, 1889-11-16
ARMY DESERTIONS.
Gen. Schofeld's Plan for Rem
edying the Evil.
Reported Rich Gold Find in
North Carolina.
Lillian Russell, of Comic Opera
Fame, Disappears.
CEN. scho6eId,s Report.

WASHINGTON, Nov. l5.-The annual
repor. OF Gen. Scho6eld is made public.
1t pays special attention to the desertion
question. After speaking OF the causes
leading to desertion. such as the rowing
disposition of many men who enlist. and
the irksomeness of routine military duties,
he says: A sufficient remedy may per-
haps be found in the case of all worthy
men who find, after a few months trial
they have mistaken their calling. by a
more liberal exercise of power to dis
charge soldiers upon their own application
than has ever heretofore prevailed. Great
care in recruiting to prevent the enlist
ment of men of bad character and habits
may be found practicable. Measures
having these ends in view have already
been instituted. Also greater care in the
treatment of recruits by officers and nom
commissioned officers. Records of deser-
ton from different organizations leave no
room for doubt Of the fact that the char
acter of a commanding officer has much
TO do with the extent of this evil. In all
such cases. the captain should be prompt
ly removed from a command which he
seriously neglects.
hltt al pOSSlDlc udu Dttu uOut W re-
move reasonable excuses for assertions, it
still remains true that the means now Fro
vided for the arrest and punishment of
deserters are wholly inadequate. Only
one man in five is ever captured. This is
not sufficient to deter men from commit
ting crime. The remedy is to authorize
civil officers to arrest deserters and in
crease the reward so as to compensate
them for their services.
Gen. Schofield recommends that the
present five regiments of artillery be or
ganized into seven regiments, the organi-
zation II remain this same, except that
there be but one first lieutenant to a bat
terry. He also recommends that the en-
listed strength of the army be increased
to 80. 900, which would supply a force nee
essary for the proposed reorganization OF
artillery and infantry. as well as giving
more margin for recruits under ~instruc-
ton.
He recommends three battalion organ
izations for infantry regiments and sug-
gests that hereafter promotions from the
grade of second lieutenant to that of colo
mel in cases of all officers who are not now
above the lowest grade should be made
according to seniority OF commission in
the arm OF the service to which the officer
belongs and not as now in part by regi
ments. He further suggests that here
after officers be commissioned In the arm
of the service to which they belong and
not in particular regiments SO that they
may be assigned to regiments and trans
ferred from one to another as the inter
ests OF the service may require. He rec
ommends that the pay of noa-commis-
stoned officers of infantry, cavalry and
artillery be made the same as that now
established for like grades in the engi
neers..
Referring to the work of the board of
ordnance and Notifications, he says:
THE plan of the engineers department
will provide all land defenses necessary
for the security of the great maritime
points Of the country. In a very few
cases these land defenses will need to be
supplemented by floating batteries of
powerful harbor defense vessels. because
the necessary foundations for guns do
not exist on solid ground. Submarine
mines and movable torpedoes will also
play an important, though secondary,
part in the general plans for Defense"
Provision should be made for necessary
garrisons at the principal seaports. A Ia
BILE is given showing the necessities OF this
work. The war garrisons of our sea coast
defences would be about IS. 900 artillery
men and l,305 guns of modern construc
ton.