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Show IFICIENCy IN WASftlNGTON, Sept 27. Thoro Is little doubt now tli.it a lnrgo deficiency of men will be shown when the first increment of the national army, 687,000 men, has been mobilized. Seventeen national guard divisions must be brought up to "war strength and several special service forces organized or-ganized out of this reservoir, so the number of drafted men remaining at the cantonments hardly will be sufficient suffi-cient to organize the sixteen national army divisions at a full strength basis. ba-sis. Whether incomplete divisions will bo formed or a call for more men Issued Is-sued has not been Indicated. Secretary Baker said that definite figures as to the number of national army men it would be necessary to transfer to the national guard were not available. A dual process of organization or-ganization at the guard encampments serves to delay complete reports. Not only are these divisions being mobilized for the flrst time, but in the midst of that mobilization the whole fabric of the infantry army is being reorganized on the new trench warfare plan. The fighting strength of the new division is now fixed at 27,500 men. The seventeen guard divisions on that basis will have a total strength of 437,500 men. f The guard probably brought Into the federal service a total of not more than 300,000 men, possibly less. It will take, therefore, at least 137,000 national army men 'to fill up the guard divisions. Another 100,000 of the national na-tional army will go to the air service and certainly as many more to other special services. That would leave not more than 250,000 men to form the sixteen national army divisions which should have an aggregate war strength Of -133,000. Secretary Baker pointed out some of the difficulties that attend the reorganization re-organization of the national guard for war purposes. While the sixteenth division di-vision plan for the guard, since extended ex-tended to seventeen with the organization organ-ization of the forty-second or "Rainbow "Rain-bow division, is an old one, the whole fabric of the divisions has been changed chang-ed With the adoption of the European Euro-pean regimental and company standard, stand-ard, every guard regiment, which was to be included' in a division had to be expanded. Regiments and parts of regiments reg-iments are being consolidated to furnish fur-nish the 3600 men regimental units now desired. In making these consolidations, the department is attempting to keep the forces as much localized as possible. The same practice will be followed in assigning men from the national army to national guard units. Wherever practical national army men will go to regiments from their own states. There are many cases, however, where the practice will have to be abandoned to meet military necessities. The guard consolidation has brought upon the department a new source of trouble. Numerous colonels and regimental regi-mental staffs of the guard are certain to be left without commands, since the number of regiments has been reduced. The policy of tho department, it is said, will be to find places for such guard officers in other forces as far as possible, and desirable. oo |