The morning call., 1891-12-07
UNCLE SANS ARMY.
The Three Battalion Organize.
ton Is a Necessity Now.
Diminution in Observation-Disclosures Of
ofhcers-Praise for the Young Men.
Posts Abandoned

The annual report of the Secretary Of War
contains some timely and interesting OBJ
servations on the subject of the three-bat-
TALON organization. 1t says:
The question OF the three battalion oreaniza-
ZION Tor the infantry has been before Congress,
ana on account OF the great defects Of the pres
ent system must necessarily be The subject OF
discussion until remedled by legislation.
measure In other respects desirable which would
mateTialiy increase the expense OF the army
might not receive favorable consideration, but
the essential features Of this change can be had
without increase OF expense.
Inc single battalion organization of Infantry
is radically d. fective and uufI for actual service
under present conditions. During the period
slnce-the Civil War our infantry organization
mas remained unchanged and Is now, respect
10 the single attaliun feature Obsolete 1t is SO
vicious that the first step In case OF war must be
10 abolish 1t and to start anew 1t can
not be amended or modifed Il Is unwiedy,
incapable OF subdivision 10 either make or
meet attack under methods now prevailing,
ana the situation grows worse with every i'm
provement of arms. The development OF range.
iapldity ana accuracy OF lire of modern arms has
i peeh SO great That smaller aud more flexible
battalion Is essential, for this development makes
ceierity In handling troops Oh the field a Prime
necessity.
The adoption OF the three. battalion system has
perm repeatedly urged by all our distinguished
Generals, ana General Sherman considered IL of
sucn commanding importance that he made It
report as General OF the Army. But important
as II was al that time, it Is necessity now, for
INC new lacIlc5 required by the
crease In range and rapidly Of fire. ten
company battalion cannot be Unanswered.
Inc principle can be adopted and the
suDstanllal advantages of the three battalion
organization 0btaiaed without Increase of cost;
TWO OF The battaions to he composed OF the
present eight iull companies. and the third 10 be
IN part skeleton battalion. which could readily
De completely organized In case OF war.
General Miles has directed that hereafter
all officers who forward applications for
leave OF absence must state the number and
extent OF leaves of absence granted them
during the Immediately preceding five years.
DEsERTIoNs FROM THE ARMY.
Desertions from the army for the year
ending September 30th have been less than
in any other year in the history of the army.
Previous to 1920 there are no relia bic
records, but from that time till the begin
ming OF the War of the Rebellion the aver
age annual rate of desertion was 1913 per
cent of the enlisted strength, aud since the
war it has been nearly tile same. From
January l, 1867, to June 80 1891, twenty
four and hall years, the number of deser-
lions from the army was 6S.4T5. 1t has cost
The Government very large sum for pay,
clothing, subsistence and transportation of
recruits TO replace these men. For the year
ending June so, 1889, the rate was 116 per
cent; for the year ending June 80, 1890, 8 per
cent; for the year ending June 80, 1891, 81
per cent. During the twelve months end
ilIs Itpltln Uct 1871, llle IdIO was only
5.S per cent, and for like period ending
October 81. 81 per cent THE diminu-
tion." says the Secretary of War in his an
nual report, lis still going on, and the per-
centage is being reduced month by month.
Great as the reduction has been, however,
there is no good reason why desertions
should not be reduced to 8 or even per
cent Probably they cannot be reduced
below per cent. This much will have to
be charged TO the peryersity of human ma
ture and the ineradicable restlessness of the
American people"
In 1889 there were forty-eight acting as
SiStant surgeons, commonly known as Con
tract surgeons" of the fifty allowed by Con-
gress. The number has been reduced to
twenty-one and the services af these can be
spared during the present fiscal year. The
abandonment of posts has made these re-
auctions possible
UNJUST IN BOTH CASES.
utant-General Kelton declares with
justice that the revision of law which re-
quires officers who served in the civil war
but are not graduates of the military acad-
envy to be examined only by officers ap-
pointed from civil life, or who commanded
volunteers only during the civil war, is q
reflection upon the intellectual abilities of
volunteer officers and upon the fairness of
the graduates of the military academy, and
is equally unjust in both cases, " The
officers of the army compose homo
geneons, compact corps, he says. ANTE
cedents are not inquired of except as re-
CARDS moral character. Actuated BY COM
mon sentiment, all are cooperating with
intelligent zeal for the interests aud honor
of the service. In the light of such condi-
tions, provision of law, which in effect de-
clareS that IL Is necessary TO protect certain
officers against injustice at the hands of
brother officers, is not only unnecessary in
itself, but IS very unfortunate, if not posi-
lively pernicous."
Among other recommendations made by
Acknowledgement kelton was one that ''the
law be re-enacted authorizing the issue of
medals of honor for distinguished service in
action, and providing that enlisted men of
the army who have received VI shall here
after receive 4 medal of honor shall be en-
titled to So per month in addition to their
pay, such increase 10 commence from the
date at which the medal of honor has been
or shall be awarded" He also urged that
Sergeant Majors should be paid $50, First
Serseants S34 and Sergeants S25 a month
The order for the abandonment of the
military reservation of Fort Morey, n.
Mex, has been revoked.
a GOOD WORD FOR THE YOUNG
In concluding his annual report Secretary
OF War Proctor says: 1.-THE character and
attachments of the older officers of The army,
who made their records during the great
war, is too well understood to receive any
mention; but wish to pay we'll deserved
tribute 10 the younger officers. who have
not nad tne great war opportunities OF their
seniors. Nothing IN connection with the
army has gratifed me so much as the
general high character and professional at
tainments of the younger officers of the
army, who have made the most of their op-
portuniteS under the conditions of compar-
alive peace. 1t is upon them that we must
depend in the future, and they can be i'm
plicitly relied upon to be equal TO the re-
quirements of any emergency"
In pursuance OF the policy of concen-
trating the troops in larger posts, about one
fourth of the number occupied in 1889 have
been abandoned and the reservations turned
over to the Interior Department. Twenty
eight sucL posts have been abandoned since
June, $780, and ten or twelve more can be
as soon as suitable shelter for the troops is
provided at more central points,
There are eighty-two national cemeteries,