New-York daily tribune., 1856-01-17
STATE or THE ARMY.
REPORT OF THE GENERAL-IN-CIlIEF
UEADQUaRTERs or THE Army, I

=,
The underlined the immediate Commander Of the
Arny being charged by General Regulation vIib
all THAT regards discipline and military control
deems II his duty, according TO ong-ontmUed ussg',
10 submit annually, through the War Department,
such views and suggestions Ms may see iktly 10 IT.
crease without extravaganee in cost, lhavDg regart
to numbers the national worth, the prOwess, aud
efficiency of our military estabirhInont.
In respect to the condition Of our enlisted men, or
the rank 8nd file of the army recent act. Of Congress
enlareng their monthly pay, and giving them, through
the grade Of sergeant, eligibility to commissions, leave
peIhay- want but time to work out every expected
and almost every desirable ainehoratlon. And the
addition of the four regiments vii, II l. hoped,
give us adequate numbers IA subdne the Indians III
actual hostlitv and afford reasonable protection t1
every frontier against their future dcpredstions.
An increase of general officers y want very sen--
by fet throughout the army, and beg tO sugg Il one
additional MaiurGenoral and two additional Briga-
derGencra, TO mHso with the two brgadiers of the
line Grc .dy in comnis sion, five commanders for the
geographical departments Of the army, with s1 other
Ereader Generals Tor chi, b Of the dutsnt- Generals
depart oeni the corps Of Engineers, the corps Of Iopo
graphical Engineers, the Ordnance Department the
CoInni~. Arat Of Subsistence, and the Pay Department
respectively. Justice, symmetry aud the good OF the
service appear equally to demand these additions.
Several cent att, mps have been made in Cungre-s
to improve the efficiency Of the body of comm sloncd
ofhcerr generally by a retired Hst well a. by aug
mcrted compensation In the opinion OF IN" under
signed both are measures Of demonstrabe necessity
Some folty or fifty officers, mostly in the higher
commissions. rendered non-eiective by the infI1mes
of age by wounds or chronic diseases, now press
downward into lethargy and then despair. Three the
numbe of juniors are sghing for the increased rank
which would before they too DID, Increase the field
of distinguished usefulnes'. How soon the under
sipned NAV binself be- considered Of the superan
nuatcd, he knows not; but while any vig"r remains
he wi not to urge remedy for the great evil
in 9aesu99n: ,o-..;o, ae.o,;D,, ~.
officers Of the army, - much needed from The en-
II -. ariaz a I'M orfS pf -
il n corresponding increase of compensation, such
has already been accorded 10 rank and file. A.
this general proposition viii hardly be disputed any
where, the mode and scale Of increase alone remain
TO be suggested.
Fixed SHARES according to rank would generally,
by persons in civil life, be applied military officers
but the experience OF all armies, including our own
has made the system OF emolumeHts or '"|0r0RcsS
latiCns forage dcl graduated according Ia rank and
circumstance III addition to fixed pay for each grade,
universal and TO tamper with such experience would
seem unwire. Leaving for the moment the scale OF
nav nroper and every allowance except one, az esdh
ts6ed the undersigned will first eek to find what ap-
proach to reasonable increase of compensation may
be made under the head of ratioDs alone, by making
the number cumulative, according TO the "ngtn oi
each officers service and putting up the Communication
to what ha always been allowed to naval ohlccrs-2o
cents a ration. -,
The cumulative principle was rt adopted 10 the act
of June 80 1894 secton 3 in behalf o medical ofhceT5
only and next D the act of July 5, 1855 section Is IN
theee words:
Every commissioned Officer Of he line sts exclusive o.
ssner. stall be entitled receive additional ration
Ter diem Tor every nsy have served shs eEse
Ia the amy United sstes Pror4etd, That in certain
cases where entitled 10 receive double faos o
additional one In his seccn shall not be included N
the number 70 be doubled
The undersigned cannot resist the temptation to say
in thi- place that b. wrote the two sections III que--
ton. and followed up each before Congress, in per-on
and by letter, to final success and that the exclusion
Of general oicers" in the second act wac, in the
vay OF compromise offered by him after he had fully
discussed the subject before the Military Committee OF
the House. He now respectfully suggests the change
of a single word in the section Just quoted, 80 tha:
every fee years may, for the future, be made to
rcad "every three years"
To illustrate the proposed increase of compensation,
taking the four middle classes of commissioned officers
say OF the artillery and nfantry-this table y sub
mitted: