Morning journal and courier., 1881-11-08
News by Telegraph
 FROM ALL QUARTERS. OUR STANDING ARMY. THE ANNUAL REPORT OF
 GENERAL SHERMAN. An Appeal for a Larger Force. Suggestions From a vete-
 ran in the Service. The State Elections To-Day. A Close Contest Expected
 i'm Virginia.
The State Elections To-Day.
A Close Contest Expected
 i'm Virginia.
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

1 THE NATION AL CAPITAL. The Star Routes-Attorney Cook Argue. Against Quashing the Information- l Decision in an Insurance Case-Ths l Report of General Sherman-An Inter.
 estIns Paper on the Regular Army.
 WASHINGTON, Nov. 7.-District Attorney
 Corkhill to-day, on the opening of the court
 made long personal explanation to the eff | feet that MT. Cook had been appointed as. sistant to the Attorney General, for the pros ecution of the Star route cases, last June. At the conclusion of District AttorKey | Corkhill's remarks Argument was resumed on the motion to quash the information, MT. | William A. Cook opposing the motion I MT. Cook read the affidavit of Postmaster \ General James, which he said was the oath i of one placed in charge of the Postoffice de | pertinent, not of one casually connected | with it. He says that his knowledge is moi | simply his belief and information, but his | knowledge, information and belief of the al ! legations are derived direct from the papers | and records of his office. It is not a loose | indirect assertion of one used to indulge in wild suspicion. He read Detective Wood wards affidavit and said his too was the ! sworn statement of a government officer who | had access to the records. What more could | the court demand? It was therefore not | correct to declare that this statement has been based upon mere information and be- | lief It could be accepted certainly upon | the ground of probable cause, fully backed | up by the Constitution and other authorities, l 8 number of which he read He said \ The information comes with high official I sanction. What was the value of these de- partments? How can they maintain their purity if they may not be allowed, in accord ! ance with the authorized practice that comes down to us baptised and canonized by the practice of our ancestors into this. country. The information could only be rescinded if not sustained by the afidavits on which it I was founded. With this suggestion he closed his argument, and will be followed to morrow by MT. Brewster, who will close for the gov ernment.
 Justice Stanley Matthews to-day rendered a voluminous decision in the case of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance company vs. the Central National bank of Baltimore. It seems that the Baltimore agent of the
 Connecticut Mutual Insurance company had
 individual and agents deposits in said bank,
 that his note went to protest and the bank,
 both accounts being mixed, used them both in settling. The Insurance company sued the bank and gained victory in the Circuit Court. Justice Matthews upholds the form CT decision on the ground that the bank had notice of the agents account and should have kept it separate from the individual accounts.
 The Supreme Court also decided to-day in the case of Catherine Kline vs. the New York Life Insurance company that the failure to pay premiums on policy is fatal in every case Mrs KIine's claim was that her hus- band was insane and she knew nothing of the existence of the policy till the premiums ran out.
 General w. T. Sherman's annual report to the Secretary of War has been completed and sent to the department. It is accompanied by the reports of Adjutant General Drum already published, Inspector General Sackett and of the commanding generals of. divisions and the departments, to which reference is made in the report itself. The General in his report says great progress has been made during the year in collecting and locating hitherto hostile Indians on reservations. It makes no special recommendation touching Indian matters. The General recommends an increase of 20 per cent. in the number of private soldiers as made necessary by the growth of the frontiers, and says in the last ten years our frontiers have been so extended under the protection of our small army as to add at least thousand million of dollars to the taxable wealth of the nation, has enabled emigrants to settle up remote parts of the country, and the principal cause of the great prosperity which is felt throughout all parts of the country. When the national Treasury was poor and loaded with debt the army en- deavored gracefully to submit to overwork, but they now appeal for relief. I do most earnestly ask the honorable Secretary of
 War to apply to Congress to repeal that clause of the existing law which limits the enlisted force of the army to %, 900 men and to enact that each con- pany in the army may be enlisted to at least 50 privates, making sixty two enlisted men and three officers to each of the 43O con- panies, thus increasing the army proper to 26, 66O enlisted men, which number in prac- tice will probably never exceed 25, ,O0O. Add
 ing to these the usual number of detached
 1okk
 recommended is 30, 499. The state ment of the actual strength of the army shows 6,882 cavalry, 2,4O3 artillery,
 10,530 infantry and 3, 781 non-combatants, total of 3,596. There are 12O companies of cavalry, 60 of artillery and 25O of infantry.
 He endorses the recommendation of Inspec- tor General Sackett that the force of inspec- tors be increased so there may be one for each department. This is the only increase of commissioned officers asked. He recom- mends change in the rule which forbids of
 icers employing soldiers to act as servants, saying it is often impossible for officers to hire non-enlisted men to take care of their horses, cook their meals, &c., and recom- mends change in the rule so that officers may hire soldiers who are willing to do such work, but may never compel them. The question of keeping up the many forts along the coast and the many military stations ys local pride to the people where they are To- cated, but many comparatively valueless to the country, should be, he thinks, referred to boards of high officers to decide what shall remain and what shall be dispensed with. All forts not deemed necessary should be sold and the funds applied to erecting good permanent buildings or others. Fin ished forts and posts worth retaining should, he suggested, be placed in charge of retired officers and 8 veteran reserve corps" of men who have served twenty-five years or more, not to exceed five hundred men in number, created by transferring this class of men from the service with the rank and pay which they had when the war ended, these men to be placed in charge of these forts and posts. He says one sor two officers of the retired class and half dozen of those old soldiers would compose good garrison. for an aban- doned post or fort. They could hoist the flag, fire the evening salute, protect and account for public property and do what now costs the labor of an organized company
 By granting retired officers thus detailed fuel and quarters we would provide homes for worthy veterans, which would be most hon orable and charitable to them and advanta- that those civil colleges to which army officers have been attached be subject to inspection by an officer of the War department. He dis cusses the question of the selection of su- perintendent of West Point whether it should be from the engineering or military depart ments, whether West Point shall go back to 1872 and become an engineers school or be a military academy and says West Point is in tended to make soldiers, not professional en- gineers, and the word soldiers" embraces everything in war; If an engineer be bet ter soldier than an infantry officer then let him in war and peace have all the honors and emoluments, but our recent experience does not fulfill the assertion. The honors of the civil war were not confined to engineers, therefore trust you will use your influence tary academy as now from all arms of the service.
 Guiteau's counsel say they have finished