The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-02-16
The reouLv circulation Of TIE Sun for N
,c.ek etdtJl0 Etb TO- 1879. vas:


making Of very plain and straightforward
duty Of army reduction, has had ts natural
results In the Senate, whore amendments
and substitutes have already been showcred
upon the Committee which has the House
bill In charge. OF these projects tho most
ambitious is that of Mr.. SPENCER, proposing
new organization for the army, upon
plan rather worse. If possible, than the BURN
sIDE echemo which IL Is designed to displacc.
Tho House last year sent bill TO tho SEN
ate, providing but one major-gcneral for tho
permanent army. Even the BURNSIDE bill
did not propose more than two major-gcn-
erals and four brigadiers But Mr.. SPEN-
sER's plan starts on with three major-gcn
erals and six brigadiers, and yet it purports
W bo n scheme Of army reductioni
The Burnside plan, timld as it is regard
Ing stan consolidation, docs at least merge
the Adiutant-Gencral's Department and tho
Inspector Generals. But Mr.. SPESCER's
Keeps up both these separately, and gives to
each brigadcr-general, with goodly
following Of colonies, lcutonant-coloncls
and majors. The Bureau OF Military jus
lice, which ought 10 be abolished outright,
b, under the BURNSIDE plan, commanded
by q eoloEel, with two majors to help him;
presided over by a brigadiergcncral, aided
by three majors.
True rctrcuchment would consolidate the
puartermaster's the Subsistence, and the
Pay Departments into n Department OF Sup
ply-a simple and most practicable reform.
Tho BURNSIDE plan, while maintaining all
these three, makes nominal reduction Of
the Quartcrmaster's Department to 1G Off
a -.
n 2s; though of course, many moro can be
employed in these departments. under the
provision detailing officers from the line for
subordinate stan duty. But Mr.. SPENCER
rejecting this latter effort at securing some
fairness in the division Of easy and safe
places among officers packs tho depart
mcnts with permanent surplus stan officers.
giving the Quartermaster's u total of Al. the
Subsistence Of ~. and the Pay Of A.. Thus
the SO officers nominally declared sufficient
In the BURNSIDE plan, are swellcd to ll3 in
the SPENCER plan of army reduction.
The SPENCER idea Of rank and pay is no
Mss extraordinary than that Of numbers
II need hardly be said that this new plan
makes the heads OF all these departments
brigadicr-gencras. Mr. SPENCER in fact,
has ar organization OF nine distinct stan
departments and corps, zach provided with
igadier-gcneral, SO that, adding his six
brigtiiers Of the line, he makes fifteen brig
adicrs, and n total, not To speak of the gem
eral and acknowledgement, Of eighteen
mator-gcnerals and acknowledgements,
where three would be plenty, and five a
superabundance In addition. where even
the BURNSIDE scheme is content with two
MISUNDERSTANDING five lieutenant
colonies, and five majors, Mr.. SPENCER
wants three colonies, six ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
and twelve majors. Where the BURNSIDE
plan accepts one colonel, two Lieutenant
colonels and five majors for the Subsistence
Department Mr.. SPENCER must have two
eolonels, three Northumberland, and six
majors. And in the Pay Department, which
need not be separate Organization at all,
and for which the BURNSIDE list Is one col
snel, one lieutenant-coloncl and twenty-five
majors, Mr.. SPENCER demands two colonels,
two licutenant-coloncls and forty majors
We shall credit Mr.. SPENCER with n will
lingness to reduce the Engineer Corps, as he
provides for thrty-two field officers in place
of BURSsIDE's forty-two. and for litty-four
company officers in place Of BURNsrDE's
sixty-six. In the Medical Department, also,
he makes some noteworthy reductions Of
force, reducing by about ono-seyenth the
number Of officers required under the BURN
SIDE bill
But on turning 10 the provisions for the
line, we find that there no reduction what
ever Is deemed possible in the number Of
officers. Even the BURNSIDE reorganization
plan, the bulk OF which is now pending in
the Senate as part Of the House Army APP
preparation bill finds reduction practical
bic OF 10 officers in the artillery and 1876 in
the infantry total 1jl in the line. The first
draft Of the House Army Appropriation bill,
as discussed in the Committee arranged
plan Of reduction for upward Of 800 officers
in the line alone, besides enough in the staff
10 make total OF 425. But now comes Mr.
SPENCER, declaring that 1.-THE number Of
officers in each regiment OF artillery cayal-
Ty, and infantry shall be the same re-
spectlvely as now provided by law"
70 add 10 the extraordinary character OF
this bill we find it providing that the num-
bcroi regiments, now forty, shall be reduced
10 thlrty-two- namely, four Of artillery,
eight 81 cavalry, and twenty Of infantry.
Everybody comedies that this consolidation
is practicable; but on its face there must bc
yet Mr.. SPENcER's hill says that the total
number shall remain the same, and that
surplus officers shall be retained on pay
until there are vacancies TO ILL.,
Finally, Mr. SPENcFRs bill opens tho re-
tired list without limits; it puts on this
thrcc-fourths pay list all officers who. be-
fore Jan. /, 1880, shall be 62 years old. or
shall have served forty years; and it actu-
ally proposes to allow captains and lieu
tenants who have served but twenty years
TO go on this life list on their own applica-
ton. 1t provides that any officer who
will consent, before jan /, 1880, TO hand
in his resignation, shall, If his ac-
counts are square, and II his resigna-
ton commends itself TO Mr.. r. Il. HAYES
receive three years full pay, as u reward
for leaving the service; but it Is carefully
added that nothing whatever in the bill
must be construed as requiring nny officer
TO leave the army who would prefer 10 stay
in it. And after having, as has been SEEM
arranged to give the stan departments all
the officers that could be thought of. and