Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 May 1917 — First Force in France Will Be Based On the Regulars. [ARTICLE]

First Force in France Will Be Based On the Regulars.

Washington, May 13. —Moved .by the pleas of Marshal J off re and other members of the French and British war missions, President Wilson has decided to send American troops to the European line as soon as it is possible. ——— The war department has been instructed to rush all plans and army officers predicted today that American troops will be on French soil before the end of July. The president is giving his attention to the selection of a general to command the first contingent. The present plan is to send from two to four divisions of troops, numbering from 56,000 to 112,000 men. It is probable that about one-third will be seasoned regular army men and the remainder national guardsmen and volunteers. Regulars are to be included in the expeditionary force to furnish a stable nucleus of trained men. In expanding the regular army the_ war department is already separating regiments into three battalions, each of which is to form the nucleus of a new regiment. The guardsmen selected for the expeditionary force will be the pick of those who received training on the Mxdcan border last year. The remainder, according to the present plan, will be chosen from the Roosevelt volunteers or some similar body. Army officers deem it probable that Col. Roosevelt will be allowed to go with the first body of troops, but not as its commander. The practical military men of the war department say that Roosevelt could be used to advantage as a "brigadier general, and they look for his appointment to this rank unless the president refuses to allow the colonel to go.