The Washington times., 1935-11-02
Army Needs
Up-tO-Date
Equipment
By James T. Williams, Jr.


There Is a mistaken notion
abroad today among the Ameri.
can people that national security
from foreign aggression can be
guaranteed entirely by the size
Of the Regular Army, or the Re.
serves, or the size Of the Navy
or Of the Air Force.
AL history demonstrates the
folly of such an uninformed as.
sumption. National security can.
not be guaranteed merely by the
size of the armed forces afield or
afloat nor by the unarmed pa.
triotism of the American people.
In fact, the mere size of the
military establishment sometimes
makes it a better target for the
enemy. And unless masses of
loyal American youth are to be
exposed to danger of attack by
a better equipped army, Congress
must provide for the Common De-
tense not only the strength of
personnel but that odern equip
ment that enables the best trained
personnel to afford the most eff.
fectlve defense on land and sea
and in the air.
General Macarthur, in his final
report as Chief of Staff of the
United States Army, urges upon
the Congress the imperative i'm.
portance of mobility of troops and
excellence of modern equipment,
FAILURE OF CONGRESS
Under recent Administrations
the national security has been
put in jeopardy by the failure of
Congress to provide for the Com
mon Defense. In spite of the. be.
ginning that has been made in
recent years to end this indefen-
sible neglect Congress has yet to
provide modern equipment for the
land and air forces in adequate
amounts.
General Macarthur makes this
weakness in our national defense
convincingly clear when he says:
''In almost every category of
munitions, the types with which
the American Army is supplied
| were produced during or prior to
the World War. Since that time
experimental tion has produced
models of greatly increased ef-
ficiency, but with one or two ex-
ceptions none Of these have been
procured in usable quantities
during the past thirteen years." +,
Various types of military equip
ment which are in ordinary use
in the American Army today and
are now obsolete are listed by
General Macarthur for the infor-
nation of Congress.
Here are a few flagrant .ex.
amples of this weak point in the
Common Defense:
"The French rs MN" Field
Artillery gun may be towed at
only seven or eight miles per
hour, and cannot keep UP with
the rapidly moving motorized
units. It has been rendered as
antiquated as the buggy by new
models developed by the Army.
But no money has been made
available to produce this gun in
adequate numbers.
The infantry is still armed with
a 1908 model Springfield rifle. It
has been placed in the buggy class
by the invention of a semi-auto-
matte rifle. Instead Of turning
over the Springfield 1908 model
to the National Museum it is still
in the hands of the American in.
fantry.
HANDICAPPED
l Infantry mortars inherited from
the Great War are almost use
less" in comparison with recently
developed models not yet in gen.
eral use in the Army.
Small arms ammunition has en-.
ormouSly increased since the
Great War in range and armor
piercing ability. In spite Of this
development, General Macarthur
says "the inadequacy Of our avail
able ammunition, in all essential
calibers, is at this moment a mat
ter for serious concern"
Lack of funds has greatly handi-
capped the Army in making neces.
sary replacementS of 1918 trucks
and motors and of horses, but
until the end of 1884 the Army's
motor equipment was largely what
was left over from the Great Wal" P"
In spite of tremendous develop
ment in the last few years the
Army at the end of 1884 was still
equipped with the slow and unre-
liable tank of the type used in
the Great War and the same is
true of engineering material, ra-
dios and other communication
equipment and gas appliances.
A small beginning was made by
Congress at the last session for
providing the Army with modern
equipment. But a procurement
program should be adopted at the
next session and followed through
| if the small Army which this
country maintains is to be given
modern equipment throughout.
Copyright 1885, The Washington Timesl