The text of the Bill for the Reorganization of the
French Army has been published. It does not differ greatly from the analysis already before the public. It catches as in a net all young men in France physically fit for service, those who escape the ballot for the Army and Reserve falling into the Mobile National Guard, which, moreover, will include all who have passed four years in the Reserve. None of the officers in this Guard are elective, com- missioned or non-commissioned, and they are all permanently subjected to military law. The men, however, are not so sub- jected, except during an annual fortnight's drill. The period of service is five years, and the Guard may be called out to maintain internal order. It cannot, however, be ordered on service without a special law passed by the Legislative Body. Within ten years from the day of the passing of this Act every ablebodied man in France under thirty will be a drilled soldier who knows when the order arrives exactly where his post is, who must reach it under penalties, and when he has reached it is simply a soldier. More- over, in twenty years every ablebodied man in France will be a trained soldier.
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