Rock Island daily Argus., 1888-11-15
THE REGULAR ARMY.
DETAILS OF A PLAN FOR TRANS
FORMING IT INTO A SCHOOL.
Cost of Our Present Army-Charaeter of
the Enlisted Men-Reasons for Impor-
tant Changes-Novel and Noteworthy
Suggestions from Gen. Kautz.

the Enlisted Men-Reasons for Impor-
tsut Changes-Novel and Noteworthy |
Suggestions from Gen. Kautz.
An extraordinary transformation of the |
regular army is proposed by Cen August V. |
Kautz, colonel of the Eighth infantry, in the |
Century Magazine, "The ideal army that
we have in view" he says, is an educational
institution, the fundamental principle being
to recruit its material from the youth of the
land, who will be able to learn the duties of
the service and to impart them to Others"
and in order to give the whole country a
share in this school, he would have the re-
cruits selected according to locality, fixed
number from each Congress district, to
which, on completing their education, they
would return. In short, he would substitute
method of making officers for the one Of
maintaining enlisted men, and he declares
that this would be cheaper, besides keeping
the country better prepared for great war.
COST OF KEEPING.
The cost of keeping up our present army,
according to Gen. kautz, has always ex-
ceeded $50, 100000 a year, and has often
amounted TO $40, coo, 900, so that he considers
the annual cost per man of maintaining cur
military establishment TO be about 81 200
Hence ''it costs more TO Emaintain private
| than 1t does to make an officer at West
| Point
THE men enlisted for this force are mostly
recruited in the large cities, and consist Of a
class who in the main have selected to enlist
from other than patriotic motives or love
of the military profession. A large proper
ton are foreigners vino are not sufficiently
acquainted with the country to find other
employment. Many have found out their
incapacity to make headway in civil life, the
causes being as different as the characters
and circumstances OF the individuals Too
many belong to that large and unfortunate
class known under the generic name of
tramps' who are wanderers by nature, and
who become the deserters from the army.
Many are illiterate, few are educated and
capable and the great majority lack the
necessary talents and capacity to take care
of themselves and TO advance in life. The
smart and apparently capable man, when
found in the ranks, is generally suspected of
some moral faint or 'intemperate habit not
tolerated among his friends, and the number
who attain distinction in the army, or after
leaving it, are few indeed. There is no op-
portunity afforded the enlisted man TO be
come qualified to command in case Of war
and the number who rise to a commission i,
remarkably small"
A HUsDRUM CONDITION.
Perhaps those who dissent from Gen
Kautz's plan would dispute not only the fig
ureS of cost attributed TO maintaining The
enlisted man, but his view of the real aver
.,l.n g H.
, kautz proceeds to say that the duties of th'
, troops mostly consist of the simplest routin,
, of garrison life, and that since even the out
breaks Of the Indians are becoming less fire.
= quent, they have little opportunity to learl
, field service. This humdrum condition is no
quite so marked in the cavalry, because tn
trooper has at least his horse to take care Of
but in general the soldiers are forever prac
ticing elementary duties and drills, ''doinj
them as well, if not better, after the first fev
j, weeks OF instruction as they ever do after
:, ward"
A Another reason for his proposed chang
: Gen. kautZ finds in the modern art OF wal
which destroys the value Of the old dri
a tactics, making them even perilous.
a With these premises to start from, Ger
:, kautz proposes to make ''every military Dos
:. military school, West Point officers sery
:, ing as instructors As to the exact duties {
:, such school the article is somewhat mor
! vague:
~ while holding that the army should be a
A educational institution, it is not intended t
,. limit it To book knowledge. The instructio
A should also he technical TO certain exten
"a There viii be many who will not take I
IN books who can be Of great service as carpel
% ters, wheelwrghts, blacksmiths, mason
" painters, etc. These are all trades which ca
10 be taught, for they are all carried on {
n every post. All these pursuits are essentii
ID in war; in fact, there is no pursuit in civ
IA life that may not be of service In war"
ID RUSH OF RECRUITS
The present strength of the army could |
obtained by taking fifteen recruits annual
to from each congress district, and the prevai
he ing rule should be single enlistment of fl
years, so that the greatest number possib
may get a military training The resu
m would be such a rush of recruits that on
the best could be received:
ma 'The opportunity of getting an educatit
"a while one is being clothed and fed, and 7
"a ceivins from 50 cents to 81 per day, wou
vs be availed of gladly by any young man wi
he had not been favored by fortune. 1t wou
Ia be his chance to see something of the gre
ss world. After five years he could return
/. his home and relatives with diploma and
nd discharge that would give him a claim to
or commission as an officer in the event OF
On war. and he could have from one to "
All thousand dollars III his pocket; for he cou
in save all bis pay
ON All this is novel and particularly no
worthy as coming from an officer like Gt
ys kautz, who has seen long and varied servi,
IL. A German by birth, and private in t
ed Ohio infantry during the Mexican war,
lin was also a graduate of the Military Acader
on and distinguished soldier during the ci
ma war, and now has been forty years in ;
IL service-New York Sun.