Opposition to Certain Army Officers Casting Reflections, fly 
 Pufllic Interview and Otherwise, Upon the Efficiency 
 of the Army and Its Preparedness for War. 
 
 Discussion of the McKellar Bill Providing for the Joint 
 Establishment of Military Training Schools 
 in the Several States. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OP 
 
 OF TENNESSEE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 
 FEBRUARY 26, 1914 
 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 1914 
 
 32072 — 12872 
 
* 
 
5 S'b'.Ol 
 
 \\\°k , 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. KENNETH D. McKELLAB. 
 
 The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union 
 had under consideration the hill (H. II. 13453) making appropriations 
 for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending- June 30, 1915. 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Mr. Chairman, in the time allotted to me 
 I desire to discuss with the committee a military training 
 schools bill which I introduced some time ago and which is now 
 pending before the Committee on Military Affairs of the House. 
 
 But before going into the consideration of this military train¬ 
 ing schools bill I desire to make some observations concerning 
 the Army. From time to time during the last five or six months 
 statements have been made in the public press purporting to 
 come from high officers of the Army reflecting upon the effi¬ 
 ciency of the Army and our preparedness for war. Whether 
 the officers of our Army in these newspaper stories have been 
 accurately quoted or not I do not know; but I know that on 
 Tuesday last I received a pamphlet under the frank of the 
 Chief of Staff, which pamphlet, among other things, has the 
 following: 
 
 The present status of the Army is not satisfactory to those who arc 
 in it or those who are out of it. so far as the latter have knowledge 
 of the facts. It is very small considering the population and extent 
 and exposure of the country. It is, we hope, very efficient for its size, 
 and we believe that it would give a very excellent account of itself 
 as long as it lasted in a serious war. 
 
 If ever an army was damned with faint praise, in my judg¬ 
 ment, the American Army is damned in the above excerpt taken 
 from the printed article written by a Mr. Orton and sent out by 
 the Chief of Staff. 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. That was written by whom? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. By a Mr. Orton. 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. Who is he? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I do not know. I believe he is a professor 
 in an Ohio university. Appearing in the papers from time to 
 time have been purported statements from high Army officials 
 that the Panama Canal was in danger of being taken by the 
 British or the Germans; that Hawaii was at the mercy of the 
 Japs; that the Philippines could be overrun in 10 minutes by 
 Japan; and the latest scare was, according to'high Army offi¬ 
 cers, Japan could land a million men on our western coast, the 
 idea being they could soon overrun this country because we 
 had little Navy and no Army to protect us. In talking per¬ 
 sonally to officers of the Army I find a growing desire among 
 them to say that our Army is insufficient and that we are un¬ 
 prepared for war. In my judgment, this grows out of the pub¬ 
 lished statements from high officers, to which I have heretofore 
 referred. These high officials have in view, of course, the en¬ 
 largement of our Army. They are constantly talking about the 
 32072—12872 ‘ 3 
 

 4 
 
 great standing armies of Europe and comparing our prepared¬ 
 ness for war with the preparedness of France, Germany, and 
 England. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, we have a small Army of about 89,000 
 officers and men. We appropriate, in round numbers, $100,- 
 000,000 a year for that Army. This does not take into consid¬ 
 eration the 120,000 men in the militia of the various States. 
 England has an army of 255,000 and spends $137,000,000 for 
 her army. France has an army of 712,000 and spends $180,- 
 000,000 therefor. Germany has an army of 626,000 and spends 
 $204,000,000 therefor. Russia has an army of 1,200.000 and 
 spends $281,000,000 therefor. Japan has an army of 230,000 
 and spends $55,000,000 therefor. 
 
 It will thus be seen, by a simple calculation, that the average 
 soldier unit is paid per year by the United States $1,125; by 
 England, $500; by Germany, $300; by France, $250; by Japan, 
 $240; by Russia, $230. Thus it will be seen that the larger the 
 standing army the less pay per officer or man. Do these Army 
 officers want us to follow this foreign example? It is sure to 
 follow in the end if this kind of policy is adopted. 
 
