'The French Army Commission has, it is said, decided upon
two' points, that all Frenchmen at 20 shall be liable to military duty, and that the term of active service shall be four years, to be followed by five years in the first reserve. This decision if acted on would give France a standing army of about 800,000 men, with reserves of a million more, but it is not likely that it will be adopted. France does not want so many men, and it is much more likely that the ballot leaving every man one chance in two will be retained. This would give an army of 400,000 men, with 500,000' reserves available at about a mouth's notice. Reserves can not be quite as quickly called out in France as in Germany, as the statesmen are afraid of localizing recruiting. They cannot, they say, have a Red corps from Lyons, and a White corps • from Britanny, and a White-cross corps from the Italian departments.
Previous page
