, 1876-01-22
Reducing the Army.

Tho standing army has probably never
been in excess of the current requirements Of
the country, and its mus,er-ron is now but a
/ trihe larger than when toe rebellion aruse.
/ No one donbts the impulse given to secession
by the occupation of the empty or feSbly
/ garrisoned forts, and yes a, this day about
eight hundred men hold the sea-board from.
Eastport 20 Pensacola. It is true that no
new rebellion is TO be apprehended, but i: is
| equally tnre that the forts were built for
( urpose, and that the men in each harbor ara
barely enough to guard the guns deccntly
I from petty thieves Gf old non. The cond;-
tion Is the same upon the Lake region. Ex.
cept the artillery Just referred to, the nOmi-
nal peace establishment is really occupied
with chronic war. Probably not a dozen
Of the trans-hlississippi garrisons have NOS
! been cngsg4d In actual hustiitioS within the
the last ten years, often on the briefest
warning A. We have pointed out in dis
| cussing the Indian question, the ability to
compel peace Is an important element in its
preservation. To display that ability re-
quires every available carb;ne and rife.
But vexatious and harassiug as are the saw
age troubles, there Is plainly other work that
may engage the troops In 1866, with many
more disposablo bar'ailions, the Fenian furry
rcquirvd their active employment 10 prevent
embarrassing complications. and these or other
international blunders may any day set the
Canuadlan frontier gtame. The instant that
Great Britain j. involved in a war n military
GORDON ON the north Will BE- necessary for our
own neutrality. In like manner, the Cuban
Rio Granje l. To barrier, and but an indifa
fcTcnt barrier a. Mexican affliss now run.
We are no alarmists, and the. immediate for
rign outlook ia reasonably serene; but mod
ern war Is il own herald, and The reduction
OF our minimum army would place Us among
very foolish virgins who had thrown away
their lamps as we'll As expended their oil.
But the constant Indian ana the possible for
eign problems not the only ones that may
requires martial solution Utah has itz thorn
III the flesh that may demand military SUR
| gerry IN the future rs III Sydney Johnsion's
! day. New Mexico is virtually foreign pro-
| vince, despite the sweet Fipings of ambitious
| politicians, and fortune may tempt the alien
4 peopl,, who to this hour hate the Americans.
/ to repeat and extend the revolt OF Taos. Tho
! inhOSpi'able climate OF Alaska may shield its
/ natives from fierce contact with the pioneer,
/ but II the uurcgcnerate squatrer ever mi
CRATES there, as Mr.. Seward dreamed, there
/ viii be loud and real calls for the army i'll
! force We thus barely Indicate some milf
taTy possibilities, although, as becomes our
Centennial year, We are now in state Of
unusual repose; for the doors Of Janus are
never looked, and no ne can foresee the dis
| tuThing jar
The prompt reply that this representatiou
will receive, l. that an army Is costly, and
that volunteers will appear when war comes.
An army Is costly. bur neglect ia generally
extravaganza. The shepherd who delays
s'ndiug for dogs until the wolves attack the
tlock, viii find slaughtered mutton more ex-
pensire than dog feed.--N J. Nata