 Now, it seems that it is the ambition of some of our Army 
 officers to create in this country a large standing Army in 
 time of peace, always ready for war at a moment’s notice. 
 This is contrary to our history, contrary to our free institu¬ 
 tions, and has always been held by our real statesmen as a 
 menace to free government. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, these doleful predictions on the part of 
 some of our Army officers about the inefficiency of our Army 
 and its unpreparedness for war always come at that season of 
 the year when appropriation bills are being considered, and I 
 believe they come from a desire upon the part of these officers 
 to scare Congress into making larger appropriations for the 
 Army. The latest scare was given the Senate, it seems, early 
 this month, when it was discovered that apparently we had no 
 field guns or ammunition in reserve. The “ Gloomy Guses ” of 
 the Army had made a touchdown, and they got the appropria¬ 
 tion for that purpose increased over $1,000,000 on the idea 
 that Japan might overrun this country at any time if we did 
 not appropriate $1,000,000 more for reserve field artillery and 
 reserve ammunition therefor. They did this notwithstanding 
 that the daily papers reported the news from Japan that she 
 was almost in a state of revolution and bankruptcy. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I believe the time has come when it is the duty 
 of Congress to pass a resolution or law prohibiting Army officers 
 from making and publishing statements reflecting upon the effi¬ 
 ciency of our Army or upon our preparedness for war. [Ap¬ 
 plause.] 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. Mr. Chairman, before the gentleman leaves 
 that particular part of his discourse, will he permit me a 
 question? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Yes. 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. It seems to me I read in the public press or 
 heard about the Halls of Congress a few days ago that an order 
 had been issued forbidding certain people from talking too 
 much about Army matters to the public. 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I do not know whether it has been or not, 
 
 but I know it was- 
 
 32072—12872 
 
% 
 
 5 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. There was such an order, I will say to tlie 
 gentleman, and it threatened to put the Infantry publication 
 out of business. But the gentleman knows that the chief sin¬ 
 ners in this respect have not been the subordinates, but the high 
 officials of the War Department themselves, and they have occu¬ 
 pied pulpits and rostrums and availed of every means of pub¬ 
 licity to do it. I ask the gentleman if he does not believe those 
 should be stopped, too? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I believe that anybody, knowing the Amer¬ 
 ican Army as I believe I know it, who casts reflections upon its 
 efficiency or upon our preparedness for war ought to be criti¬ 
 cized and dismissed from the service. [Applause.] 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. Does not the gentleman believe that it is an 
 exceedingly improper thing for the officers of the Army or Navy 
 to criticize the policies of Congress? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I do. I believe they could better give 
 their time and attention to the building up of the best Army 
 and Navy possible without undertaking to run this end of the 
 machine. 
 
 Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I do. 
 
 Mr. CAMPBELL. Does not the gentleman think it especially 
 reprehensible for any high official of the Army to send out, 
 under his frank, such a statement as was read by the gentleman 
 from Tennessee in the opening of his address? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I have just said so. 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. Reiterate it. 
 
 Mr. KAHN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Tennessee yield 
 to the gentleman from California? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Yes; in a moment. 
 
 Now, let us see what the facts are, for a moment. We have a 
 well-trained little Army of 75,000 men, officered by officers the 
 most of whom are trained at West Point, the greatest military 
 training school for officers, perhaps, in the world. They are the 
 chosen young men of the country, and, with few exceptions, I 
 believe to be the most capable and efficient officers on the face 
 of the globe to-day. The other officers are taken from the ranks 
 and from civil life, picked men, who know their business and 
 are selected because of their peculiar fitness to act as officers. 
 This Army is the best paid army in the world, as the above 
 figures show. It is the best fed army in the world. It is the 
 best clothed army in the world. It is the best housed army in 
 the world; and, for my part, I believe to-day it is the most 
 efficient and best prepared army there is on the face of the 
 earth, because it is composed of American citizens who are not 
 afraid to fight and who are the superiors of any race of men 
 i on the globe. [Applause.] 
 
 \ Added to this Army we have a splendidly trained militia i/( 
 every State of the Union. Added to this, we have agricultural 
 training-school institutions where military instructions are given 
 by Army officers of the United States to thousands of young 
 men throughout the country. Added to this, we have a great 
 volunteer force of the United States, upon which our country 
 has always depended for protection and from which she has 
 always received every protection. 
 
 32072 — 12S72 
 
6 
 
 Mr. KAHN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAB. But it is claimed by some of these officers 
 from time to time that we are unprepared for war because we 
 have not the guns and ammunition. The Army concededly 
 has all of the small arms that it needs. The militia force of 
 the country has all the small arms that it needs, and we have 
 a million rifles in reserve, in addition, that can be put into 
 service on five days’ notice and all small-arm ammunition in 
 reserve we need for these rifles. We have spent nearly $200,- 
 000,000 since Mr. Cleveland’s last administration upon arming 
 and protecting our coasts, and I believe they are in as good a 
 condition as any coast defenses on earth, armed and equipped 
 and ready for action at any time. But the cry is made that we 
 have not the field artillery. In his claim before the com¬ 
 mittee, Gen. Wood stated that it was necessary to have about 
 1,300 pieces in reserve and ammunition that is necessary to go 
 with them. Of these, they already have 750 pieces, and in a 
 pinch it is claimed w^e could manufacture 500 pieces a year. In 
 the fortifications bill this House appropriated $450,000 for field 
 artillery and $900,000 for ammunition therefor. This bill car¬ 
 ries $750,000 more for field artillery for the militia and 
 $1,000,000 for ammunition therefor. And yet it is claimed we 
 are not prepared for war because w T e have not the field artillery 
 and ammunition, and the Senate answered this claim by increas¬ 
 ing the amount in the fortifications bill $1,150,000. 
 
