Evening star., 1925-08-09

These examples of poor conditions in the mil
itary plant of the United States indicate how
too great economy is reacting. The conditions
under which men and officers must live In many
Of the posts are most undesirable. Furthermore.
day Of reckoning is approaching when 1t
will be necessary to expend large sums TO meet
the situation.
it Is declared, are already cut down to the very
bone. In the two years preceding the entry of
the United States into the World War the ap,
preparations for the War Department, IN round
numbers. were S177 900, 900 in 1915, and SlS4,-
100000 In 1916. In 1917 they jumped to s4o5.-
900, and In 1918 to S7549 900, and in 1919
to SIS ASS. 600. 900. Then. in descending scale,
the appropriations have run as follows: 1920,
1856 900 OOo 1921 $4s3, 900, 900; 1922, 1897 ooo
600; 1929 s346, 100000; 1924 sS49 100000; 1925
1884 900, 900. and 1926 $341 600, ,ooo
Army Costs Higher Today.
Costs Of food. construction, transportation.
the pay of the Army, all have been greatly in
creased since the period before the war. Fur
thermore, the Army is reaching out further and
further with its Air Service; a new service, the
Chemical Service has been instituted, and the
Tank Corps has been established. The present
appropriations for the Army therefore. do not
appear large, in light of these changes. There
are, too, the activities of the Reserve Officers
training camps. the citizens military training
camps, and the military training given at the
colleges, which have greatly increased or have
been added since the
The Army today finds difficulty at times in
making transfers of men and officers, merely
because the money for transportation is not at
hand.
The War Department itself has worked out
many economies. 1t Is essential under these
plans to keep hand necessary material to
meet a war emergency, say, to equip a Regular
Army. the National Guard and the Organized
tories producing ammunition, ordnance, uni
forms, etc. can turn them out in the quantities
needed. The life OF many of these supplies is
about 20 years. They must be used or thrown
away at the end Of such period. The training
camps for the citizens, the Reserve Officers, the
Organized Reserves as well as the Regular
a dfSDOSine
OF these supplies each year, and each year the
supplies replenished. This is practicing
supplies necessarily would be thrown away as
they became worthless.
Plans to Avert Confusion.
The finance department is able to say how
many saddles, how many blankets, how many
Of any part of the equipment needed for the
another breaks. the confusion and waste
that were attendant upon the entry Of the
United States into the World War. when huge
orders were placed for articles that never were
needed, will be absent.
Since the the Army has had the benefit
of surplus material purchased for war pur-
poses. Nearly all of this surplus material has
been disposed of. In other words, the Army has
been living on "its fat" so to speak. 1t will be
necessary to purchase supplies of one
kind or another. now that the surplus has gone.
1t is evident. therefore, that to cut down
the appropriations for national defense, with
conditions in the Army bad, will be a difficult
task. Il is possible that with reduction of
the personnel. and the same appropriations or
appropriations slightly reduced, the Army could
get along much better so far living condi-
tions are concerned and the purchase Of ade-
quate supplies But Secretary Weeks has set
his face strongly against a reduction of the
forces through this indirect route. The Army
personnel is less today than provided for un-
der the National defense act, and considerably
smaller than that recommended for peace times
by Gen. PerShing.
Economies in the administration of the Ma
tional defense are of course to be desired But
economies that result in lessenng efficiency are
most undesirable. Too great economy in Ma
tional defense might lead to disaster