New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-04-25
NETWORK DAILY TRIBUNE, MONDAY, APRIL 90 1888

men could be found to contract to render all ~ service
our Army does and more for Five Mllliens-and they
would do it well and make money by the job Only think
of great Republic like ours-a martial, bold, ambitious,
adventurous Nation of Twenty-Five Mllons-needing
Army of some Ten or Twelve Thousand men, and ngit
rank Jmainlywh unnaturazed Foreigners Surely Pa
triotsm is not at such rinous discount among us that
We could not find Ten Thousand men to Military
Police if the service what it should be
But these ignorant, halfcvilized Immigrants
GOOD men as the service needs-NO, Sir! you are in
error! Five hundred such men as fought for Lbertyat
Bunker Hill and Saratoga would be worth thousand of
the rank and file of our present Army Doubtless these
latter better equipped, better drilled better pro-
vided in every way than the greycoats of old Cont
mental times-and so far the advantage is with the
chtngmacines of to-day but for the various of
soldier intelligence morality selfrespect, sefcontrol
and love of country are quite important as knowing
how to keep step execute difficult maneuyers and fire
by patOons. Such good officer would select
Tor soldiers from the whole population of our country
freely rendering their services, would be better worth
twenty dollars per month than those who now fill our
ranks are worth ten
But do we actually need so many rank and file at
all
Suppose George Law Erastus Corning, Cornelius
Vanderbilt and two or three capable experienced
operators we're TO enter into TO keep the In
dams of Oregon and California quiet for the next five
years for Two Millions per annum, agreeing to make
good all damage accruing to our citizens meantime
from the depredatiOns of these Indians and suppose
they another firm were to make similar contract
for the protection Of NewMexicO and Nebraska, and
the fulfment of our Treaty engagement TO keep our
Indians out Of chihuahua, Durango. &C. who lmagnes
that such contractors would employ any such clumsy
machine as our present Army Who believes they
would enlist whole regiments here and ship them by the
Isthmus to San Francisco We venture the assertion
that DO such firm could fail to modify our present fight
ing enginery into substantially this shape:
IA COMMANDMENT -Chief-the best that could be had
surrounded by an able Staff including an able corps
of Engineers.
. District or Division Commanders aud Aids to
match.
9. An ADEQUATE number of skeleton Regiments and
Companies composed Of carefully selected well paid
officers mot full but leaving places open TO merit
and aspiration with few veterans or aspiring young
men in the ranks looking for promotion.
q. An abundance of Arms Munitions Camp Equip
age Provisions &c. carefully placed at the points Of
safety where they would be nearest to the probable
scenes of future outbreaks.
Thus prepared for emergencies, the contractors
would employ the best agents and interpreters and de-
vote their energies to the maintenance OF good under
standing with the various savage tribes the prevention
of outrages upon Them the redress of their grievances
&c They would at the same time be carefully enlist
ing the best settlers near their various posts for service
coll thamO far drill nv the week
gether-the same officers passing from post to drill
the company mastering at the next, and so on. And
thus paving every man literally but only for his time
actually required the contractors, with not five hun
bred rank and file actually under pay at any time, would
soon have ten thousand minute men enrolled equipped
and drilled whom the signal gun would send galoplng
in to their several posts within two hours after the hrsI
outrage had been committed and whom two thousand
could be the point of operations within
thirty six hours And these well paid, well mount
ed familiar with the country acting under the eye OF
the community and defending their own homes, would
be worth twice as much as a like number of present
regulars tho in good part foreigners and mercena
res corrupted by the incidence and vices OF the camp
and perpetua studying how to beg or steal away from
the service.
Friends ofthe Pacific Railroad unite in demanding
Radical Reform of our Military and Naval servicei Let
us resolve by udicous rerenchments to save Ten Mil
lions per annum of the Forty Millions now absorbed by
our current National Expenditure and devote the money
to the magnificent project of uniting the two oceans by
Railroad passing through the heart of our country and
rendering it the commercial center of the world Per-
haps local jealouses will ultimately compel us to build
three Railroads the Continent in order to secure
one; and at all events the work will be expensive and
must have Government aid. Let begin to save the
money no,o and to build the Road at the earliest moment
-Four wears at least will be required to complete It, and IL
ought to have been begun before this