Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-14
THE REGULAR ARMY.
DETAILS OF A PLAN FOR TRANS FORM NC IT INTO A SCHOOL.

Cost of our Present Army-Character of
 the Enlisted Men-Reasons for Impor-
 tant Changes-Novel and Noteworthy
 Suggestions from Gen. I1autz.
 An extraordinary transformation of the regular army is proposed by Gen. August V. Kautz, colonel of the Eighth infantry, in the Century Magazine. "The ideal army that we have in view" be says, lis educational institution, the fundamental principle being to recruit it's material from the youth of the land, who will be able to learn tho 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 S30,OOO, 900 a year, and has often amounted to $40, ,O00, GOO, so that he considers the annual cost per man of maintaining our military establishment to be about Sl,2OO. Hence lit costs more to smaintain private than it does to make an officer at West Point"
 ''The men enlisted for this force are mostly recruited ill tho 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 propor- tion arc foreigners who are not sufficiently acquainted with tho country to find other employment. Many have found out their incapacity to mako headway in civil life, tho 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 arc wanderers by nature, and who become the deserters from the army. Many arc ilhterate, 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 ill the ranks, is generally suspected of some moral taint or incorporate habit not | tolerated among his friends, and the number who attain distinction ill the army, or after leaving it, are few indeed. There is no op- portunity afforded the enlisted man to be- come qualified to command ill case of war, and the number who rise to a commission is remarkably small"
 HUMDRUM CONDITION
 l 1eTnapS CnOSe WnO ulSSeDU rom CTen 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. 1 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 ire 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 his horse to take care of; but in general the soldiers are forever prac- ticing elementary duties and drills, ''doing them as we'll, 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 ill 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 mako ''every military post a military school" West Point officers serv- ing as instructors. As to the exact duties of such a school tho article is somewhat more vague:
 While holding that the army should be ar 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 tc books who can be of great service as carpen ters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, masons painters, etc These are all trades which car be taught, for they are all carried on al every post. All these pursuits are essential in war; in fact, therc is no pursuit in civi life that may not be of service in war"
 RUSH OF RECRUITS.
 The present strength of the army could bt obtained by taking fifteen recruits annually from each congress district, and the prevail ing rule should be single enlistment of fiv, years, so that the greatest number possibl may get a military training. The resul 3 would be such rush of recruits that onl, ) the best could be received:
 "The opportunity of getting education , while one is being clothed and fed, and re ceiving from 50 cents to S1 per day, woult be availed of gladly by any young man wh
 had not been favored by fortune. It woul,
 be his chance to sec something of the grea
 world. After five years he could return t 1 his home and relatives with diploma and
 discharge that would give him Q claim to |. commission as an officer in the event of
 war, and he could have from one to tw
 thousand dollars in his pocket; for he coul ' save all his pay"
 d All this Is novel and particularly note 1T worthy coming from an officer like Ger Kaut2 who has seen long and varied service
 A German by birth, and private ill tn Ohio infantry during the Mexican war, b
 was also graduate of the Military Academ
 and distinguished soldier during the civ