Evening star., 1923-02-18
WOULD CUT NON.MILITARY
SUBJECTS FROM ARMY BILL
Provision for National Defense Reduced
for Benefit of River and Harbor
Expenditure.

Corps from s1.74S,0oo to $1,1oo.o0o,
and tho House eventually made 1t
only 100000. The House committee
eliminated the sum needed to main
tain divisional and regimental head
quarters of the organized reserves
throughout the country-the plan
adopted to perfect the skeletonized
reserves-and In this the House back
cd up the committee.
When 1t tackled the appropria-
tions for the r. o. r. c., the students
gaining military instruction while in
college and school, the House COM
mittee cut the estimates from $4,-
401 900 to $3.250,000. and the House
agreed to ii. 1t is estimated that
there are now about 100000 young
men taking this training to make
them potentially efficient officers in
time Of need, and that in the next
year there will be about ll1,0o0 of
them.
For the civilian military training
camps-camps to which young men
may go each summer for a period of
intensive training-the committee cut
the budget estimate from $2,s75,0o0
to 100000. but provided that the
unexpended balance Of last year might
be used. amounting to 100000.
The committee sliced almost $5,0o0.-
600 off the total estimates submitted
by the budget bureau for the National
Guard, making the total amount for
the guard $29.021.990. as compared
with estimates totaling $33,9s2,222.
Some Appropriations Restored.
When the Senate appropriations
committee received the bill not un-
naturally there were urgent pleas
from the Secretary Of War and high
officers of the Army for restoration
of the sums cut out by the House and
its committee. They were needed, 1t
was said. to provide for the training
of the citizen soldiery-the men who
must be depended upon II another war
comes. For the Regular Army, it is
contended, has been cut to q size so
Insignificant that it approximates the
danger point-12,000 officers and 1885,
600 enlisted men. The Senate commit
tee restored a great many of these
items. but kept within the budget
estimates, lower than the estimates
In a number Of cases Then the bill
went to conference. and. Of course
the Senate was not able to prevail
against the House in all of these in
creases, but had to yield on some of
them.
While tho War Department bill was
before the Senate Senator Borah OF
Idaho, Senator King of Utah and 9TH
ers pointed out that it was not fair
to make the Army bill carry the items
for rivers and harbors. They have
both been strong opponents of So
called pork barrel legislation for
rivers upon which there Is no COM
merce and no likelihood Of any. The
opposition to including the rivers and
harbors appropriations In the Army
bill was given added impetus by the
fact that the House, not content with
the increase Of about $4,000, 900
which the House committee had made
in the total for rivers and harbors
over and above the budget estimate,
had added $20,00o,000 more, making a
total of s56,00O,0Oo.
Waterway Appropriations Retained.
The Senate committee and the
Senate itself, despite the protests of
many senator's, retained the $56, o00, 900
for rivers and harbors And so the
War Department bill will carry in
the neighborhood of $335, 100000 or
$34o,000.000, when. if the items were
confined to the strictly military ac-
tivitfes' in defense of the country,
1t would carry approximately
$780, 100000.
1t has been recognized that the
Army appropriations must go through,
and they do go through each year.
1t Is to- the advantage, therefore, of
those who desire rivers and harbors
appropriations in large sum to have
them tied to the Army bill. In the
past so strong has been the opposition
to some of these rivers and harbors
appropriations that filibusters in. the
Senate have compelled their elimina-
ton or reduction.