Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson

I return Dr. Eliot's letter. I yesterday arranged with the House Committee on Military Affairs to have him appear before them on either the 19th or 20th, when I understand he is to be in Washington for that purpose. He will doubtless present the arguments in favor of the Swiss system as he has given very earnest and effective thought to it.
In the matter of the suggestion of your note that the proposed Bill will practically leave the Country without any military forces at the end of the war, I beg leave to say that of course I have been aware of this difficulty for some time. For that reason, the pending legislation does not disband all these forces at the end of the war but at the end of the emergency. Its purpose being to allow the President to disband the forces gradually, even though peace be declared, saving at all times in the service of the Government an adequate force for any holdover duty there may be. In the meantime it leaves for subsequent legislation the whole question of our future military organization and that I think is essential in the present situation if we want to avoid the heated feelings which the controversy over universal compulsory training and service engenders. I have told the Committees of the Congress very frankly what the effect of this Bill would be and have explained to them that I thought there would be little difficulty in recruiting a national army out of the veterans of these trained forces, either by enlistment or by such partial discharge as might be determined to be wise later on. I think it would be well to have in mind a policy which we could ask Congress to adopt looking to a permanent peace-time military establishment; but I think it would be unwise to open that subject up until after these temporary forces have been authorized and a little better atmosphere has been created for the consideration of the problem.