 Now I yield to the gentleman from California. 
 
 Mr. KAHN. The gentleman has been criticizing the officers 
 of the Army- 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Some of the officers of the Army. 
 
 Mr. KAHN. Some of them, I should say. 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. I have been very highly complimenting 
 the general officers of the Army, and I believe they are entitled 
 to it. 
 
 Mr. KAHN. But does not the gentleman know that those 
 criticisms could be absolutely stopped by a simple order? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. That is exactly what I think. I think we 
 will get them stopped. 
 
 Mr. SLOAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Yes. 
 
 Mr. SLOAN. Should not that order come from the head of 
 the Army rather than from this House? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. No; I think when certain Army officers 
 undertake to get appropriations in the House it is a live matter 
 right then and there, and the House ought to act in the matter. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, I have no desire to injure anyone on 
 earth. I have no interest in this matter except the interest I 
 feel I ought to have as a member of the Military Affairs Com¬ 
 mittee of this House. I do not believe that these officers ought 
 to be permitted to give out these idle vaporings about the in¬ 
 efficiency of our Army or about our unpreparedness for war. 
 They are misleading and incorrect, and may at any time involve 
 us in trouble, and I want to suggest in all candor that I hope 
 that these officers will not permit themselves to give out more 
 such gloomy statements, such misleading and improper state¬ 
 ments. But if they should, then I believe it is the duty of Con¬ 
 gress to rise to the occasion and enact a law dismissing from 
 the Army any officer who so far forgets himself, his Army, or 
 32072—12872 
 
7 
 
 liis country, as publicly to speak or write either about the in¬ 
 efficiency of our Army or about our unpreparedness for war, 
 whatever his purpose may be for making the statement. 
 
 Mr. SLAYDEN. Is it necessary to invoke a weapon so power¬ 
 ful as that to stop indiscretions of speech on the part of the 
 officers of our Army and Navy? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. As I stated a moment ago, I hope nothing 
 more than a suggestion is necessary. 
 
 Mr. SLOAN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is an authority 
 on these military matters. Has not the President, the head of 
 the Army, the authority to stop these things at any time? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. That is probably true. 
 
 Mr. SLOAN. Under his oath of office. 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. It may never have been called to his atten¬ 
 tion. I do not know now that it has. I do not believe it has 
 ever been called to his attention. I desire to call the attention, 
 not only of this House, but the attention of the American 
 people, and of all those in authority, to what some of these 
 officers are doing. 
 
 Mr. MOORE. Will the gentleman yield? 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. In just one minute. 
 
 I would not belong to an army organization that I did not 
 have more confidence in and no better opinion of than some of 
 these officers seem to have in the American Army. In everyday 
 life the lawyer who is always overawed by the splendid case 
 presented by his opponent and doubtful of his own, is a certain 
 loser. The business man who can always succeed if he just 
 had the means and resources of his competitor in business, 
 never succeeds. And so, there never was a commander who 
 won a battle, who was always thinking and talking of the in¬ 
 feriority of his own forces and the superiority of the enemy’s 
 forces. Mr. Chairman, if our Army officers feel compelled to 
 go into print they should rather follow the example of that 
 sturdy old soldier, Gen. Miles, who in a recent interview 
 gave stirring expressions of his patriotism and confidence in 
 American arms; or like that splendid specimen of the American 
 soldier, now about completing the greatest engineering project 
 of the world, Col. Goethals, who, when asked by a newspaper 
 correspondent the other day if we were able to protect the canal 
 said: “There never was a doubt about it.” 
 
 / Mr. Chairman, our standing Army is large enough in times of 
 / peace—and I do not believe that the American people would 
 I agree that it should be made any larger—and in times of war 
 I we need have no fears but that it will be large enough, strong 
 enough, and brave enough to come out victorious in any con¬ 
 test in which our people may ever be thrown. 
 
