San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-03-05

Special Gable to the san Antonio Light
and the Chicago Daily News.
Copyright. 1928.
Paris. March 5.-In highly sig
nificant speech. NJ. MaginOt, minister
of war. pleading before the Senate to
make the period of military service
a year and half instead OF merely
a year rs many politicians desire.
made a full statement of France 5
military policy. ..
In the present state of Europe
he said. lin the midst Of distress. un-
satisfied claims. divisions and dam
gerous ambitions left by the war like
so many embers from which belligerent
madness of the peoples may once
more be set aflame, one must be mill
tarily strong if one wishes to main
tain and impose peace. Frances pa
cific intent would have weighed less
heavily in the settlement Of certain
international conflicts if its detcrmina-
tiion had seemed less firm and if we
had committed the error of carrying
our disarmament TO the point of I'M
potence SIS some advised US TO do
while others were abstalnlng from
such impotence"
A nation. NJ. Maginot added. must
have an army nicely fitted to its poll
cies and to its needs. France. he de-
clared. must be able to impose peace
and force Germany TO pay and in case
war. despite these precautions, oc-
ours. then the standing army must be
able TO cover mobilization take the
initiative and carry the war immc-
diately into the enemys territory.
France is tired of being a battlefield
and if possible. will avoid war by
gaining a speedy victory.
Frontier Guard Needs.
In time of peace. France, he said.
must have sufficient troops 10 guard
the Rhine. wiring reparatiOns pay
ments from Germany by coercion with
out fresh mobilization. keep up the
training and mobilization framework
in the interior of France and garri-
son the French colonies. For Il nor
NAL guard on the frontier whether ms
now from Basel TO Cologne or wheth-
err as il will be later when France has
evacuated the Rhineland. France needs
n minimum of 81 divisions for the
length of their frontier of 800 kilo-
meters. Leaving two behind and
holding five in reserve, the other 2j
divisions would each have twenty
kilemeters of frontier TO cover. Pend
ing the liquidation of the peace terms.
France needs another twelve divisions.
or six for the army of the Rhine and
six more to reinforce this army and
ready to carry out coercion at any
time against the recalcitrant debtor.
In terms of electives, the new
French army with a year and half
of service would be 100000 men oi
whom 100000 would be for colonial
service and $4,000 for France and
the Rhineland. The French needs, NJ
Maginot explained. are dictated by
Germany's policy of trying TO avoid
reparations payments and Germany
trying by every means to reconstitutc
despite the treaty obligations, its mil
itary force, General Nollet. head of the
Allied Control Commission in Ger
many. summarized the disarmament
situation recent report cited by NJ
Maginot:
Germany Has Arms Hidden.
1T is certain that a large portion
of Germany's armament has been de
livered and destroyed. but it is per
missible to suppose that there are still
hidden cannon with a large number oil
machine guns and considerable
quantity of rifles.
Germany, according TO VI. Maginot
is also manufacturing armament in
foreign countries and in any case thC
industrial disarmament of Germany i,
impossible. The German genera
staff which is supposed TO have beer
dissolved, still exists. it is asserted
under camouflage, while despite it.
professed poverty. the German gov
crnment recently found sufficient
funds TO build two new strategic
railways-one between Stuttgart ant
Villingen and the other between Eisen
ach and Schweinfurt.
Germany's present military or
fectivcs are estimated by VI. Maginot
to be as follows:
Reichswehr enlisted for twelv,
years and affording a framework fol-
II divisions. 100000 men; schupo 20
lice thoroughly mlitarized. 100000
technical specialists of all kinds fol-
future army. 100000. and finally
the orgesch. providing central or
ganization for innumerable veterans
associations.