GEORGE M. LAMONTE, Treasurer;

CHRISTINA MERRIMAN, Secretary

Telephone, VANDERBILT 5740

Subscription Rates on Request.

THE

HE question of existing armaments in

the twenty-one countries invited to the

approaching meeting of the Preparatory
Commission on Disarmament will play a
vital part in the discussions about to take
place at Geneva. Regardless of the im-
portant political, geographical and economic
considerations which are closely linked to
the larger problem of disarmament, the
actual strength of present-day military es-
tablishments remains a central factor in any
attempt to solve the problem.

How large are the armies and navies of
the countries about to meet at Geneva?
What is the comparative strength of the
standing armies of these countries, of their
reserves, and of their air forces? What are
the prevailing military systems as regards
conscription and terms of service? It is
these questions which this report attempts
to answer. It is obviously impossible in a
report of this scope, however, to tabulate
the results so as to list the countries accord-
ing to their military strength. The various
systems are too complex to afford a basis
for accurate comparison, and over-simpli-

fied tables are almost invariably misleading.

This report, therefore, presents without

comment the most recent statistical infor-

mation available in regard to the land and

naval armaments of the countries invited to

participate in the work of the Preparatory

Commission. These countries are Argen-

tine, Belgium, Brazil, the British Empire,

Bulgaria, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Finland,

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Nether-

lands, Poland, Rumania, the Serb-Croat-Slo-

vene State, Spain, Sweden, the Union of

Socialist Soviet Republics, the United States

of America, Uruguay.

As regards naval strength, the lists of

units comprising the different navies in
1925 are given. Wherever possible, the air
service is dealt with separately, showing
both material and personnel.

As for land armament, the strength of
the active army on a peace footing is given
for each country. For countries having
colonial possessions, the colonial troops are
shown separately as far as possible. The
same is true in the case of countries employ-
ing native soldiers of subject races. For a

number of countries, the strength of reserves and of various auxiliary services is also given.

In order to give an approximate basis of comparison, the area and population of the various countries, and of their colonies if they have any, are given. Obviously, a farflung empire like the British Empire is in a very different position from a compact country like Brazil.

In each case, also, the military system is briefly described. In general, these systems may be divided into two kinds, the system of voluntary enlistment and the system of compulsory service (conscription). There are wide variations of the latter system, however, since the period of active service varies from a few weeks spread over a number of years, to several years of consecutive service.

The report further shows the varying proportion between the size and population on the one hand, and the active peace strength on the other. There are many other

aspects of the armaments of the countries concerned, however, which cannot be shown in a report of this kind. There is, for example, the geographical situation of a country, the nature of its frontiers, its relations with its neighbors. Again, there are the industrial equipment and economic resources of each country, which might be turned to military uses in case of war. These resources, regarded generally as potential armament, are regarded in France as actual armament, to be included in any calculation of military status.

Finally, the report does not include any figures on military expenditure, because such figures are impossible of comparison at present, due to the fluctuation of the exchanges, the difference of price levels in the various countries, and the different methods of budgeting.

Except where otherwise indicated in the foot-notes, the material for this report was taken from the Armaments Year-Book, 1925-1926, published by the League of Nations.

Argentine has compulsory military service for all citizens. For reasons of economy, not more than about 35 per cent of the annual contingent is ever called up.

The army comprises the Regular Army, the National Guard and the Territorial Guard. The Regular Army consists of the Standing Army and the Reserve.

The duration of compulsory military service is twenty-five years; that is, every male citizen between twenty and forty-five is liable to military service. The class of recruits aged twenty serves one year in the Regular Army.

The Standing Army includes a minimum of 5,000 volunteers; their engagement is from one to five years, renewable until the volunteer has served twenty-five years or reached the age of fifty.

Upon termination of their service in the Standing Army, conscripts and volunteers are tranferred to the Reserve. Reservists are called up for two periods, of not more than one month each.

The rank and file of the National Guard is made up of citizens belonging to the ten classes from thirty to forty years of age.