San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-11-24
THE REGULAR ARMY.
DETAILS OF A PLAN FOR TRANS
FORMING IT INTO A SCHOOL.
Cost of Our Present Army-Character of
tho Enlisted Men-Reasons for Impor-
tant Changes-Novel and Noteworthy
Suggestions from Gen. Kautz.

An extraordinary Transformation Of the
regular army is proposed by Gen. August V.
Kautz, colonel of the Eighth infantry, in the
Century Magazine. 1.-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
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 lone 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 SS0,000,000 a year, and has often
amounted to $4,000, 600, so that he considers
the annual cost per man of maintaining our
military establishment to be. about $1,000.
Hence sit costs more to Smaintain private
than 1t does to make an officer at West
Point"
1.-The men enlisted for this force are mostly
recruited in the large cities, and consist OF
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 who are not sufficiently
acquainted with the country to find other
employment Many have found out their
incapacity to make Roadway in civil life, the
-, tln oh nfa
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 arc educated and
capable, and the great ajOrity 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 Incorporate 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 OPP
portunity afforded the enlisted man to be-
come qualified to command in case Of war,
and the number who rise to commission u
remarkably small"
A HUMDRUM 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
age character of the present recruits Gen.
kautZ proceeds to say that the duties of the
troops mostly consist of the simplest routine
of garrison life, and that since even the out
breaks of the Indians are becoming less fire.
quent, they have little opportunity to learn
field service This humdrum condition is not
quite so marked in the cavalry, because the
trooper has at least Lis horse to take care OF;
but in general the soldiers are forever preo-
ticing elementary duties and drills. ''Going
Uncm as well, if not better, after the first few
weeks OF instruction as they ever do after
ward"
Another reason for his proposed change
Gen. kautz finds in the modern art OF war,
which destroys tie value of the old drill
tactics, making them even perilous.
With these premises to start from, Gen.
Kautz proposes to make ''every military post
a military school," West Point officers serv-
ing as instructors AS to the exact duties Of
such a school the article is somewhat more
vague:
while holding that the army should be an
educational Institution. Is is nos intended to
limit it 70 book Knowledge. The Instruction
should also be technical to u certain extent.
There will be many who will net take TO
books who can be of great service as carpen-
tiers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, maSons,
painters, etc Th.sc are all trades which can
be taught, for they ar all carried on at
every post All these pursuits are essential
in war; i'll fact, there is no pursuit i'll civil
life that may rot be of service in war"
RUSH OF RECRUITS
The present strength of the army could be
obtained by taking fifteen recruits annually
from each congress district, and the prevail
ing rule should be single enlistment OF five
years, SO that the greatest number possible
may get military training. The result
would be such a rush of recruits that only
the best could be received:
1.-The opportunity of getting an education
while one is being clothed and fed, and re-
ceiving from 80 cents to 81 per day, would
be awaited of gladly by any young man who
mad not been IA ored by fortune 1t would
be his chance to see something of the great
world. After five years he could return to
his home and relatives with diploma and a
discharge that would give MN claim TO a
commission as an officer in the event of a
war, and he could have from one to two
thousand dollars in his pocket; for he could
save all his pay"
All this is novel and particularly note
worthy as coming from an officer like Gen.
Kautz, who has seen long and varied service.
A German by birth, and private in the
OHIO infantry during the Mexican war, he
was also graduate of the Military Academy
and distinguished soldier during the civil
war, and now has been forty years In the
se-vice.-New York Sun.