Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, January 12, 1913, THE Semi-MONTHLY MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 39

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    aSB COVER DESIGN
MajorGeneraI Leonard Wood
NEEDED MORE THAN A
FALSTAFFIAN ARMY
By MAJOR-GENERAL LEONARD WOOD
Chief of Staff United States Army
ASOl'ND military policy for the
United Status calls for a mili
tary establishment sulliciont to
moot the needs of tho hour, ami one ca
pable of snob immediate expansion as
will render it adequate to meet the first
shook of war with a first-class power.
The spirit of our people and our tradi
tions are against a large standing army.
The question before us is: the establish
ment of a military policy that will give
us, in peace times, an army sulliciont to
meet our peace needs, namely: the gar
risoning of the Philippine Islands, the
Hawaiian Islands, tho Panama Canal,
Porto Kico, and a reasonable force of
mobile troops within the continental
limits of the Tinted States.
At tho same time, the battle power
should be so elastic as to permit its
quick expansion to full strength and,
in addition, tho formation of new or
ganizations, so that, in conjunction
with the militia, we could organize a
force of 000,000 men and otlicers to
moot tho first demands of u war with
a first-class power.
Our present regular army has tin
authorized strength of, 100,000 men.
Our militia consists of 'about 120,000
men, of whom not over 80,000 men aro
efficient in the souse of being reason
ably ready and prepared for field serv
ice. Of our regular army, a large por
tion is on foreign service: 20,000 in the
Philippines, several regiments in the
Hawaiian Islands, one at Panama, one
in Porto Rico, and one in Alaska; leav
ing in the United States only about
:t."),000 mobile troops cavalry, infan
try, and field artillorv and, in round
numbers, 20,000 coast artillery. This
moans that we must provide a source
from which to draw 4(r,000 instructed
men in case of war with a first-class
power which threatens military occu
pation of any portion of our territory.
Our Far Flung Frontiers
OUR seacoast line is very extensive,
and the mobilization of consider
able bodies of troops will be required
at more than one point. The'so bodies
of troops will bo called upon to per
form certain local duties, such as pro
tecting tho seacoast defenses from at
tack by naval raiding parties, ami at tho
same time furnish nn adequate mobile
force to meet any landing in force. This
body of instructed men can only bo se
cured through tho adoption of a system
of short service by short service I
moan service limited to the time neces
sary, under concentrated instruction, to
train men properly to discharge effi
ciently their duty as soldiers in time of
war. This system applied to tho reg
ular army would result in the army
becoming the training school through
ALBERT HENCKE
NEEDED MORE THAN A FALSTAFFIAN ARMY Editorial
MAJOR-GENERAL LEONARD WOOD 3
KEEPING UP WITH WAITlVILLE-Arf
Illustrations lie Oscar Ci-saro
OWEN JOHNSON 4
NOVEMBER JOE: WOODSMAN DETECTIVE . HESKETH PRICHARD 0
THE MYSTERY OF FLETCHER HUCKMAN
Illustration bp lVrcy II. Cowen
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS AND INSURANCE CHARLES B. HAYWARD !)
A CHANGELING
FRIVOLOUS BUSINESS
CHARLOTTE BECKER !)
CHARLES W. MEARS 10
Illustrations bp Horace Taylor
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT NUMBER .
11
THWtPBIUl
mkwmmmmam
The Sunrisers' Club of Successful Men.
VERY morning
( about the land there
Jis a bunch of get
there men who are off the
mattress at the first crack
of a bell.
They swing down to their work
with cheek aglow with grit afresh
with eye alight they're the
Sunrisers' Club of Successful Men,
most are acquainted with Big Ben.
They've left it to him to get
them up in the world and he's
done it so loyally, so cheerfully,
so promptly, that he's already
sleepmeter to two millions of
their homes.
Big Ben's the clock for Ret-there men.
He stands 7 inches tall, massive, well
poised, triple plated. lie is easy to read,
easy to wind, and pleasing to hear.
He rails just when you want and
either way you want, steadily for 5 min
utes or intermittently for 10, He's two
good clocks in one, a dandy alarm to
wake up with, a dandy clock to tell time
all day by.
lii Ikn li Mid by 18,000 waicbmaktri. Ill, pricr
ii 12.50 anywhere in ttie States, (1.00 anyvbere in
Canada. If you can't find blm at your ieweler'i, i
money order sent to H'niittx, Salli. Itltneii, will
brine blm lo you atlrartlvrly board and rapresi prepaid.
which the greatest number of men
should ho pasM'd, consistent with
proper instruction. Tho men, on nun
ploting their active service in the arinv,
should he sent into ci il lite, on a status
of furlough, to ho held for a number
of years as members of a reserve whoso
residences are known and who, in turn,
know to what organization they aro to
report and whore, in case of mobili.a
liou. In order that they may outer upon
I heir occupations without fear of dis
turbance, they should bo assured that
fhey will not ho called to the colors
except in case of actual war, ami for
instruction at mnnmuvcis for not to ex
ceed ten days every tit her year during
their period in the reserve. This period
in the reserve should be several times
the length of the period with the col
ors, thereby affording a reserve several
limes stronger than the force actually
with the colors. I'ndor this system the
organization commander knows exactly
what reservists aro coining to him in
time of war. Tho reservists know ex
actly whore they are to go, and their
plotters of assignment should be so
drawn as to embody a draft upon any
railroad company for transportation.
The same general policy should bo
adopted by the militia.
Citizen Soldiers for War Only
'T'JIIS, in a much broader form, in
which all men of military ago are
included, is the system in vogue ill Hu
roponii countries. We can not apply
it to all our people, hut we can apply
it to an extent sulliciont to give us the
necessary number of men in time of
war. The principle which should guide
us should be the instruction of the max
imum number of men with the min
imum of interference with their eco
nomic and industrial careers.
Ollicers vill have to ho provided for
this reserve, which, when mobilized,
will require about l.'i.OOO ollicers. One
method of providing these ollicers, and
I believe it a feasible one, is by taking
the graduates of the military schools at
which we have ollicers of the regular
army as instructors (these schools have
about 2."i,()00 students) who are rec
ommended by the military instructors,
giving them a temporary commission
for one year as second lieutenants in
the various arms of the service coast
artillery, field artillery, cavalry, infan
try, etc. with full pay and allow
ances of second lieutenants. Their
status tt ho that of second lieutenants
junior to all second lieutenants of the
regular establishment. At the end of
the year they would be discharged with
certificates of proficiency in the vari
ous arms, in case their records so justi
fied, with the statement of what grades
they would be competent to fill in time
of war. This would give young men
just finishing up at tho various schools
and colleges whore military instruction
is maintained $1,700 in money, with
certain allowances, making a yearly
compensation of about $2,.r00. With
reasonable economy they ought to be
able, at the end of the year, to leave
the service with from $000 to $1,000.
Wnrs come with great suddenness.
Undeveloped and unorganized military
! resources aro of very little value. Time
is required to develop them, and ponce
j alone gives the opportunity for prop-
aration.
If Aili r-rtlMTH rmi't rtunr- liark coot mullnc villi lie prohibitive.