New-York tribune., 1878-05-24

ment to prove it too large is almost comical.
He undertakes to show, by comparison of
the number of frontier posts in 1860 and In
1877, that we cannot need more than 2o'ooo
men as q protection against the Indians And
yet it is notorious that in every Indian war
we have suffered horrible losses through
the insufliciency of our scattered detachments
to cover the vast stretches OF territory
they were required to defend. Every military
authority Mr.. Hewitt has consulted tells the
same story. General Sheridan says: " Ihe
"expense and very great loss of life attend
"ing these operations have arisen principally
" from being obliged to use an inadequate
" force to perform services which to accom-
"plish quickly and properly required at least
"double its numbers" General Sherman
says: 81 agree with General Sheridan per-
fcctly in what he states, and further, that
"our weakness is well-knOwn to the Indians
"and that this very weakness entails on the
General Government the great cost OF Indian
"wars." General Townsend, speaking OF Glib
bOn's gallant attack on the Nez Perces, with
six companies averaging only "a men each'
saws that Joseph's band would have been cap
tured or exterminatcd if there had been
men enough in the army to Keep the
companies up to proper standard. All these'
and other opinions are cited in MIR. Hewitts
speech. And does he propose to follow the
advice which he saws he has received from
every army officer he has met without excep-
tion. and increase the number of mcn1 Not
at all; his remedy is to cut down the number
of officers to correspond with the depleted
rank and file, and increase the size of the
companies by reducing their number. Does
he really imagine that he VIII thus make
Indian wars any less costly and murdorous,
and frontier marches any less exhaustingf
Mr.. Hewitt seems to have misunderstood the
trouble. General Gibbons difficulty was not
too many captains and licutcnants, but too few
privates.
The necessity of guarding the Mexican and
Canadian bOrdersi Dir. Hewitt has apparently
not considered. The uses of the army for the
suppression of riots and cOmmunIstic excesSes,
he has considered, and on this subject he
places himself frankly and squarely III opposl-
ton to the conservative and laW-abIdlns
sentiment of the country. He would not gave
a man or muskct for any such purpose.
at is no part of the duty Of the National
" Government to repress or check such dis
police, to the State Government, to the militia.
If the State Government will not or cannot do
it then we suppose Mr.. Hewitt thinks that 1t
ought not 20 he done. Rioters must have full
freedom to burn and pillagc, as at PittSburg,
and put stop to the commerce of the whole
continent, unless it may happen that the local
police or the local militia is able
and w;llng-to reduce them 10 order.
more monstrous doctrine than this has hardly
been preached by the Communists themselves
1t is democracy run mad. Mr.. Hewitt is per-
fectly well aware that IN several places last
Summer where the disorder was most alarm
ing the militia themselves were on the side OF
the rioters Why should they not have bcenY
They were recruited from the same class.
They were strikers themselves. The men
whom they were ordered to attack were their
comrades IN the car shop and work room, and
their brethren in the trade societies. In West
Virginia, IN parts of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, there was practically no protection Tor
public order except n few companies OF the
regular army Outside Of New-YOrk and one
or two other large cities the collapse of the
local authorities in presence OF the MOB WAS
sudden and complete. They are no better
prepared to meet an emergency HOW ul"h t''y
were then. They never will be much better
prepared and tins for the simple reason that
a fnob does its mischief in an hour or SO,
while militia force, even when it Is we'll
disciplined and trusty, can only be assembled
after a considerable delay.
The constitutionality of the use of the army
to repress domestic violence is no more open
to question than its occasional necessity : and
the fact that gentleman like Nj. Hewitt de
nounccs 1t in Congress shows to what dan
gcrous extent the Democratic party has been
infected by the suLvcrsiye notions Of dema-
gogues Mr.. Hewitt probably does not realize
it-ccrtainly he does not in the least sympathize
with it ; but the spirit which attacks the army
to-day is the same which tore up railways and
destroyed miles Of loaded freight cars last
Summer, and then caused militia men who
| tried TO stop the destruction to be indicted
for murder. 1t is q cheering sign that the finn
ness of n few independent members of the
| House bids fair to defeat this mad scheme,
aud save the Army.