The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-15
WHAT KIPLING SAW.
Our Beautiful Little Army and
It's Expansive Power.
LIRE AMONG THE MoRMoNs.



Runjit Sinsh-Notss On Utah.
A fool also II full Of words; man cannot ten
B shat shall p; and what shall b after him
It has just occurred to mo with great
1brce that delightful - these letters may
b to myself-On the same principle that
made the commercial traveller frolic lonely
among his samples-their length and
breadth and depth may be Just the least
little bit In the world wearisome to you
over there. will compass myself rigor-
ously, though shouM very much like to
deliver . dissertation on the American
army and the possibilities Of its extension.
You see Il II such . beautiful little army
and the dear people don I quite understand
what to do with it. The theory Is that it
r. an instructi0nal nucleus round which
the militia Of the country will rally and
from which they will get . stificning in
time Of danger. Yet other people consider
that the army should be built like a pair
Of lazy tongs--on the principle of elastic
ity and extension--so that in time of need
Il may fill up its skeleton battalions and
empty saddle troops. This is real wisdom
because the American army as at present
constituted, is made up Of:
Twenty-Five regiments infanty. ten COM
panies each.
Ten regiments cavalry, twelve companies
each.
Five regiments artillery. twelve COM
panies each.
Nov there is notion in the air to re-
organize the service on these lines:
Eighteen regiments infantry at four bat
talions, four companies each; third bat
TALON, skeleton; fourth on paper.
Eight regiments cavalry at four battal-
ions, four troops each; third battalion,
skeleton; fourth on paper.
Five regiments artillery at four battal-
ions, four companies each: third battalion,
skeleton: fourth on paper.
Observe the beauty Of this business. The
third battalion will have its officers but no
men; tt fourth will probably have .
rendexvo1B and some equipment. It is
not contemplated to give it anything more
definite at present. Assuming the rcgi-
ments to be made up to full complete
ment, We get an army Of sc, 900 men, which
after the need passes away must be cut
down 80 per cent, to the huge delight of
the officers. And the military needs of
the states be three: (a) Frontier warfare,
an employment well within the grip of the
present army of Is 900, and in the nature
Of things growing less arduous year by
year. (b) Internal riots and connections
which rise up like dust devil, whirl
fuFiously and die out long before the
authorities at Washington could begin to
all up sven the third skeleton battaiions,
much less hunt about for material for the
fourth. (c) Civil war in which, a. the
Ia h. az ~ - h.
the regular army would be swamped in
mass Of militia and armed volunteers that
would turn the land into hell. Yet the
authorities persist in regarding an external
war a. thing to be seriously considered,
md the power that would disembark
troops on American soil would be capable
Of hesving shovelfnl of mud into the
Atlantic in the hope of filling it up. Con-
sequently the authorities are fascinated
with the idea of the sliding scale or con-
certina army. This is an hereditary i'm
stinct, for you know that when we English
have got together two companies, one ma
chine gun, sick bullock, forty generals
and = mass of ". o. forms, we say we
possess IAN army corps capable of indefi-
mite extension
The American army is a beautiful little
army. Some day, when all the Indians
IRE happily dead or drunk, 1t ought to
make the finest scientific and survey corps
that the world has ever seen; it does ex-
cellent work now, but there is this defect
In its nature: It is differed, az you know,
from West Point, but the mischief Of it is
that West Point seems to be created for
the purpose of spreading general knowl-
edge of military matters among the people.
A boy goes up to that institution, gets his
pass and returns to civil life, so they tell
me, with dangerous knowledge that he
is sucking Won Moltke, and may apply
his learning when occasion offers. Given
trouble, that man will be nuisance, be-
cause he is hideously versatile American
to begin with, as cock sure of himself as q
man can be, and with all the racial disre-
gard for human life to back him through
any neutrality-suspicious. generalship.
In country where, as the records of the
daily papers show, men engaged in con-
hict with police or jails are all to ready to
adopt military formation and get heavily
shot in sort Of cheap, halfinstructed war
fare instead of being decently scared by
the appearance of military, this sort of an
arrangement does not seem wise. The
bond between the states is of an amazing
tenuity. So long as they do not absolutely
march into the District of Columbia, sit
on the Washington statues and invent
dag of their own, they can legislate, lynch.
hunt negroes through swamps, divorce,
railroad and rampage as much as ever
they choose. They do not need knowl-
edge of their own military strength TO back
their genial lawlessness. That regular
army, which is dear little army, should
Be kept to itself, blooded on detachment
duty, turned into the paths of science and
now and again assembled at feasts of Free
Masons and so forth. It's too tiny to be a
political power The immortal wreck of
the Grand Army of the Republic is po-
iitical power of the largest and most I'M
blushing description. 1t ought not to help
70 lay the foundations of an amateur mill
tary power that is blind and irrespon-
sible.
omitting thousand matters of first i'm
portance, let me pick up the thread Of
things in narrow gorge line that took me
down to Salt Lake. The run between Delhi
and Abmeaahad on May day would have
been bliss compared to this torture. There
was nothing but glare and desert and alkai
aust. There was no smoking accommoda-
uon. sat in the lavatory with the con-
ouctor and geld prcspector, who told
stories about Indian atrocities in the voice
OF dreaming child; oath followed oath
y smoothly as clotted cream laps the
mouth of the jug. don't think he knew
ne was saying anything sulphurous, but
nine or ten of those oaths were new to me,
And aVen w, asSa ,to 49,, ~a;ss he