Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1849-01-20
Excess of
militia eX-
.

penses, S4iO,55 AZ
Thus it will be seen, that for eighteen suc-
cessive years the militia expenses have large
ly exceeded the revenue (the average annual
excess being t'centy.fre thousand dolldrs,) and
that in this short time we have expended -FOUR
HUNDRED AND FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for
no good, or in the words of the Adjutant Ge-
neral, the money has been ':lhrown away"
The plan or outline of the reform he proposes
is as follows:
"The present military organization of divi-
sions, brigadcs, regiments and battalions, and
the appropriate officers for these several corps
we cannot abolish; it exists by virtue of an
act of Congress. Our State Legislatures can
increase or diminish the number of divisions,
the number Of brigades being determined by
the major general and brigadier generals of
any division, and the number of regiments by
the brigadier general and the colonels of the
regiments of any brigade: but the provisions
of the act of Congress of 1872, (which an act
of 2d April, 1922, attempted 10 carry out)
must be observed by establishing these dis
,inct corps. Let this be the limit let the
septennial elections be held, the officers duly
commissioned, the enFOlmen, be made, (by
the assessors the returns, of brigade inspec-
tors be furnished to the Adiutaut General
bu, let company and battalion trainings, and
inspections, be forever abolished, and thus
we are at once relieved from the injurious
and expensive part of the existing system.
The State will thus be divided by law into
rounteer divisions, brigades, &c, entirely
distinct from the militia and the appropriate
general, staff and field officers will be elected
and appointed by the volunteers, to hold their
commissions for five years. Let the officers
| of brigade, and direction inspectors of volun-
teers, be filed by men who will serve, as all
volunteer officers should grdtuiousiy. To
these officers let the duty of inspecting the
public arms, &c, be entrusted. Let there be
semi-annual military encampments, at each
of which there will be MUSTER review and
inspection of the volunteers-the first en-
campment in May, to b BY brigade the
second, in October, by regiment. Let every
regiment be by law required TO perform one
| TERM Vi cdIu ana llciu uutN ulHudlll, OF not
less than five days Let the colonel of every
regiment be required to establish "Regi-
mental School of Instruction." so that every
commanding and subaltern officer may accu-
rately learn his duty, and he qualified to im-
part instruction to new commissioned officers
non-commissioned' officers musicians and
privates, in each volunteer corps correspond
with that in the regular army and let a neat
cheap, and solderly uniform be substituted
for the gaudy, expensive and unserviceable
one, now generally affected by our volunteer
CORPS. Let the term of service to secure ey-
dmpion from military duty, except during
a war,) be reduced from seven to five success
sive years Let the most rigid accountability
for arms, equipments Sc, be insisted on all
reports, returns and muster rolls, &c, be
made strictly after the forms furnished by the
Adjutant General of the State.
The young men of this State should parti-
cularly be induced TO form volunteer corps
lie, them, early in life, enter the ccrrs Of