The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-12-08
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR.

The frstimpression created on reading this do
cumentis, thatitis simple, ighforward, bust
ness-lke paper, in which The Secretary shows a
thorough knowledge Of the organization of the
branch OF service under his direction. We
hold this TO be essential 10 the able adminislra-
ton of any department, and without it, in fact
we do not see how department can be well
administered. II is the first lesson which Sc
cretary should learn, as it makes him thorough
Iy acquainted with the labors of his office, and
with those under whom they are ds,ribut, d.
In this respect Judge Porter, in our Judgment,
has begun al The right end-at the beginning !;
has, like skiliu mechanic, made himself ac-
quainted with the tools with which he has TO
work, and has now only TO apply them as ext
gencies aud circumstances shall arise. OF his
ability so 10 apply them there can be no doubt
From this report, we learn that the aggregate
OF the Army amount. 10 S,6l3, which consI-
tutes the whole existing force Of General Staff,
officers Of the line, and rank and file. The d.
vision OF this aggregate into various parts, is
itself so well condensed in the report of the Sc
cretary, that we cannot do better than merely to
refer our readers to it. And in fact the whole
OF the report which treats Of the organization
Of the Army, its divisions into corps, the ar
rangement Of commands into distinct military
departments, and the distribution Of the forces
10 each, the division Of the labors Of his Office
into bureaux, and the duties Of those bureauI,
cannot be better expressed or more clearly con
densed than is done in the report itself
The actual force OF the army, from latest re-
turns, is about 254 in excess of rank and 6.e
over the organization to which il is to be re-
duced by the last law on this subject The re-
ducton i. going on in conformity with the law
as the times Of service expire, and as discharges
occur from other causes.
The Secretary recommends that as much OF
the act Of the 23d August. 1912, as abolishe.
the office Of one Inspector General, be repealed.
He remarks that "the services Of the two vaua-
bic aud experienced officers filing those stations
are deemed essential to the well-beinp of the
Army" and from all we can understand, we he.
lieve this sentiment to be warmly reciprocated
by the Army generally.
The Secretary states that the I'd Regiment
Of Dragons has been dismounted in conformity
with the law, and armed as Regiment Of Il fe-
men. He recommends that the Regiment
should be again mounted, and states that the ex-
pense will not exceed more than twenty per
cent. OF the amount for which the old bor.es
sold. His reasons for the recommendation
are strong and conclusive, and we cannot for
bear the remark that in laws bearing upon the
details of service, much weight should be given
to the opinion of the Department charged with
executive functions, which experiences defecrs
and difficulties of organizations, and which can
not possibly have either feeling or interest. SEN
arate from the most efficient and most ecopomi.
cal administration Of its duties.
With the remarks of the Secretary unon duel-
ling between officers and citizens, and of tho
remedy which he proposes, we fully agree vet.
however, we fear that too much importance Ina.
been gwen TO some isolated case, and thar the
remedy would give to it an eclat more injuriou.
han beneficial The true remedy for ,bi, ev;,
IN the moral feeling of society. Whenever
he practice shall be considered as unbecom;og
VIII tall into disusei bu, SO long as society |