Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-17

4
and considerate treatment of the men It will
continue to engage my earnest attention.
The pay of Second Lieutenants is SIG 81
| per month, of first sergeant $22, and this
| difference in pay largely regulates the
| actual distance between their positions.
| That distance is too great. The pay of
/ non commissioned officer is but little more
| than private, and the chance to rise above
| that position very slight. 1t would be a
step in the right direction to increase some.
what the pay of the non-commissioned Of
| ficers, that every man who enters the
service may find in it the possibility of
| modest future.
| PROMOTIONS FROM THE RANKS.
recommend change in the law rela-
| tive to the selection of enlisted men for ap-
pointment to the grade of Second Lieuten-
ant. The act of June is, 1873, providing
for the promotion of meritorious non COM
m. ;ssioned officers makes the privilege de-
pend absolutely upon the discretion of the
officer for the time being in command of
the company.
Practically, it is now possible for COM
pany commanders to give these valuable
appointments to young men who have en-
| listed for that sole purpose, and gives great
opportunity for tayoritism. In order to in.
| sure G4GCk luSklCE III lllC STEP
should be with the men themselves. ANY
enlisted man Of two years service, who is a
citizen, should, under certain fixed rules
be permitted to compete for commission.
THREE BATTALION FORMATION.
AS a military question there is no diff.
! ference of opinion as to the ACCESSIBILITY al.
| necessity of the three battalion to.mation
| for infantry Now that our small army
can be stationed in larger posts, the con-
ditions OF service are fully suited to its use.
1t already prevails in the other arms of the
service, and there are even stronger reasons
for it in the infantry; besides all ought to
| be uniform. Officers are regularly detailed
| to instruct the militia and colleges, and
! they necessarily instruct in that system OF
| organization which is recognized and fixed
| by our laws. The country will not adopt
| higher standard of military organization
| than that which the Government offers to
| it as a model. Our army is simply nu-
| cleus, skeleton organization on which to
build in case of necessity, and correct Or
| ganiZation is more important than num-
| bers If the present system is as erroneous
IS all military men agree in saying 1t is,
and believe that to be the case, there
| ought to De some way found for making
| the required change.
RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS.
By law the officers must be retired when
| they reach the age of Ga years, and may be
| retired on their own request after forty
years service; but very rev avail them
selves of this privilege. Such retirements
| are now unlimited, but the number of ali
other retirements is restricted by the stat
| utes to four hundred. Retirements ought
to be carefully limited in some proper way.
,ek ,al oil
should be strictly confined within the mar
rowest limits compatible with the necessity
which requires its creation. The number
of officers now awaiting retirement is about
sixty. These men are performing no serv-
ice, but receive full pay, while junior Off
GERS doing their duties for them are unjust
ly deprived of both the pay and the rank.
The incongruity of the present law is
illustrated by the fact that where an officer
is disabled in the line of duty, instead of
opening the way for the promotion of jun
iors, it may and often does actually reterd
it. An officer put upon the limited retired
list remains there SO long as he lives, there
by preventing the retirement of another
officer and the consequent promotion of
juniors. If he had been retired for age in
regular course this could not occur. The
limit now established is proper enough if
the law were so amended that this limit
could be construed according to the reason
able intent of lis purpose.
REBELLION RECORDS.
The publication of the Rebellion Records
is progressing as satisfactorily as possible.
The great item of expense is the printing,
and that can only be completed as funds
are available. Ten books were published
and distributed containing the accounts of
the Charlottesville and Gettysburg cam
paigns and the important sieges Of Vicks-
burg and Hudson. In the preparatory
work seven more books have been stereo-
typed and twelve indexed, of which eleven
were ready for publication at the end of the
fiscal year, thus carrying the official &C.
counts 10 the end of 1868. Forty-fve
books have been published and distributed
up to June 30, 1890.
SIGNAL CORPS.
By the Act approved October /, 1890, the
Weather Bureau Service is to be transferred
on the 1st day of next July to the Depart
ment of Agriculture. The growing i'm
portance of this service, in its general in
terest to the country has resulted in its de-
velopment and extention to the detriment
of the original purely military duties OF the
Signal Corps. The disassociation of the
two must certainly place upon more
lGNOTdDlG DdSiS lulS vel pOlluIl
of the military service. Three hundred
and ninety-three officers of the line repre-
senting every regiment in the army have
| been under instructions, and at least 1,500
of the enlisted men.
MILITARY POSTS AND P0sT-TRADERS.
! The policy of the Department 10 concen-
| trate its troops at larger posts as rapidly as
| the requirements of the service would per-
| hos baay, oarrt cd ont 91rirao 70 vaar
The licenses of forty.two post-traders
have been revoked, and only two new
traders have been appointed, leaving the
total number in the service thirty-four. 1t
is believed to be wise policy to discontinue
as rapidly as possible this privileged class
and permit the trade of military posts to
take its regular channels.
THE NATIONAL GUARD.
| An effective militia is q prominent and
necessary factor in any military organiza-
| ton suited to our country. Officers have
| been detailed to assist in National Guard
instruction, and detachmen-s of regular
troops have been ordered TO participate in
some of the larger State encampments. The
| Department has endeavored to cooperate
| with those States which have manifested
the most interest in the matter by their
own liberal appropriations and earnest
| efforts.
Any money which the National Govern
ment expends for our citizen soldiery goes
to help those who help themselves, and is
bound to give proporiionately large re-
| turns. Under the present. law there is an
nuslly appropriated for the militia $780,,
| 000 the individual States appropriate over
| 8, 100000. and in many States the militia
receive considerable support from private
sources. The appropriation of the General
Government should be increased, and l be-
| lieve that it would be generously met by
corresponding increase by the States them
selves. heartily commend every intelli-
gent effort to increase the efficiency Of the
National Guard, and to bring them into
closer relations with the War Department,
and hope that measures TO that end may
receive favorable consideration of Congress.
| One of the most useful directions which
can be given TO the drill and training of the
militia of the seaboard States is in connec-
ton with coast defenses, where its service
is most likely to be needed, if at all.
MONUMENTS TO GENERALS.
! No action has been taken towards pro-
curing the pedestals for the statues of Gen.
erals Sheridan and Logan under the Act Of
March 2, 1889, for the reason that the char
| aCtQr ard size Of the statupS have not been