OCR Text |
Show - -raKES STEPS TO " PLACE I H E N AT 1 0 N ON A WAR FOOTING. i r,iied Back Into Fed-National Fed-National Guard Called B -ral Service and Navy 6 Iruited Without Delay to War Strength. President Wilson or coffhe directed thai the navy be recruited without de ay to full authorized war strength of 87,-000 87,-000 enlisted men. Taken in connectton Emergency naval construcUon ready ordered, this means that tt president has exerc.sed the full lim of his full legal powers as commander in-chief to prepare the navy for jar For the army the president dnecte that two new military department 9 be created in the Atlantic : coast refe.on The order means that the task of or ganizing whatever army congress may authorize will be divided among su departmental commanders instead oi four, in the interests of speed and efficiency ef-ficiency in mobilization. The third step was to assume as a national duty the task of protecting American industries from domestic disorders in the event or nostilities. For this purpose, eleven full infantry regiments, two separate battalions and one separate company of the na tional guard were called back into the federal service to act as national police in important districts. Supplementing these troops, a regiment of Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania guard and two companies oi Georgia infantry, en route home from the border for muster out, were ordered or-dered retained in the federal service The president's orders were made known in terse official statements issued is-sued by both departments. No explanation expla-nation accompanied them except the statement that reorganization of the military departments, effective May 1. was designed to facilitate decentralization decentrali-zation of command. |