Great Falls tribune., 1922-03-16

0dIUSs Au0 OUAA60t1Ouo VI AAos
treaty are mutual, and the Amer
ican people are not short sports.
THE ARMY BILL.
zen. PERSHING takes The As
~ sociated Press into his conf
dence so far as to tell it that II
the lower house Of congress cuts
the army down to 1l5,o0o men and
1900 officers "the whole national
defense project put through in 1920
would be imperilled." We do not
know just what the minimum size
Of our army should be in order to
meet the absolute needs OF the
country, but we do know that army
and navy officers are always cry
ing give, give. Evidently General
Pershing hopes to build up a fire
of popular opinion in the rear of
congress to compel it to give more
money to the army. Without as
suming to know much about the
merits Of the demand for larger
army, we do know that the major
ity Of the taxpayers and voters OF
this country want congress to 60
slow In making appropriations OF
their money, and they have an idea
that the army and navy bills are
good place to practice the utmost
economy. We have just been in
formed that about a quarter OF a
billion dollars has already been paid
out of the treasury for the support
a small detachment Of our army
now in Germany, and that there is
small prospects Of our getting any
Of it back again. We have yet to
hear any army officer get up and
tell us what advantage the Amer
ican taxpayer has got out OF this
use of their money. No doubt when
they were originally sent there it
was an obligation of duty and
honor, under the terms of the Ver-
sailles peace treaty. But that treaty
was rejected by the senate about
two years ago. We had then no
duty or obligations under it. Why
our troops were not brought home
then, we cannot understand. Why
they are still kept there, we cannot
understand. Why congress should
provide money to keep them there,
we cannot understand. Likewise,
we do not see why American army
troops should be kept in China, or
at the Panama canal, to the extent
of a whole division. No one IS
threatening to take the canal away
from US, or is likely to do SO, and
a small company of troops ought
to be sufficient to protect our in
terests there, especially as we could
rush a large force of marines to
the canal at short notice, if need
arises.
The attorney general of the
United States has just told us that
more than billion dollars of new
claims against the treasury Of the
United States are on file in his
office and that we will be lucky
if we can get them settled for fifty
cents on the dollar. A bonus bill
that will eventually call for many
billions more of taxpayers money,
is now before congress. We are al
ready spending half billion dol
lars a year for disabled soldiers,
and planning to spend more. The
president has recommended the
spending Of a third Of billion as
bonus or subsidy for the owners
of American ships so they en-
gage in trade at profit under our
flag.
The house appropriation commit
tee is the keeper of the nations
purse under our constitution. 1t
has got to draw the line somewhere
If crushing taxation and its evils
is not to grow to a point where all
returning economic prosperity will
be barred. We feel like siding with
the house appropriation committee
rather than the president or Gen.
Pershing in this matter of cutting
down the expense of both the army
and the navy. The chance that we
will have to defend the life Of the
republic against foreign aggression
at this time and under present con-
ditions in the world is very remote