The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-06
The Reduction OF the Army.

The Reduction or the Army.
From the N. Y. Times.
II is agreed on all hands that reduction
of the army is both practicable and desirable.
and yet, in the multiplicity of methods of re-
duotion, 1t begins to be somewhat questiona-
BILE whether some of the various plans will not
SO counteract as to give us no immediate re-
duction at all.
Congress, meanwhile, has unq uestionsbly
gone to work in the right way by taking the
opinions of sound and able officers of intelli-
gence, candor, and experience. The remedy
proposed by nearly all these officers is con-
solidation-consolidatio of all sorts, from
companies in the field up to bureaus in Wash
ington and Secretary Schofeld capped the
climax by suggesting the consolidation of the
War and Navy Departments under one head.
Now, the important and hopeful feature in
this theory of consolidation" is that 1t re-
duces expenses in the most expensive part of
the military tablishment-namely, among
eficers. You must discharge a great many
private soldiers before you equal the saving
made by mastering out one officer. You can
defray with a Major Generals pay and allow
ances the wages Of great many soldiers.
Hence, we say, the striking feature of the
plans proposed of late by officers for reducing
the army in this wholesale slaughter among
departmental bureaus where so much mere
clerkly work is done by those who have the
rank and pay of high commissioned officers.
And yet, the moment that proposition is
broached to carry consolidation" into prac-
teal effect, it arouses hostility. For example,
Mr.. Wilson's bill proposes to reduce the in
fantry regiments to thirty, by consolidating
such of them as may at any time fall below
certain fixed mark of regimental strength,
from the natural causes of depletion. This
proposition calls out opposition on the ground
that it destroys the identity of regiments"
and 'bl0ts out their record" But, after ALL
you must either do that or blot out some regi-
ments altogether. You cannot have your cake
and eat it. And We venture to say that this
mode of reduction would be more acceptable
in general than the rude turning out of their
| profession of officers whose only crime is that
| they are de trOp.
| Many of the new regiments are oficered by
| men once connected with old ones, and pro-
moted to their new commands for special gal
lantry in the war. What will you do with
them9 Turn them oat altogether? Set them
adrift with no profession 1t seems to us that
| Mr.. Wilson'S proposition is much more just
| in making the reduction less sudden and pro-
vidipg vacancies for officers whom we raised
to their places only the other day. The fact
is, that we treat the army officers rather
! cavalierly in thus constantly exp anding and
| contracting the army by legislation, each
time swapping off official heads by the score
in the process. It was we who appointed
| them to their present commands, mainly as
rewards for service and we should therefore
make our economies 20 as little injustice as
possible to them. 1t is worse than per-
petually giving medals for service, and then
taking them away again for whim; because
it is occupations that we are dealing with.
1t is also clear that in any system of reorga-
nization some sacrifice of the constituent parts
of corps must be made. But by leaving details
to the War Department-and, substantially,
to General Grant-Mr. Wilson's bill provides
that practical justice may be done. The eight
regiments will doubtless be consolidated, the
right names, numbers, and flags will remain.
AS it Is, there is perpetual ebb and flow Of
the rank and file in every regiment, whereby,
though it's traditions and honors remain, its
actual members change AS for officers, their
own promotions carry them from regiment tC
regiment.
Our purpose, however, is not specially to
commend Senator's Wilson's bill as the best
possible method of reduction. On the con-
trary, we think that, in connection with it,
some peremptory reduction could be effected
We only wished to show that it is hopeless to
wait for plan to which no possible objection
could be raised.