The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-03-01
Former Vice President Of Ne.
braska Reserve Officers AS
ISOLATION Tells Of Steps TAX
en- by United States to Pro.
tect Itself in Time Of War

tnat TACT IL seems strange tnaC tnlS
republic which was buildcd upon
their genius, should have failed for
almost century and half to give
the slightest heed to their wise
counsels.
This nation was born appro..,-
mately one hundred and fifty years
ago, amid the pcins Of strife and
warfare. Cur freedom was o.
tanned through the heroic efforts O.
a comparatively small number c.
poorly armed. half-fed and half
clothed citizen soldiers. Our fore
fathers, aware of this fact, edvo-
Gated preparedness and told us thu
eternal vigilance was the price oe
liberty, but We have failed to heed
their counsel.
We stand first among the na..o-.
of the world as relying upon hcre,
and the siren goddess of luck ka.
for ore hundred and fifty years so
thrown the dice IS to encourage o.
belief in her continued patronage.
This country. in its entire history,
from Lexington to Belleau Noc3.
has never bean called upon to defend
herself against an enemy anywhere
near her own size.
Credit Due to Lacy Luck
In the Mexican war, in tho CHI,
war, in the Spanish American We.
and in the World war--LaGy Luck,
our dcity-has won FOR US. Not fore
sight, not military wisdom, no.
craftsmanship have been our saly,-
ton. The cards have brolcn nicely
for US each time ard we have
promptly erased from Cur memories
every act Of those tragic dramas
except the fortunate ending, and up-
on the altar of luck We have offered
up, each generation Of our national
life, thousands Of brave, but ur-
trained, soldiers rs human sacrifices
to our wanton neglect.
It was not until 1916, with the
clamor Of war resounding through
out the world, that congress passed
what is called the "Net;onal Defc--s.
Act" Before We could derive asJ
benefit from this act, we W..
plunged into the World war. One
more the goddess of luck gave ls
protection, assisted, il this instance.
by the blood and sacrifices OF GU.
European allies. We finally rooL-
ilized, equipped and partially tra .ned
large numbers of our citizens ard
sent about two million overseas. We
equipped them in many instances
with cotton uniforms for winter
service, trained them with wooden
cannon and drilled them with dis
carded rifles. They fought with
British and French artillery, n.a-
chine guns, automatic rifles, tanks
and airrlanas and 20 per ce.t Of
their supplies were furnished By oEr
allies. They fought with a nobility
worthy ct or highest traditions,
bat against hear.-breaking odds
placed upon them By those whose
ideals they had gone ont to protect.
We Won. Eu5 in the st ,rv Of Co..
winning cur statesmen ct last say
the light, and in 1929 passed severa..
amendments to the national defens.
act. This act, with its amendments,
constitutes or rational insurance
policy. and is the first and cry
definite military pol:cy Adopted d.r-
ing tho existence &C iris nat.on.
Every citizen is under an obligation
to be familiar with this at. II risy
opinion there is no doubt that w:thin
the lifetime OF rlos. Of us, tie p..c
visions Of this act will be 5lhiec.aI.
to the severect test ard the existence
Of our nation will be dependent vrol
its functioning.
BASED or Fundament.! Policy
This act is based upon a fa,.ia-
mental policy o. OR nat;on-the
democratic principle that every able
bodied citizen is bo.cd to cas-.e {,
the defense os the rat.cn in I'll
emergency. But the act br:ngs &.
that principle measure OF Jlst.c-
which has been heretofc-. 0is>s-
gar5ed. Under it. terms the c::t.....:.-.
who offers lis service to his co., /
try will be given assurance that ..c |,
will be led in battle by Leaders WAC |
have had some little training il.
their jobs p.:or 70 the .iour CT jump
ing off. This idea is nav to CO
country, although everywhere csc |
in the world it lla; been long &C
copied. This act prcviies three dis
tinct coMponeIts il o.. cchs...., C
national defense:
First, the regular array: se:cNc,
the national guard, and tki.i, IT,
organized reserves. II time O.
peace these three conponents Ec,c
widely different programs.
Regular Array
Our regular army is very Small.
In proportion to the population, the
army Of Russia is 2 1/3 times TIC
size of ours: that c. Great Britain
2 3/4 times; that Of japan Il time;
that Of Italv q times and thai 3.
France 81 times. The regula. army
is the smallest component of cur NIL
tary establishment. It's ni.ssicn Is
two-fold. In time Of peace it acts
as administrative head C the entire
defense system and supervises ais.
conducts the peacc-time training Ct
the civilian components. In time Of
war it furnishes . nucleus about
which our nanpower can be formed.
National Guard
The second component - the ma
tionsl gu I'D. Primarily i. is un-
sicr control of the state in which it
" Organized. In time Of wa: j. is
a ed for the defense Of the nation
ky an aid to the regular army.
u Organized Reserves
y The third component is TIE organ
led reserves. which consist Of
dro or skeleton Of comr1issioae.
4 fficers and non-comuiss:1rei c.
c:s large enough to provide tie
:essary personnel to trsin nr.;
ad the additional force. require.
{ 60 Of IN emergency. This corr
Snnnt - recruited primarily fror.
81 Who participated in the Vcyi.
Nm. The war has not made tslen,
HI ttekic modern warfare fay-
6on shoFn Of ell glamour am
ey. These war kaint
1S7 1oyiue soldiers cem, back