France unprepared for war

M. Charles Humbert created great sensation today in the Senate in Paris by declaring that the French army would be totally unprepared in the event of a war. He claimed that manufacturers supplied the French army with turrets which were inferior to those in other countries, that the supply of ammunition for guns was insufficient and that they were short two million pairs of boots. If war broke out the soldiers would have to start for the front with only the boots on their feet - boots that were made 30 years ago.

He went on to say that at the present moment they only had enough equipment to cross the Moselle and the Rhine and the fortifications in Toulon and Verdon had not been improved since 1875.

He concluded by saying that the millions for which the parliament had been asked for national defence had been entirely wasted; he said it was necessary to modify the organisation and change the ideas of services which directed the army.

His comments came today in light of the Senate discussing the bill authorising the Minister for War and the Minister of Marine to incur certain non-recurring expenditure for national defence.