Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-03
WAR TEACHING IN COLLEGES.

The Fiftieth congress, with an eye to the benefits accruing to the country from instruction in military tactics in our in stitutions of learning, took measures to increase the efficiency of the system. An act was passed increasing the number of regular officers who may be detailed as instructors and rendering more easy and certain of application the regula- tions attending the detail. Some of these regulations have been prescribed by the president and promulgated by General Schofield.
 They declare that, as rule captains of companies, regimental staff officers, and officers who have served less than three years with their regiments or corps, or who have recently completed tour of detached duty, will not be eligible for colleges. The period of absence will be three years, and regulation that must greatly restrict the field of selection is that no details will be made that will leave battery, troop or company with out two officers for duty with it. In order to secure a military instructor, the application to the secretary of war should be accompanied by a certificate of the number of male students which the institution "has the capacity to edu- cate," although this is rather deceptive phrase, and also by the last printed cat alogue. Where state has more than one school endowed by the national land grant of July 3. 1862, the one most near ly meeting the requirements of the law will secure the officer. It appears from the schedule of allotment that thirty four army and four navy officers go to land grant schools and sixteen army officers and six navy officers to the dis tribution according to population. Each institution to which an officer is sent will be provided with a couple of 3-inch rif1ed guns, with carriages, limbers and appurtenances, and with 15O Springfield cadet rifles. Ammunition amounting to 100 blank cartridges and 300 primers for the cannon and 50 ball cartridges for each cadet taking up rifle practice is also issued. The colleges are only required | to give an adequate bond for the return of the ordnance and ordnance stores or satisfactorily accounting for them. The benefits proceeding from such a system of instruction are incalculable. We have no great military establish ment and standing army in the country, nor are the people anxious to see Eur opean methods engrafted on the land. 1 Our state militia furnishes an excellent school for the training of force that would be adequate in case of the coun- try being involved in war, and the sys- tenn of supplementing this training by the education of our growth in the technique of war can but be productive of good results if the contins ency should arrive for testing it. It is certainly a better plan for providing military edu- cation for the people than to increase the regular army or adopt the European system of enforced military service. If there were call for volunteers it could easily be shown that the small expense in volved in the working of the system would be more than justified by its fruits.
 And again the plan is likely to provide more useful employment to some of our military men than strutting about Wash. ington showing their shapes and theil manners at some of the swell dinners and receptions.