 Its chief proponent was James Hay of Virginia, the Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs.Sponsored by the committee's ranking member, Julius Kahn of California and drafted by Hay, the 1916 law authorized an expanded Army of 175,000, and an enlarged National Guard of 450,000.The provision to establish the Reserve Officer Training Corps was advocated by a delegation from Ohio including William Oxley Thompson, President of the Ohio State University.