Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-01
GOSSIP OF THE GUARD.

MAJOR A. j. LOGAN, Brigade Quartermaster,
returned from the South last Monday very
considerably improved in health.
THE field, line and staff officers Of the
Fourth Regiment have decided to mess to-
gether this year at camp. The organization
has also adopted very pretty regimental
button.
QUARTERMAsTER HARRY F. DAVIS, OF the
Eighteenth Regiment, was appointed Ad-
jutant last week by Colonel Smith. Mr..
Davis has been connected with the regiment
for number of years and Is amply able to
take care of the duties OF his new position.
The Tenth Regiment has decided to en-
camp at Greensburg this year. Colonel
Hawkins has accepted the offer OF the citi-
zens of that town who will put up 500 for
getting things in shape for the regiment,
The piece of ground where the regiment
will camp embraces about 20 acres and is
nicely situated.
Ex-CAprAIN WILLIAM H. WAssELL, for.
merly of the Eighteenth Regiment, but now
O Lieutenant in the regular service, visited
the city last week to attend the funeral Of
his child. Mr.. Wassell has been stationed in
the Indian Territory since his re-entry into
the United States Army, and is connected
with one of the companies of Indian scouts.
COLONEL SMITH and Lieutenant Colonel
Rutledge visited Un1ontown last Wednesday
and decided to select that point for the regi-
mental camping ground next SUNNI Ell. The
citizens of that town think very well Of the
regiment on account of the good record
scribed a pretty substantial purse for its
entertainment The regiment will practi-
cally occupy the same ground it did before.
COMPANY G, of the Thirteenth Regiment,
was ordered to be disbanded last week, and
its officers were honorably discharged from
the service. This order is the first of sew
eral of the kind that will be issued from the
n
idea OF General Greenland is to rapidly get
the regiments in better shape for battalion
formations and do away with as many ofthe
weak COMPANIES as possible. An order of a
similar kind affecting one of the local Or
ganiZations will be issued shortly.
Ex-CoLoNEL BoNAFBoN, formerly of the
Third Regiment, spent a few days in the
city last week and visited several of the
armories. The Colonel, although out Of the
guard for some time, still takes an active in
terest in its workings. He was at one time
one of the greatest hustlers in the First
Brigade, and was the prime mover in the
passage of the act allowing cities to appro-
companies. He says the Third Regiment,
under the handling of Lieutenant Colonel
Maginnis, is improving very much, and re-
organization has been decided upon. 1t in
cludes the assignment of the armory build
ing to the State for military purposes and
the adjustment of the civil Board of Con-
themselves to elect any person for Colonel
that Major General Snowden may select. In
this way 1t is expected that the Governor
will side track his order disbanding the regi-
ment.
IL good stiff regulations will succeed in
making the marksmen of the State attain a
high standard Colonel osthaus has certainly
hit upon the right plan. As predicted last
week in this column, the date for the open
ing Of the season OF rifle practice has been
set at next Monday, and the closing day is
October 81. The two great changes to be
noted this year are first that every COM
pany m ust qualify at least 35 men or be CON-
sidered sufficiently lacking in discipline as |
to warrant disbandment, and secondly that
shooters in order to qualify as snarpshooters |
must score at least 45 points to their credit. |
ens oDy ~ S pe
to become o sharpshooter. Officers are also |
expected to qualify this year or show cause |
for their failure, and in other ways the Or |
der issued by Colonel Osthaus is most ex- |
acting. The maximum of hxed ammunition |
per company this year is 8 900 rounds and Of |
blank cartridges 800 rounds. 900 rounds OF
the bali cartridges being forwarded to each
company at the opening Of the season. |
A REVISION OF the State military code is
one of the probabilities of the near future. |
The code as it now stands has been most un- |
satisfactory, even under the old system of
tactics, for which it was intended to govern,
and as a consequence the adoption of. the |
new regula tions makes its revision impera-
tive Before the work in this line will be
commenced, General Greenland pro-
poses to have all the regiments in the State
chan ged to and II companies each, as the
cases merit, so that the division into bat
teries will be more uniform, and the election
of two and three Majors to the regiment will
be decided upon. Another change talked bf
is reduction of the minimum number of
men to the company to IS instead OF 80, as 1t
now stands. The fact is rapidly being recbg-
nized all over the State that the margin fbe-
tween the maximum and minimum numbers
for enlisted men is too small, and that Door
men are frequently being kept in the service
in order TO hold companies within the limits
of the law. Many other changes wtY be
made in the code, and 1t is to be hoped it
will be an improvement on the old oney