The Washington union., 1858-02-17
WASHINGTON CITY.
WEDNESDAY, MORNING. FEB. II. 1855
ECONOMY OF INCREASING THE ARMY


To increase the present army is to diminish its
cost This is no paradox, but fact readily demon
strated The pay, rations, and clothing OF the
rank and file of the army is but a small item in the
estimate for army expenses, yet they cover all the
cost Of regiments quartered in permanent garrisons
and fixed heretofore the army has been quartered
in barracks and forts having degree OF permanent
cy. We speak of the foot regiments. With the horse
there is, of course the additional cost Of horses,
equipments and forage. The great item in the est
mates for the support of the army is for ransporta
ton of stores, and movements of the troops from
frontier frontier This is the secret Of the great
swell in army estimates from year to year,
frontier has been expanded. and troops
horse, artillery, and infantryare put in constant
motion in the field abandoning the old lines of posts
and establishing on the more remote frontiers.
The main forces of the army are beyond the sources
of supply many hundred miles, and the cost Of the
transportation of army to these external lines
crossing as they must hundreds of miles of desert,
infested by thievng and hostile Indians, makes this
item of expense enormous. This, however, is ne
cessity at present and only be essened material
y when the settlements are pushed up to exter-
nal borders and the soil produces surplus supplies to
maintain it's population, and to furnish the troops
Although these contracts for frontier transportation
according to the quartermaster generals showing,
are now the great contingent expenses, they
would be lessened if larger number of regiments
were stationed along the extreme external lines
as to supply themselves with the bulk of the subsist
ence that is now transported long routes to
reach them. The old system of army gardening, cul
tivating the public lands within the military reserva
tons on the frontiers and providing in that wise the
main wants of large posts, has been wholly abandon
ed. This has been necessity; for since the close
of the Mexican war; and the addition of the frontier of
Texas, New Mexico, and California has added over
five thousand miles of frontier beyond the plains and
deserts that closed old external line, army
have had no fixed posts, and have been incessant
Iy in motion, seldom one companya at amy point more
than one season. that they have been precuded from
any attempts at the old system of selfsupply by gar
dening aud farming.
1t is apparent, with this expansion of frontier, that
has now reached IL 900 miles, we can never, with
our present small army, have permanent and large
enough garrisons along such ngthened borders as
and to leave at the posts laborng force of self
supply The majority of posts have less than two
full companies, and they constantly occupied in
the supervision of large districts Of country they
must protect This supervision keeps the few that
are not required the fatigue and guards of the gar
rison in constant notion marching and counter
marching, according to the activity of the thieving
tribes, who depend forays the settlements for
horses and cattle. The fact is, the whole army
has become an ambulatory frontier police, and
is even insufficient for this end and yet costs mil
lions It's scattered posts, with few troops mani
tests to the Indians real weakness, and embol
dens them to daily ncursions settlements that
cannot protect themselves. This derogates the fear
our troops should inspire wherever are
carried, and impars in an eminent degree their ef
hciency and discipline they are seldom together
for drill and instruction All this is destructive Of
our real policy, and costs Millions without the
complishment of any good purpose, because Of the
insuficiency of the army.
But we will conclude this generalization Of facts,
and instance the cost of single foot regiment in it's
changes of stations within the past sixteen months
The 5th infantry in the fall of 1856 by orders put
in motion from its scattered posts 500 miles
of the Texas Rio Grande frontier for service in Flor
ida On no frontier of the country is the cost of
transportation more heavy than on this. Its land
carriages are sent from the depots at San Antonio or
Corpus Christi or gathered in from more remote
posts at enormous rates of cost The means to move
by water are sent round the Gulf from New Orleans
and are not less expensive. This regiment reached
Florida in the winter of 81 and in the campaign to
suppress the Indian troubles there the companies
were in a few weeks scattered to remote positions
from each other. Early in the summer, however,
their services were deemed necessary Kansas and
they were again gathered up, and, at another enor
nous cost in land and water transportation, they
were transferred from Florida to Kansas.
They had barely reached Fort Leavenworth, how
ever. when--late in the season--they were again
under orders to move TO Utah. Now we here
ossert, without the chance of contradiction, that
the cost to the country of the three movements
of this foot regiment from the frontiers Of the south
10 the ertveme northern border Of Utah would sup
.rert in any permanent garrison three equal reg
ments the same length Of time, And we also assert
that regiment needed in its place in Texas, and
in its place in Florida, and several more are now
needed where it is in the mountains of Utah and
yet we have not the regiments single COM