 Sixty-five per cent of the entire revenues of this great Gov¬ 
 ernment are now applied to war—past, present, or future. We 
 contribute yearly $100,000,000 to the Army, $140,000,000 to the 
 Navy, and $200,000,000 to pensions, a total in these three large items 
 of $440,000,000 per year. For the three most important peace¬ 
 ful pursuits in life we appropriate, for education $2,400,000 per 
 year; for agriculture, about $20,000,000 per year; and for com¬ 
 merce, about $5,225,000 per year; about one-thirteenth, in all. as 
 much as we pay out for the three principal items of war alone 
 
 And yet. Mr. Chairman, these Army officers above referred t 
 are continuously striving to increase our standing Army to 
 
 'V 
 
8 
 
 half million of men and our annual appropriation for the Army 
 on the road to $500,000,600 in an endeavor to follow and pattern 
 after the tax-burdened and oppressed monarchies of Europe 
 and the East. 
 
 I sincerely hope, Mr. Chairman, that these offending Army 
 officers will read these suggestions and hereafter strive to get 
 the best results from what we have rather than in the vain 
 endeavor to follow plans which are contrary to our free insti¬ 
 tutions an,d contrary to the wishes of the American people. 
 
 I appeal to them in all kindness, instead of these persistent 
 efforts to imitate European and eastern monarchies in building 
 up a large standing Army to the detriment of the whole people 
 and to the jeopardy of the Republic, that they will heartily 
 and enthusiastically join the Secretary of War and the military 
 committees of the House and Senate in building up the most per¬ 
 fect Army organization of the world within the limit of num¬ 
 bers and within the limit of cost, which in times of peace should 
 never be over $100,000,000. 
 
 They could give us a most perfect fighting machine, amply 
 sufficient for the protection of our every interest, if they would 
 devote more time to the internal workings and to the skillful 
 and economic management of the Army now provided for rather 
 than to concocting ambitious and dangerous schemes for the 
 enlargement of our standing Army in times of peace, contrary 
 to the settled policy and wishes of the American people. [Ap¬ 
 plause.] 
 
 THE MILITARY TRAINING SCHOOLS. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, how much time have I occupied? 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman has occupied 21 minutes. 
 
 Mr. McKELLAR. Now, Mr. Chairman, I desire to discuss 
 the military training schools bill which I have introduced. 
 
 This bill provides that a military training school shall be 
 established under the joint auspices of the State and of the 
 United States in every State of the Union, in the District of 
 Columbia, and in Alaska. It is proposed that the States shall 
 by their legislatures designate an already existing institution, 
 or a new institution to be founded for that purpose, to cooperate 
 with a commission of the United States composed of the Secre¬ 
 tary of War, the Commissioner of Education, and a civilian to 
 be appointed by the President; and at this institution there 
 shall be educated each year 300 boys between the ages of IT 
 and 20. These boys are to be selected by the county superin¬ 
 tendent in each county of the States by examinations, com¬ 
 petitive or otherwise. They are to be selected from the boys 
 whose parents certify they are unable to give such boys a col¬ 
 legiate education. 
 
 The State is to furnish the dormitories, grounds, drill grounds, 
 and teachers in the academic departments. The United States 
 is to furnish the military equipment and military instructions. 
 The entire cost of each boy per year is limited to $400. The 
 State is required to agree to expend $40,000 and the Government 
 to expend $80,000, making $120,000, which, divided among 300 
 boys, will pay the cost of their education and training. This 
 sum is to be spent by the boy or for the boy as the trustees of 
 each institution may determine. The course is to be fashioned 
 as closely as possible after the course of instruction at West 
 Point, except it is to be less rigorous. It is to consist of a three- 
 32072—12872 
 
9 
 
 year course, and 100 boys are to be graduated each year from 
 each institution, 5,000 being graduated every year from all of 
 the States of the Union. , 
 
 Mr. MAPES. Will the gentleman yield? . 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Certainly. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. How does the gentleman arrive at his figures 
 of 5,000 graduates a year? 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Three hundred boys in each school, and 
 there are 50 States and Territories in the Union. By a simple 
 calculation that is 15,000 boys, and one-third of them will be 
 graduated every year. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. The gentleman means to have 300 in each 
 State? 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Three hundred in each State and Terri¬ 
 tory. There are 50 States and Territories, and by a simple 
 mathematical calculation the gentleman can see how it will work 
 out. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. What I rose to ask particularly about was, did 
 you propose to have these carried on at some existing State in¬ 
 stitution ? 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Let the States settle that for themselves. 
 That would happen perhaps in nine-tenths of the States. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. How many superintendents would you have? 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. The bill provides that it shall be under the 
 supervision of a board consisting of the Secretary of War, the 
 Commanding General of the Army, and a civilian to be ap¬ 
 pointed by the President. 
 
 Now, somebody in criticizing the bill—I think it was sent out 
 by the Chief of Staff—said that it would cost too much. The 
 idea of talking about a bill for the education and training of 
 worthy and ambitious boys that costs a little over $3,000,000, 
 when we are paying out nearly five hundred millions for war 
 and only twenty-four hundred thousand for education, saying 
 that this costs too much. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. The gentleman proposes to pay the entire cost 
 of the education of the 300 boys. 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Take the boy within the limit of $400, 
 absolutely take charge of him and educate him. 
 
 Mr. MAPES. Give him a collegiate education, as well as a 
 military education? 
 
 Mr. McIvELLAR. Yes. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, this is not a gratuity. The State and 
 National Government educates these boys, but they are required 
 to pay for it in service. These boys, under the bill, will be 
 graduated between the ages of 20 and 23, and they are required 
 to agree that they will serve the United States as officers, non¬ 
 commissioned officers, or privates at any time within seven years 
 after their graduation. 
 
 It will thus be seen, Mr. Chairman, the object of this bill is 
 twofold. One is military and the other is educational. 
 
 I want to discuss the military feature of it first. Everyone 
 admits that the Military Academy at West Point is a great 
 institution and an indispensible institution. At the time it was 
 established the whole country did not have but 5,000,000 popula¬ 
 tion. Now we have about 100,000,000. It is apparent that we 
 should have more Federal military training schools. At the 
 Military Academy at West Point the average cost per student 
 32072—12872 
 
to graduate is about $20,000. Under my plan tlie cost to the 
 United States for practically as good an education will be $1,200 
 per student. We pay this $20,000 per student at West Point 
 without a word, but the Chief of Staff in the pamphlet sent out 
 on Tuesday points out that my bill is an expensive experiment 
 and that the money ought to be expended to pay for a postal 
 card reserve, which I will refer to hereafter. 
 
 In the next place this bill will infuse a military spirit through¬ 
 out the country, as boys are to be selected from every county in 
 the .United States, one or more boys from each county. 
 
 In the next place, there will be established under the terms 
 of this bill a splendid body of picked and trained and educated 
 and ambitious young men from all parts of the country, and in 
 seven years the reserve will amount to 35,000 of these young 
 men and will continue at this figure. I want to say, Mr. Chair¬ 
 man, right here that with all due respect to the officers of the 
 Army, who are contending for a reserve army, I believe these 
 35,000 young- men would be of more value in the time of a real 
 war than half a million postal-card pension-pay reserves under 
 the plan suggested by the Chief of Staff. 
 
 STATE MILITIA PLAN. 
 
 In the last few years, as we all know, there has been a 
 tremendous effort made by certain Army officers to increase the 
 Standing Army and to organize a reserve force. It was first 
 thought that this could be done by means of a plan which 
 developed into what was known as the “militia pay bill.” By 
 the terms of this bill, generally speaking, the militia in all of 
 the States were to be made a part of the United States Army 
 and they were to be regularly paid by the United States Gov¬ 
 ernment, the first appropriation therefor being estimated at 
 about twenty-five or thirty million dollars. A snag was struck 
 in the outset of this plan by a provision in our Constitution 
 limiting the duties of the militia as follows: 
 
 To execute the laws of the Union, to suppress insurrection, and repel 
 invasion. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the militia could not be sent out of 
 the country, and this was the defect in this plan. 
 
 In the next place, under the Constitution the militia must 
 be officered by State authorities. This in times of war always 
 causes trouble and dissension and makes it impossible to have 
 that cohesive cooperation that is so necessary in the manage¬ 
 ment of the Army. For this reason also the use of the militia 
 was a doubtful matter. It was again urged by the opponents 
 of the bill that if it should pass the nominal militia would be 
 increased in the various States in a very short time to more 
 than a million men, and would result in costing the Govern¬ 
 ment several times as much as our whole Army now costs us. 
 Thus it seems that that plan has been abandoned. 
 
 ARMY OFFICERS* PLAN. 
 
 In a magazine article Capt. William Mitchell, of the General 
 Staff, United States Army, who, no doubt, outlined the plan of 
 the officers of the Army in essence, set out a bill which he pro¬ 
 posed. It seems no member of the Senate or House has yet 
 been brave enough to introduce it. 
 
