The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-30

troops, more or less, distributed In seventy
one posts; and yet one hundred and thirty
companies OF these troops and thirty-six OF
these posts are no more exposed to danger
than II they were In New York city. This great
division contains four departments, those OF
tho Missouri, Platte, Dakota, and Texas.
| The Department ofthe Missouri has onlytwo
posts, Camp Supply, l. r., and Fort Tulerosa,
| N. NJ, that arc OF any sort OF use, even to
control Indians, while IL has sixtccn extrav-
| agant sinks OF vice, called forts placed near
| populous towns and railway stations,
| through the settled States OF Kansas and
| Nebraska, which absorb forty companies
OF troops, whose occupation ia to eat
rations and corrupt the women Of the coun-
try. The Department OF the Platte Is in a
somewhat better condition. but hero. as
elsewhere. tho fraudulent incapacity OF
army management is shown There arc
eight posts In this department occupied by
| twenty nine companies, that may be called
useful, as being near Indian agencies; but
| there are also nine useless posts. TO which
are assigned no less than forty-nine compa-
mics OF men, utterly wasted. To make n
| show OF service, the cavalry part OF this
| force starts out every summer on what Is
| called scouting duty" in which the object
seems to be to pick quarrels with peaceable
Indians and to avoid dangerous ones. These
scoutings are conducted as II they were
| tremendous undertakings, the officers
| getting themselves up In bushwhacking
dress, with the object OF making people be-
| lieve they are working hard at useful occu-
pations; but the history Of nine-tenths Of
these scoutngs IL the same-"a long picnic,
alternating with sprces."
The Department OF Dakota shows the
| same state OF affairs, twcnty-nine compa-
MES doing the real work In nine posts, while
forty-one companies alternate between lazy
dissipation in the vicinity OF towns and use
| less summer scoutngs. The Department
Of Texas alone shows a body Of troops in
| real employment OF some sort, and absorbs
about 1900 men, thanks TO the bullying pol
ley Of HAYES toward Mexico. Let the army
have the full benefit Of this department, It's
only haven OF refuge from the charge Of ut
ter usclcssness.
The Division Of the Pacific contains three
departments, those of Columbia, California,
and Arizona. California and three fourths
Of tho Department Of the Columbia are AZ
safe as the Atlantic States, nevertheless
| lh'y dbNoib Hp leSo llltn NNtNl N-lNo IoSAS
and thirty-ninc companies OF troops, of
which not more than five posts and as many
companies have any excuse for existence.
The Department Of Arizona contains five
useful posts, employing thirteen companies,
balanced by as many more useless and SUI
periluous forts and garrisons, and this ter
inmates the list.
Thus we see that army rosters and re-
ports themselves furnish an unanswcrablc
argument in favor OF army abolition. The
one hundred and eighteen useless posts con-
tain reservations Of more than hundred
square miles Of good land in populous dis
tricts that should be sold to actual
settlers. The police work OF the Depart
ments Of the Missouri, Platte, Dakota, Co
lumbia, and Arizona could be done by n
force OF 1900 Indian police. under the Terri.
torial Governments, better than it is now
and at n nominal expense. All the Indian
| thieves now caught are taken by Indian
scouts, for army officers rs n rule do not
want to find Indians. The only place where
troops may be needed for few years IL
in Texas, till the railroads extend to the
frontier and run through Mexico. Those
troops should be Texan volunteers, raised
for specific purpose, and discharged when
that service is done The civil war showed
would do 1t again. Moreover, they would
not endanger the liberties OF the country
IT Is TINE TO ABOLISH THE ARMY.