The Washington times., 1937-03-18

SOlQl6r III II
United S t teS
Gen. Macarthur more W d y
or more favorably known than
Douglas Macarthur.
He not only rose from major
at the outbreak of the World War
to a major general, largely through
personal gallantry in battle, but
a few years after the armistice he
was raised to the post of Chief of
Staff with the rank of full gen.
eral flour StarS). He held that
rank through the Hoover admins
tration and much of the first
Roosevelt administration.
Then he went to the Philippines
about year ago to organize the
defenses of the new common
wealth. He has returned to Wash
ington in company with his new
commander-in-chief, Presi n t
Manuel Quezon. Although the
title of field marshal does not
exist in the United States Army,
this new rank does not exalt or
depress Douglas Macarthur. It
came to him largely because he
had so many important military
visitors in Manila.
Some of the visitors were of high
rank, the highest in their respec-
tive services. In order that their
own chief military officer should
never be out-ranked either at home
or abroad, the Philippine officials
made Douglas Macarthur a field
marshal, the highest title held in
any army.
General Cor Field MarshaD Mac
ArthuI's Philippine Army is not a
tin soldier affair. It is a fighting
machine. One of these days it
may be formidable. Field Marshal
Macarthur is turning out three
divisions a year, each fully
equipped and trained.
AS each division becomes suf-
ficiently seasoned to military rule
the soldiers go back into civilian
life. They are subject to call, of
course. if and when they may be
needed.
BY next autumn the field mar
shall expects to have at least
100000 men drilled and armed
and in uniform. Then he will
mobilize the entire force for the
first maneuver on the grand scale
the islands ever have seen. Four
hundred thousand! That's lot
of soldiers. My military "spies"
tell me that we have never had
so many troops in this country
engaged at one time in practice.
One million men is the Philip
pine government aim. One Won
ders what the Philippine Com
monwealth wants with such an
army and how it can be paid for.
Again my spies report. They
point to the fact that in few
years the Philippine Common
wealth will cease to be a Com
monwealth" and ,yill become a
sovereign nation. Then it will
not have the protecting hand of
the United States to ward off
possible enemies. It will have to
do its own fighting, if there is
fighting to be done. The plan
now is to make the islands so
dangerous to quarrel with that
nobody will find profitable the
making of trouble.
The cost of so stupendous an
army is much less in the Com
monwealth than in the United
States. The Filipino soldier gets
very little pay-a few cents
week-with board and keep. Our
privates get approximately a
dollar a day. Quite a difference.
Militarism would not be so
repugnant to the pacifists, per
haps, if it were not so expensive.
private thought-it would to
THIS pacifistO
Speaking of General (sorry,
Field MarshaD Macarthur, the
soldiers of his family are accus-
toned to high rank. The father
of Douglas was the late Lieut.. Gen.
Arthur Macarthur, almost the
last, if not the very last, OF the
''old army" lieutenant generals.
We now have no such rank, but
SO years ago we QaQ IureS. hcuU'
Generals S. M. B. Young, Nelson
A. Miles and Arthur Macarthur.
Our upper bracket soldiers now
have to be content with top rank
of major general. One at a time
may be chief of staff for a period.
During that period he is four
star general.
OF course there is General John
]. Pershing. But PerShing is in
class of his own. Just as was
Admiral Dewey, after he had been
given the rank of admiral. There
was one difference, however, be-
tween Pershing and Dewey: Gen
eral PerShing has definitely re-
tired; but the act of Congress
making Dewey full admiral pro-
vided that he would never be sub
ject to retirement.
The aged hero remained on the
active list of the Navy to his death.
CONTINUED on Page 80, Col. 81
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