 This bill provides, in brief, to continue the present Army as 
 it is at a cost of $100,000,000 per year; second, to organize 
 32072—12S72 
 
11 
 
 what is called a continental army, providing for 240,000 men 
 at an estimated cost of about $26,000,000, and a Regular Army 
 reserve—cost not limited—which would bring up the total 
 force of our Army to 510,000 men. This bill is declared by 
 Capt. Mitchell to be better than the militia pay bill, and per¬ 
 haps it is if we were a warlike Nation, intent upon entering 
 upon a mission of conquest. While this system, as outlined by 
 Capt. Mitchell, is a very attractive one, looked at from a war 
 standpoint, and is certainly a very carefully thought out one; 
 still it is safe to say hardly a Member of Congress could be 
 found willing to vote for this legislation. It is predicted that 
 such a system would cost the Government $500,000,000 per 
 year in less than 10 years, and this alone would be and should 
 be a sufficient cause for a rejection of the plan. In addition to 
 that, there is no need for such a military system. Further, it 
 would not make for peace, so much desired by every fair-minded 
 man in our Nation, but it would almost be an open invitation 
 to war. In the next place, no State-rights man would ever 
 agree to it on the ground that it would be too large a central¬ 
 ization of power. 
 
 THE VOLUNTEER ARMY. 
 
 The Constitution provides for the calling out of volunteers in 
 the event of war—our great bulwark of defense. The young 
 and active and vigorous men who go into the Army upon a call 
 for volunteers are, as a general rule, the flower of our young 
 manhood. They are inspired by patriotism; they are impelled 
 by ambition, they are steadied by a desire to win. They be¬ 
 lieve, first, that their country is right in its undertaking, and 
 the result is after a short service, as history has taught us, 
 they make the finest example of the soldier in the world. This 
 was true when men fought hand to hand with swords and with 
 bayonets and on horseback. Warfare under these conditions 
 made the man of the highest intelligence and the highest aim ; s 
 and purposes the best soldier. If it were true under these anti¬ 
 quated conditions of warfare, how much more true is it now 
 under the present conditions of warfare? There can now be no 
 lines of march, no column of attack, no cavalry charges, no 
 bayonet charges, no use of swords, and little of pistols. All 
 these things w’ould be a hindrance in modern warfare. 
 
 More than ever would the result of a battle now depend upon 
 individual sagacity, individual action, and individual efficiency. 
 Training is necessary, even more necessary than it ever was; 
 but it is a different kind of training. It does not mean the 
 mere number of men, but it means the skill and ability of the 
 individual man. In the event of a great war, more than ever 
 we would be dependent upon the volunteer force of our country. 
 
 It has been seen from what I have quoted from the Constitu¬ 
 tion that our forefathers on the subject of an army committed 
 themselves to three propositions—first, opposition to a stand¬ 
 ing army; second, to a militia system, which could only be used 
 to “ execute laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel 
 invasions”; third, reliance upon the volunteer forces of the 
 country for an army in case of war. 
 
 So that it looks as if we are going to continue to rely upon the 
 volunteer system wiienever w T e are in real trouble. 
 
 President Wilson recently stated in a speech at Mobile that 
 this Government will not again wage a war of conquest, and I 
 32072—12872 
 
12 
 
 believe that he expressed the overwhelming sentiment of the 
 American people when he made that statement. Unless we are 
 going to embark upon a mission of conquest we certainly do not 
 need a large standing army, nor do we need a reserve army. 
 At the same time, no one ever knows when we may have to en¬ 
 gage in war. We ought to be prepared. Our youth ought to be 
 trained in military institutions, or certainly enough of them 
 should be trained to disseminate a military spirit throughout 
 the country, so that in the time of an emergency we would have 
 not only the trained men, but we would have the best class of 
 our young men imbued with this military spirit. This has been 
 the idea of our great men all the way down the line from the 
 infancy of our Republic to the present day. The first year of 
 our Republic Mr. Knox, the then Secretary of War, said: 
 
 All discussions on tlie subject of a powerful militia will result in one 
 or the other of the following principles : First, either efficient institu¬ 
 tions must he established for the military education of the youth, and 
 that the knowledge acquired therein shall he diffused throughout the 
 community by means of rotation ; or, secondly, that the militia must he 
 formed of substitutes, after the manner of the militia of Great Britain. 
 
 President Washington, in 1796, said, in a message to Congress: 
 
 However pacific the general policy of a nation may he, it ought never 
 to he without an adequate stock of military knowledge for emergencies. 
 
 Not long after this, in 1802, Congress established the National 
 Military Academy at West Point, N. Y. It will be remembered 
 at that time that the whole United States was not more than 
 half as populous as the State of New York. That school is 
 probably now the most famous military institution in the world. 
 That it was wise to establish it is beyond the question of doubt. 
 It is a little larger in number than it was in the beginning, but 
 not greatly so. It was virtually the same institution a hundred 
 years ago, when our population was not much more than one- 
 twentieth of what it is now. 
 
