Evening star., 1940-12-15
By Richard l.. Stokes.

rough going in a Georgia stream duri
! They talked of having to defend New
foundland and Canada, should the Brit
ish Empire find its seat in the United
Kingdom untenable; of using detach-
ments to stamp out Nazi and Fascist
putsches in Latin America; or of re-
pelling invasion by way of Mexico. The
view chiefly heard, based on belief that
for motives of self-interest the United
States cannot permit England to. fall, was
that before many months have passed
this country will find itself under the ne
I cessity Of sending expeditions abroad
to Dakar, for instance; to Syria, Egypt,
Singapore or even the European conti-
T nent.
No Fear Of Nazi War Machine.
Such opinions, the officers were first to
admit, are pure speculation. All decisions
in this field, they agreed, are the task
Of the political government in Washing
ton. Their job on which all energies are
concentrated, is that of building an army,
highly disciplined and trained according
to modern principles of military science.
Their success both at present and in
prospect, was for one observer as grati-
tying as it was startling In an effort to
justify sincere enthusiasm, there will be
offered number of impressions and facts
gathered on the tour and afterward in
Washington.
The of6cers of the United States Army
are the first group ever encountered by
the writer to whom it has never occurred
to feel the least dread of the German war
machine. Since it is using tools with
which they are familiar, and many of
which were invented in this country, they
do not for a moment think of it as some
thing miraculous, superhuman or in
vincible. BY the same token, it is the
only group in the writer's experience
which habitually speaks of Hitler's con-
quests without vestige OF moral repro
baton. In their eyes the Nazi commando
ers and troops, having professional job
in hand, did it with admirable COM
petence A strong feeling resulted that
military officers form an international
caste.
American officers regard as propa ganda
for the credulous all expressions of con-
SNAhPV oeCSA SA Ny 4NoZl lLlS
military establishment of the United
States. The respect in which the Amer
ican Army is held by the Reichswehr is
proved, they hold, by the fact that for
many years its best soldiers were sent
here to study.
National Army Being Formed.
The II Washington correspondents
who at the invitation OF Gen. Marshall,
made 4,000-mile airplane tour of Fort
Knox, Fort Sill, Okla; Forts Bliss and
Sam Houston, Tex, and Fort Benning,
saw the Army in the process of a silent
but drastic revolution. 1t was probably
the last glimpse of this organization as
traditionally divided into Regular Army,
National Guards, Reserves and con-
scripts. The ultimate plan is to fuse all
elements into a homogeneous entity,
true National Army, with distinctions
abolished between Federal and State
troops, enlisted and selected men.
Except for the National Guard, this
program offers little difficulty. Seasoned
units like the End Infantry Division at
Fort Sam Houston have already been
stripped of rs per cent of their personnel
to provide framework for. new organi-
zations. and the gaps have been filled
with recruits 1t was mostly novices who
manned gun crews and tanks for DEM
onstration ait Fort Knox. Sergeants, cor
porals and trained privates had been
commandeered as instructors and cadres
for two new armored divisions which are
to be activated from selected men after
January l.
For the present, no National Guard
divisions are being touched. They are
to be restored intact to their respective
States. The time is not remote, however
when all such bodies will be trained in
Federal rather than State camps. An
opinion current in high quarters is that
sooner or later the National Guard must
submit to total absorption in the Ma
tional Army, or else be relegated to the
status of Home Guards.
The Army on December consisted Of
something like $4,000 officers and men,
as against 100000 on June 80. The in
crease is accounted for by National
Guardsmen and Reserves summoned to
the colors, a swarm of voluntary enlist
ments and the earliest contingents under
the Selective Service Acc. When this leg
islation was being discussed many Sen
ators and Representatives argued that
the volunteer system should first have
trial Conscription has proved the great
est stimulus to enlistment the country
has ever seen. The record in this respect
has been so high that the draft quotas
of most OF the States have had con-
stantly to be revised. 1t is estimated that
the Army of 100000 to be organized by
June Is will contain about 100000 vol
unteers and 100000 selected men. ~sel
" ssnsral agreement thu human ma