. Not
five regiments are capable Of going
into battle with a first-class power.
Economy the WatchwOrd.
Commanding officers dare not
spend one cent for transportation or
training Of troops. A ride from one
station to another to get a recruit
in a motor truck is subject to an
official process in which letters and
involved records figure. So great Is
this economy that even the Air
Service has difficulty in getting
gasoline enough to fly its airplanes.
So far as living conditions go,
some Of the quarters provided for
officers aree wretched. Until re-
Gently a small allowance for quar-
ters have been made under which
officers might live in the city, al
though a room there cost three or
four times as much as the Sl2 q
month allowed.
Now even these allowances have
been discontinued and the officers
have been forced to live on the
island. Old shacks, some Of them
tumbling down, are now occupied
by one or two families of officers.
dreary places, without good plumb
ing, and the cracks of which are
open to the four winds.
Throughout the army promotion
OF commissioned officers has
been stopped.