Wichita eagle., 1888-11-13
THE REGULAR ARMY.
DETAILS OF A PLAN FOR TRANS
FORMING IT INTO "A SCHOOL.

FORMING IT INTO "A SCHOOL.
| Cost of Our Present Army-Chara cter 81
the Enlisted Men-Reasons for Impox-
| Suggestions from Gen. Kautz.
An extraordinary Transformation of the
regular army is proposed by Gen. August "
Kautz, colonel Of the Eighth infantry, in the
| Century Magazine ''The ideal army that
| we have IN view" he says, lis an educational
| institution, the fundamental principle being
! to recruit its material from the youth Of the
land who viii 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 .ore of
maintaining enlisted men," and be declares
that this would be cheaper, besides keeping
the country better prepared for great war;
COST OF EEEPNG.
The cost Of keeping up our present army,
according to Gen. kautz, has always ex-
ceeded $50, 900 a year, and has often
amounted to $40, COG, coo, 50 that he considers
the annual cost per man Of maintaining our
military establishment to be about 81 800
Hence sit costs more to maintain private
than it does TO make an officer at West
Point
s'The men enlisted for this force are mostly
recruited in the large cities, and consist Of q
-, L., o%.I
from other than patriotic motives or love
OF the military profession. A large proper
ton ere foreigners who are not sufficiently
acquainted with the country to find other
employment. Many have found out their
incapecity to make Roadway 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
'traInps,' who are wanderers by nature, and
who become the deserters from the army
Many are initerate, 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 Incorporate habit not
tolerated among his friends, and tho 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 commission 10
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. Cen
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 hurdrum condition is not
quite SO marked In the cavalry, because the
trooper has at least his horse to take care of;
but in general the soldiers are forever prac-
ticing elementary duties and drills, doing
them 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 the value OF the old drill
tactics, making them even perilous.
With these premises to start from, Gen
kautz proposes to make every military post
u military school," West Point officers serv-
ing as instructors. As to the exact duties of
such school the article is soInewha moro
vague:
While holding that the army should be an
educational institution. it is not intended to
limit it to book knowledge. The instruction
should also be technical TO q certain extent
There will be many who will not take to
books who can be Of great service Us carpen-
tiers, wheelwrights, blecksmiths, masons,
painters, etc. These are all trades which can
be taught, for they are all carried on at
every post. All these pursuits are essential
in war; in fact, there is no pursuit in civil
life that may not 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 a single enlistment Of five
years, so that the greatest number possible
may get q military training. The result
would be such 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 so cents to 81 per day, would
be availed of gladly by any young man who
had not been favored by fortune 1t would
be his chance to see something OF the great
world After five years he could return to
bis home and relatives with a diploma and a
discharge that would give him claim to
IS an officer in the event of a
war, and be could have from one to two
thousand dollars in his pocket; for he could
save eli 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 elso graduate of the Military Academy
and distinguished soldier during the civil
war and now has been forty years n tbs
service New York Sun.