Mohave County miner., 1889-05-04
THE REGULAR ARMY.
oETAiLe or A PLAN ron TRAN6-
FORMING lT INTO A SCHOOL.

EoV"Iva W WV - SSssSSSs
Cost Of Our Present Army-Chassoter oA
ths Eniiss~i deB--Rsasoas for Impor.
tant ChaDges--Novei and Noteworthy
Suggestions from Gem Ksafs.
An extraordinary Transformation OF the
regular army il proposed by Gen. August v.
Kautx, colonel OF the Eighth infantry, in the
Century Magazine. 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 DO able 20 learn the duties Of
the service and TO impart them TO others,S
and in order 10 giyo the whole country o
share IN this school, lle would have the re-
cruits selected according to locality, q fxed
number from each Congress district, TO
which, oa completing their education. they
| would return. In short. he would substitute
"faesho,l Of making officers for tho ono Of
raa.pta.DIng calisted men;' and be declares
that this would be cheaper, besides keeping
the country better prepared for . great war.
COST or KEEPING.
| The cost Of keeping up our present army,
| eccor,.ing 10 Gen. Kautx, his always en-.
ceesied e30Oo0,Oo0 year, and has often
amounted TO ss0, ,0o0, 600, 30 that hs considsrs
| tho annual cost per man Of maintaining our
| military establishment TO be about tl,200.
Hence sit costs more to l,naintAin private
than it does TO make an o6,cr st West
| Point
eTbe mon enlisted for this foros are mostly
recruited In the large cities, and consist Of .
class who In the main have selected 70 enlist
from other than patriotic motives or love
H <.ls Al a
tion are foreigners who are not sufficiently
acquainted with the country TO Ind other
| employment. Many have found out their
incapacity to make beadway In civil life, tho
| causes being as different as the characters
and circumstances Of the individuals Too
many belong 70 that large and unfortunate
class known under the generic name OF
'tramps,' who are wanderers by nature, and
1 who become the deserters from tho army
| Many ore illiterate, few are educated and
capable, and the great majority lack tho
necessary talents and capacity 10 take care
i Of themselves and TO advance in life. The
smart and apparently capable man. when
| found In the ranks, is generally suspected Of
some moral taint or intemperats habit not
tolerated among his friends, and the number
| who attain distinction In tho army, or after
leaving II, are few indeed There Is no op-
/ portunity afforded the enlisted man 10 be-
come qualified 10 command Ia case Of war,
| and the number who rise to q commission u
remarkably small"
/ HuxpRux CONDITION.
Perhaps those who dissent from Gen.
Rautzs Plan would dispute not only the fig
nres Of cost attributed to maintaining the
enlisted man, bat his view Of the real aver
| age character OF tho present recruits Gen.
! Kantz 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
fcld service. This humdrum condition is not
quite so marked In the cavalry, because the
trooper has at least his horse 20 take care Of ;
but In general the soldiers are forever prac-
ticing elementary duties and drills "doing
them a. well, II not better, after the Arst few
weeks Of instruction as they ever do after
| ward
Another reason for bis proposed change
Gen. Kauts finds In the modern ss't OF war,
which destroys The value OF the old drill
tactics, making them even periloua
With these premises to start from, Gen.
Kautx proposes 10 make ''every military post
q military school, West Point officers serv-
ing as instructors As 10 the exact duties Of
such school tho article 70 somewhat more
1 vague:
.sWhile holding that the army should be an
educational institution, 10 is not intended 10
limit 10 10 book knowledge. The instruction
should also be technical TO Q certain extent.
There win be many who will not take to
books who can be OF great service as carpen-
ters. wheeiwrights, blacksmiths. 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;
A RUSH CT RECRUITS.
The present strength Of tho army could be
obtained by taking fifteen recruits annually
from each congress district, and the prevail
ing rule should bc single snlistment Of ave
years, % that tho greatest number possible
may get military training. Tho result
wouid to such rush OF recruits that only
the best could be received:
"The opportunity of getting an education
| while one In being clothed and led, and ne
ceiving from 80 cents TO q per day, would
be availed of gladly by any young man who
had not been favored by fortune IL would
be his chance to see something OF the great
world. After i've years he could return to
bis homo and relatives with diploma and Q
discharge that would give him claim TO q
commission as an officer in tho event Of .
war, and he could have from one t8 two
thousand dollars In his pocket; for hs could
save all his pay"
i All this is novel and particularly note
worthy as coming from an officer liks Gen.
Kautz, who has seen long and varied service.
A German by birth, and private In tho
Ohio infantry during the Mexican war, he
was also graduate Of the Military Academy
and q distinguished soldier during tho civil
war, and now has been forty years In the
| .n..,,,.. Na,., voni, E,,a