The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-12-05
WAR DEPARTMENT..
Annual Report of the Secretary
of the Army.
Expenses of the Army--General
Hazen Censured.

Secretary Lincoln in his annual report,
gives the expenditures Of the war department,
for the fiscal year 1884 SAG, 332, SIG, the APP
for the current year $45, $40, 5b1
and the estimates for the year ending June
30, 1856, s5O,s50,5O0. The principal item of
increase in these estimates is $685. coo for
Notifications and other works of defence
The army has enjoyed almost complete
rest from active field operations during the
last year. Referring to Oklahoma Paynes
invasion of the Indian Territory, Mr.. Lin
coin recommends that an amendment Of the
statute be male providing for imprison-
ment, as it is believed that such q punish
ment would prevent his vexatous raids and
save a very large expenditure now incurred
in the movement of troops employed in exc
cutting the law.
In regard to the West Point academy he
says
IL believe thatit would be highly beneficial
TO the army if the instruction in legal prin-
ciples given at the Military Academy were
placed in charge of professor of law of the
same rank and tenure as is held by the other
professors, and l recommend legislation
which will accomplish that RESULT
He concurs in the recommendation of the
Acknowledgement that n clerical force be EN-.
ployed to re-copy more than 100000 regi
mental rolls, which have been almost de-
stroyed by constant handling, mainly in pen
sion cases.
He invites speedy attention to the subject
of the railroads indebted to the United States
for material sold them in 1865 and 1866
-Four of these roads, lie says, are still in.
dcbted, have made no cash payment for
several years, and at present there is no
probability that q settlement will ever be
reached, and it is suggested that the whole
matter be transferred to some other branch
of the service
The total number of deaths in the army in
thc last fiscal year was PIP, of which 1I3
We're from disease and seventy nine from in
luries. No casualties from actual warfare
are reported.
Mr.. Lincoln urges legislation to provide for
n fiIeproof building for the army and mCdi
cal museum and the library of the surgeon
generals office and recommends the repeal
of the law forbidding payment Of mileage to
officers travelling over the land grant roads.
He expresses the hope that adequate appro-
preparations may he made to carry out the
views of the chief of engineers in regard tc
seacoast defence, and, under the head of the
ordnance department, he again says:
"The condition of our coast defenses Is q
matter of grave concern, and calls for inn.
mediate action, and | indulge the hope that
before the end of the ensuing session Congress
will show to the country its appreciation OF
these national wants by a liberal and per
manent annual appropriation
Mr.. Lincoln does not concur i'll General
Hazen's recommendation of return to the
old method of incorporating the appropria-
tions for the support of the signal service with
those for the support of the army On the
subject Of the Greedy rescue Mr.. Lincoln
SAYS:
The secretary of war observed with regret
that the CHIEF signal officer has chosen to
l. 1.
preston Of opinion that after the arrival of
the wrecked Proteus party on September -,
1888, at st. Johns, there was still time, ''as
known from previous experience and shown
by subsequent facts, to send efficient relief. y
AT err reciting the we'll known facts in re-
gard to the events which followed the loss of
the Proteus and the discussion that occurred
as to the propriety of sending relief expedi-
ton in the latter part of the year 1888, Mr..
Lincoln adds:
The secretary of war knows of no ore
whose opinion would be considered, except
the chief signal officer, who would not have
regarded such an expedi ion net only as sub
stantially hopeless for any relief earlier than
was actually given, but perilous i'll the eX-
IRENE if not foohardy. = To some of
the criticisms made by the chief signal Off
Ger in his report no reference GEMS to be re
quired beyond saying that the Proteus court
OF inquiry had the merit of basing its concu-
sions as to officers with whom it dealt upon
such information of facts and conditions as
was attaina ole by the officers themselves at
the time of their action, as well as by the
court But the EXPIRE ision of the chief signal
officer, above referred to, is an intrusion of
an official opinion as TO the proprcty Of the
course of the secretaries of war and of the
navy in not hazarding more lives in 1888 in Il
nearly hopeless adventure, upon his tele-
graphic requests. This excursion into an OIL
cial jurisdiction beyond his own and his dictum
upon the exercise of a superior responsibility
which he was not invite to share are extra
ordinary in their time and place, and are
hardly eXcusable even under whatever Of
irritation may have be- caused by the find
ngs of the Proteus court OF inquiry. Waiv-
Ing, however, that consideration, if there
had at the time been given more weight to
the views of that branch of the public SER
vice, under whose management there bod
been one futile AMI disastrous expedition in
the northern seas in two successive years,
than to the views of men having experience
in such matters, it is now hardly to b. doubted
that we would have had last summer khe
news Of two Arctic calamities instead of one.
lie urges that Congress pass an appropria-
ton of S5O0,0O0 to continue the construction
of the building for the state war and navy
departments, and renews his recommendation
OF last year that 100 instructors, with the rank
and pay of commissary sergeants, be enlisted
for educational work in the army