 We need other institutions of like kind. This institution has 
 been a success. Other institutions of this kind will be successes, 
 and in my judgment they are absolutely necessary. 
 
 In 1817, just after the war with Great Britain, a committee 
 of this House declared : 
 
 There can scarcely he a restraint more vexatious and disgusting, to a 
 grown man than the initiatory lessons of the military art, and that to 
 establish a second militai’y system we must begin with the youth of 
 the country ; that we ought therefore to devise a system of military 
 instruction, which shall he engrafted on and form a part of the or¬ 
 dinary education of our youth, extended without exception to every 
 individual of proper age. not in distant schools established for the pur¬ 
 pose, hut that it should form a branch of education in every school 
 within the United States. 
 
 When the Civil War arose, as everyone understood, the great 
 trouble was a want of officers not of men. After this war, 
 likewise, in 1865, a resolution was adopted in the House in¬ 
 structing the Military Affairs Committee “ to inquire into the 
 expediency of establishing a national military school in some of 
 the States of the great Northwest.” 
 
 About the same time other bills were introduced to provide 
 for military education. In 1862 a bill was actually passed which 
 provided for the detail of an officer of the Army to act as presi¬ 
 dent, superintendent, or officer of certain colleges or universities 
 having not less than 150 male students. This bill was passed 
 in 1862. Later on. in 1870, a bill was passed which provided 
 that a Secretary of War might issue small arms and pieces of 
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13 
 
 field artillery for the instruction of students provided for in the 
 foregoing act. 
 
 These acts unquestionably have been of real service, but there 
 is no cohesiveness about them, and there is no way of a forced 
 utilization of the boys trained in such institutions in the event 
 of an emergency. 
 
 MY PLAN. 
 
 My idea of the situation is this, that we do not need a large 
 standing Army in our country. We do need, however, at all 
 times to have a large body of our young men well trained and 
 educated. The time ought never arise, in the event of a war, 
 when we should lack for properly trained officers, as well as 
 men, as it did in 1861. It is difficult to train a man later on in 
 life; he ought to be trained while a boy. Our officers should 
 be made from the best material that we have. They should 
 be well educated. They should be educated, not with a view 
 of entering military life as a vocation, but only with a view 
 of entering military life in the event of a necessity. If another 
 great war is ever fought out between great nations, intelligence 
 of officers and individual soldiers is going to play as an impor¬ 
 tant a part as physical bravery and training. The two should go 
 hand in hand. Educate and train 5,000 boys a year, graduating 
 100 in each State in the Union, and in a few years such would 
 be the military spirit created in all parts of the country that a 
 call for volunteers in time of trouble would easily bring forth 
 a million of men. 
 
 The plan that I have put into a bill which I have introduced 
 in the House performs three great services: 
 
 First, it educates 5,000 boys a year, who would otherwise not 
 receive a college education. Second, within seven years there 
 would be created a reserve of 35,000 of the best-trained men 
 in this country or any other country, who would be lawfully 
 required to respond, and who would respond instantly, to 
 a call to arms by their country. Third, it would infuse a 
 military spirit in young men throughout the country—not one 
 that would be harmful, like the spirit that would rise from the 
 establishment of a large standing army, but one that would be 
 helpful, in that our people would know what our country could 
 rely upon in the event of trouble.. 
 
 A REAL RESERVE. 
 
 Within seven years under this bill there would be a re¬ 
 serve created of 35,000 young men between the ages of 20 
 and 30 years, who would be under a contract with the Govern¬ 
 ment for a most valuable consideration to serve in the Army 
 whenever called upon and in whatever capacity called upon. 
 With all due respect to Capt. Mitchell’s plan of a continental 
 army, as shown in his magazine article of recent date, 1 part 
 military and 99 parts civilian, and what we take to be his 
 postal-card reserve of 170,000 more, making in all a total 
 reserve of 410,000 men, I believe if our country had to fight a 
 real enemy the 35,000 young graduates of the several military 
 training schools provided for in my bill, none younger than 20 
 and none older than 30, would be immensely more effective than 
 the nondescript pension-pay-postal posting throng of 410,000. 
 In the event of real trouble, the pension-pay crowd would be of 
 doubtful value, while the postal-posting crowd could never be 
 32072—12872 
 
14 
 
 found. On tlie other hand, the kind of young men that will be 
 educated in these military training schools would be those wjio 
 would be eager for the fray. They would be at the right age 
 to he effective fighters. They would have the education, skill, 
 and scientific training to make effective fighters. They would 
 have education and knowledge to make them take care of them¬ 
 selves, physically and otherwise. They would have the courage 
 to do-things. They would have the ambition to excel, because 
 each one, knowing his own power and his own ability, would 
 regard a war as an opportunity to advance himself in the race 
 for life. It would not be a question of pay for them, but a 
 question of patriotism and of gratitude for the opportunity that 
 the Government had given to them. 
 
