The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-02-20
Another "Trogan H0rsc"-The Dan.
gers OF Army Reorganization.

plan for the reorganization Of the
Army has been pinned OF to tho Army
Appropriation Bill and rushed through
.lc House of Representatives, Nth in
decent haste. The majority Of the mem
bers had barely time TO read carefully
tlic details Of the scheme. They Ger
tainly had not fanliliuriZcd themselves
with the consequences Of the changes
that nro proposed. Tho House WAS bad
gercd into swallowing the proposition rs
2 whole, and in 80 doing unless saved
by the Senate, the Democracy have com
mitted tie most serious bundcr Of tho
session-a blundcr that rises to tho pro-
portions Of a crime
Thcrci was 10 nccd-of break neck
speed. In point Of organization the
Army never vas in better condition 1t
IL quite possible that some changes in
| the military system arc advisable, and
there are, perhaps, mcrilorious feat
nrcs in the plan adopted by the House.
Tho House, however, left itself at the
| mercy OF tho trainers of The rcorganiza-
.ion scheme, taking tho responsibility
for its passage without knowing its de-
tails and possible effect. Necessarily the
III. 'hincry Of the Army is intricate, re-
qui.ing the incest adjustment if it be in
tended 10 work smoothly. Congress puts
itself in the position Of thrusling n beam
| into the midst Of u complex engine, with
out knowing whether the effect will be to
destroy it, TO stop il, or to reverse it's mo-
| ton.
| The Senate is not as rash body AZ
the House. and there is hope that it will
strike out tho reorganization clause of
the Army Appropriation bill For this
course there nre special and general rca-
SONS. The House gave way to the sense
less clamDr against the Stall II is the
Staff, with the line officers of high rank
who preserve tho morale Of the Army,
and prevent it from becoming perna-
nently nm instrument ofoppression. Tho
stan anu few commanding officers Of
regiments, the officers who grew up and
saw service before shot was fired ut
sumter, havo better understanding Of
limitations of military authority, in
Republic, than is possessed by the young
or officers who arc the creatures
Sherman and Sheridan. Consolidate
the staff, and, by so doing and by retir-
ing the Older line officers, put on the
shelf tho veterans who preserve the trn-
ditions of the days Of Scott, Lee, John
ston and Mcclellan, fill their places with
tho products Of the postwar period who
know no law save military order, and
the country is Mt the mercy of whoever
in authority chooses TO call for "the
Corporal OF the Guard" We tell the
Democracy, too, that they cannot afford
to go before the people with hone or
confidence, when it is known that they
have stripped the u'iiorm from ,hc back
OF soldiers wEo havo grown gray in The
service, and have no profession bu, that
of arms. Tint civilians should do ,his
Is barely comprehensive that soldiers.
especially Confederate soldiers, should
| consent TO it IL, to us, monstrous and in
explicabie.
The democracy must remember that
for moro than fifteen years the Repub-
lican party have been putting tho Army
! IN shane to smit themselves. During the
war, rs since the war, tho officers who
rose most rapidly, and were kept in ia
vor, wero those who had no inconyenient
sense of the rights of tho citizen. OH
ctrs of this stamp were selected to do the
Ieinrious work of the Republican party
during tho Reconstruction era, ard du-
ring the elections of 1876. They are
ttill in the Army; and at tho head of the
Army is Sherman, and second in RINK is
Sheridan Ponder this, Democratic
Senators No meter how carefully you
| arrange the details of tho Reorganiza-
tion scheme, you leave the execution of
it in the hands of Gen. Sherman, and
enable him, with Grant looming up in
| the distance, to place the sword in tic
hands of those who will point it Mt tho
throat of the Republic, and .ho nnrse in
the hands Of those who will mako any
expenditures, for any purpose, that tho
General in command ofthe Army shall di-
rect. The temper of the present move
ment is sufficiently shown by one illus
tration. Gen. Sherman is lnboring to
place his son-in-law, Gen. Nelson A.
Miles, ut the head of the Adjutant Gen
er6;'s Department, or at tho head of the
Adjutant Gems. and Inspector Gems. De-
pa-tment, as consolidated under tho name
of re General Staff. u ,ras this Gen 1fle.
,cho placed Jefferson Davis in irons at
fortress Monroe, and tortured him ipih a
refinement Of cruelty almost inconceirabie.
Day by day, after the accounts of the
snfierings of MIR. Davis reached his fam
Lord would give "father something
strong and bring him back 10 as ,cifh his
good Senses ic his little children, for
Christ's sako v' Can Democrats can
Southern Democrats, support measure
which carries with it the subjection ol
the Army to Gen. Grant, through Gen
Sherman, and gives to Jailor Miles the
distribution of the officers and men, OF
cavalry, infantry and artillery, during
the Presidential canvass, and until the
inauguration OF the next President? We
Cannot, aud viii not believe it.
! The Senate can properly refuse "a
adopt in haste measure that will be re-
pented of at leisure. It is tho duty OF
the Democracy TO postpone the rcorgan-
ization of tho Army until that reorgan-
ization can be effected under q Demo.
cratic Administration. To adopt the
suicidal proposition Of the House is tc
place the Army, bound hand and foot
in possession of the Republican party
and their most ostuuscrupulons military in.
s.raments. That done, the election of :
4 Democratic President in 1880, aud HI.
Installation, will be rather difficult to nc
/ icomplish. The concentration OF troops
in Washington in 1877 will be the pre-
cedent for heavier concentration ID
! 1881, and the last cbeck and barrier vii
have been swept away. Ne,rs and C5u
/ rier.
T.6xvvrRa OftoTYlSa s;s,RIrrnpr.