The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-12-18

thst the expenses Of SIC enlistment the srsnsposts
hOn and su0sisteD nee. the loss by desertion ana by
the deaths ard dscosrFes for disability of unscct
n@ad recruits. viii average t9l Tor each nsn en-
listed uDdsr the present. system. II 10 sais be added
tie pey, clo;biIg uedical ATTENDANCE &c of the re
truif from his ensto at until lie joins lis com Dany
Tho actual C It Of each MAJ, from mis- enl,stme III
Until The por0d when his actual service ccmmeaoes
sill be Sl2l.~ II the suggestion above made for in
! crtos'Rg tbs Gay OF hhe soldier aeGor jiag 10 the
length o. servie should Re sue esstul a. att .,
Iattd il is le ieved 'b5t il sill l. the ;ourse Of six
! years, IN connection with the other measures pro
Iosc reduce the al nua loss in the army from 35 "a
| 10 or ii per cert. The rumber OF men no 10 tae
amy who won't be entitled to the decreased pay
which this system proposes is lsss than coo, but
ire rumbsr wouir rapidly Increase by re slistnent
snc the IRsximnm numcer o. titled to the in res.sed
! pay would Ike obtained III six yesrs.
1 his number would be constant subject only In
Slight h ct1acns but as she greatest portion of the
men entitled to increased pay would then belong to
the first and second classes the expenditure on this
account aould increase gradually, as the men pass
successfully from the lower to the higher grades OF
increased lay, until, in about twenty-five years the
raxitbDm expenditure IN this account vii! ba OBJ
taineo. That limit will also be constant and will
rot exceed $500 900 year. If to this sum be added
the cost Of eplsting LOGO men, to meet the annual
loss, lsay 10y per cent? and the bounty for LOGO
prptfec system will he $ll9 per man against 1921
| upder the present system. When the value OF the
serVcs rendered. the super Or character of the men,
and the consequent dmipution Of offences and the
| expenses they entail, are considered, the economy
| OF the proposed measure becomes apparent.
| These estimates are based, as far as practicable,
upon known facts, and are conjectural only in that
which relates to the working of the proposed sytem
army O,y so for a. 1t succeeds in restraining dcser
tons and inducing enlistments and this increase
IN the pay will be more than correspondingly dmin
hed In the expenditures Of the other departments
Of the Amy. The proposition in relation to the ex tt
pay OF soldiers whs have received certificates o
merit, is an act of simple justice to who by con
stIuction Of the law were deprived Of the benefit
the 18th section Of the law of March 8, lS47 Under
the operation of that construction, which virtually
reduced their pay they refused to enlist but it il
believed that 10 considerable extent, they would
now enlist. If the benefits of the law should be ex
tended to them.
To carry into effect the third measure propos, d. it
is recommended that the President be authorised,
under regulations to be established by law to confer
Tie brevet OF e,ondlientenaht upon such mertori-
GUS non commissioned officers as may, by an exami
nation before an army bosre be- found qualified for
tie duties o. commissioned officers and to fill certain
portion of the vacancies which may occur in that
grade, az now authorized by law, by attaching such
noD.ccmmissored officers as supernumeraries to the
army to serve according to their brevet and b. pro-
Doted ss cadets, unoer like circumstances, now are.
There Is another class Of con commissioned officers
OF long and faithful, and often highly distinguished
services who from want of education, are not quail
fed to become commissioned officers, but arc emf
nenty fitted fer, and deserving Of positions OF subor
din&te responsibility and trust
To provide for the advancement Of this class, it is
respectfully recommended that authority be granted
to appoint limited number Of fort-keepers or bar
rack masters, to be employed at such OF our perma-
Dant torticatOrs ns are not occupied by troops and
substitutes for the civil agents employ ed by the
Qualternsster's and engineers departments, re-
ceiv.Dg compensation Intermediate between that
Of the highest grade Of ncl commissioned officers.
These duties would be as efficiently performed and
at dimiI isht d expense to the government. These
suggestions, carried out, will not be bardensome
to the service by increasing the number OF officers
beyond its wants, nor expensive beyond commensu-
rate advantages.
1t has been the policy of our government to main
tain only small army IN peace, but it should also
be our policy to be prepared for the events Of by
making that army as efficient rs possible efficient
not merely in the operations required of it in the
field OF battle, but in AL the various duties of cam
paigD, including economy Of life and health, and in
capacity for disseminating instruction and dsci pine
among those whom the exigencies Of war call into
the field unpre pared to meet its hardships, and
ignorant OF the means OF guarding against its vissi
tudee.
In all the operations of war efficiency and economy,
II not nOny nous at least cofrelative TERMS and
that army which is the most efficient will at tho same
time, lie the most economical TO attaia this eff
cheney it is essential that the person, OF army
sh uld be intelligent and capable but it is idle to
hope that men of this character can be Obtained un
less their pay bears fair proportion to that which
they would receive il the corresponding empoyments
Of civil life Patriotism Of duty win not in
time Of peace, I'LL the ranks Of an army nor will pay
alone be sufficient to develop all the elements of suf
fcency. Tie hope Of advan cement is the found ttion
OF professional zeal and success, and this incentive
should exist in the army in civil life. Its honor;
and distinctions should be open to ALL that they may
ipc,e the ambition and stimulate the zeal of all Ia
making these suggestions, have bad prnci 5aly ia
view the Improvement of the army; but it is my
opinion, founded on the opinion Of our past history,
that if adopted they would also produce economical
q n a -.
port respectfully invite your attention to the neces
city for an increase Of the army. 1t may be instru )
tive, in the consideration of this SUBJECT to refer to
the strength Of military establishment, % it has
existed at different periods and 10 the circumstances
that controlled its organization.
In $685. the legal strength OF the army was 1891,
which was increased in the year 1872 "for the de-
fence Of the Inoian frontier" to 1883. The war
with England followed soon after this increase, and
at its conclusion the "peace establishment" was
fixed at II 1893 officers and men, and SO continued
gan zation was continued until 1882 when it was in
creased to 1922 In 1886 it was increased to 1858,
and in 1888 to IL 139. These last additions were
made during the existence Of Indian hOstties (the
Black Hawk and Florida wars) and although pre-
viousy recommended with the view Of preventing
them, were not authorized until their actual occur
renee had demonstrated the wisdom OF the recon-
nendatiOns. In 1912, at the close Of the Florida
war, the army was reauced to 8,6l3, which number,
with slight changes, continued until, in the early
Part Of 1896 the regime mt Of mounted rifemen was
added for The projection Of the emigration on the
Oregon route, making the aggregate OF 9,4l8.
At the close of the with Mexico, ts organize
ton was fixed at 10, 100. In 1850 it was increased
by a sliding SCALE which admitted total strength,
ii all the companies OF the army were posted at
remote Stations" Of 14,73l. As they are now
posted, the authorized strength Is 1881, but for
reasons which have already been explained, the &C.
tual number is less by 1926 men. 1t will be seen
by the above statements, that in period Of forty
Eve years the military peace establishment Of the
country has been angme nted less than 1000 men
| In The same period our country has increased in
population more than Is 100000, and in territory
uillicn Of square miles. In lS0s, cur Indian from
Ter requiring troops fer its protection was less than
| 900 miles in extent, and there no long lines
OF communication requiring defence. Now thai
front er Las increase - mure than 900 miles, and
| cur communication through the Indian country ira
vered annually by Thousands Of opr citizens, and
| requiring Constant protection, to more than GOO
miles.
Our sea-board ard foreign frontiers bsve been
greatly increased, ard of the latter 800 miles
are Mexican frontier along which, besides the duty