 The difference between the two reserve forces might be illus¬ 
 trated by the well-known story of two boys who applied to an 
 employer for work. The employer asked the first boy what pay 
 he wanted, and thinking the employer had not offered enough 
 he went on his way and remained without work. When the 
 same question was asked the second boy, he said that all he 
 wanted was work and the opportunity to show the employer 
 what he was worth and the employer could fix the pay. In a 
 few years the second boy became the head of the establishment; 
 the first boy became a marcher in Coxey’s army. 
 
 THE EDUCATIONAL FEATURE. 
 
 In no event, however, could this bill, if enacted into law, be a 
 mistake. Assuming that it has no merit at all as furnishing a 
 reserve for our Army, assuming that it would not be an aid to 
 our volunteer military system, yet it would still educate 5 r 000 
 boys a year—5,000 manly, vigorous, active, intelligent, worthy 
 boys, that could not otherwise get a collegiate education. This 
 proposition alone should cause every Member of this House to 
 vote for this measure, for as a measure to promote higher educa¬ 
 tion of boys in this country it could not be excelled. 
 
 No State rights principle is involved in this bill. No sectional 
 principle is involved in this bill. It gives every State, every 
 section, and every poor boy in our country a chance. It will 
 prove a great boon to the poor country boys who live on farms 
 and who are ambitious to make something of themselves, but 
 who now have no proper opportunity. While free to the boy 
 who secures it, it is not a charity, and a boy can accept its 
 benefits Without a loss of self-respect, because he is required, if 
 called upon, to give his services in return for his education. 
 
 The National Government now contributes little to education. 
 It can do more and should do more. It should pay its money 
 where it will do the most good, where it will bring the greatest 
 returns. Could it be imagined how greater good could be ac¬ 
 complished by educating and training well, physically and men¬ 
 tally, 5,000 ambitious boys each year, picked out according to 
 merit from every county, from every State in the Union. In 
 such military training schools there would be taught self- 
 reliance, initiative, pluck, vigorous action in all undertakings, 
 endurance, true regard for discipline and order, regard for duty, 
 patriotism and courtesy, and these things, together with their 
 physical and academic training, would fit them to be leaders in 
 every walk of life, civil and military. 
 
 32072—12872 
 
15 
 
 I have looked over the biographies of a great many of the 
 Members of this House, and from an account given in these 
 biographies there are but few men here who would not have in 
 early life regarded such an education and training as the 
 greatest boon that could have fallen to them. It would have 
 meant much to the most of us. A great many of us would 
 have regarded such an opportunity as priceless. Why, then, 
 should we not arrange this for those who will succeed us here 
 and for those who will be situated as we were in early life or 
 for those who go into other walks of life so that they will be 
 better prepared, better equipped than we were. These institu¬ 
 tions are not for the rich. The rich are excluded from their 
 benefits unless they pay for them. They are for the poor boys, 
 for the boys possessing merit, and energy, and ambition, and 
 pluck, and'bravery. While the city boys are not excluded under 
 the plan, the country boys will be the largest beneficiaries under 
 this act. 
 
 COUNTRY BOYS. 
 
 We owe the country boys of our land something along this 
 line and should give it to them. Many of them may, the most 
 of them do not, now have a fair chance to equip themselves for 
 the race of life. It is true we now find these country boys in 
 the front ranks in all professions and in all the avenues of 
 business and trade and commerce. They get there by reason 
 of their pluck and ambition. Let us aid them on their upward 
 journey by educating them better and by training them better. 
 Let us join hands with them and say to them that the greatest 
 Government on earth feels kindly toward them; that it wants 
 to encourage them in their ambitions; that it wants to make 
 more capable citizens of them; wants to help them upward and 
 onward; wants to aid in equipping them so that the best in 
 them may be developed; wants to make them the highest and 
 best type of the American citizen, namely, a type that is edu¬ 
 cated and refined, trained in mind and body, fitted for the 
 peaceful pursuits of life in times of peace, and equally fitted 
 and ready to defend or avenge their country in times of war. 
 
 32072—12872 
 
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