AMERICAN ARMY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18900, 15 January 1927, Page 15

AMERICAN ARMY.

MANY DESERTIONS. RESULT OF' ECONOMIES, IBV CABLE-PHESS ASSOCIATION-COPYBIOHT.) (AUSTRALIAN ASD N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION.) WASHINGTON, January 13. The Military Affairs Committee imported the War Department Appropriation Bill to the House, recommending an expenditure of 357,925,518 dollars, an increase of 10,727,016 dollars over 1926. The Bill was accompanied by a statement from the committee that the United States must either appropriate more money henceforth or further reduce the size of tho Army: Hearings had revealed that practically every Army witness declared that economics were impairing the efficiency of the service. Major-Gencral Summerall, Chief ot Staff, stated that thero were many desertions as the direct result of unsatisfactory conditions. The Estimates provide for 11,961 commissioned officers, 1219 warrant officers, 115,000 enlisted men, and 6455 Philippine scouts. The sum of 20,396,300 dollars is provided for the Air Corps, and of this 3,353,550 dollars is for new aeroplanes. General, Patrick, Chief of the Air Force, declared that the United States would rank second in world air power when the five-year aviation programme had heen completed. He said that she now stood not lower than third.