The herald., 1895-11-12
THE UNITED STATES ARMY
Its Personnel, Its Condition and
. Its Needs
GEN MIL &c, NMIIAI DCNnDT
GEN. NILES ANNUAL REPORT
pra mpt Action Should Be Taken for
Coast Defense
TT. p,en &c Coast Could Be Biockaded In
Ninet, y Days-Men Are Useless
In King nodern Weapons
Press 8, Neclal Wire


WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-THE annual
report of General M. lies, oomman ding the
army, was made puAlic today. Nhe per-
sonnet is shown 60 be in excellent cond'-
ton, we'll instructed, effislent ana atten'
tive to duty. Liberal appropriations are
required for public buildings at tbe' posts'
many of which are out OF repair. Gen
eral Miles believes the pea oeable cohdl'
tions now existing among the various
tribes-of Indians is largely attribu table &c
the presence of troops at suitable pom u
and 70 the admirable conduct of the ex
perenced army officers WHO have bsen
placed in charge of the prir clpal agen-
cie: While it is economical ana deslra-
BILE to have the reserve forces cd the army
near the great centers OF comm unlcatlon,
General Miles urgently contends that the
points should BIZ selected for th cir STRAIT
exic value, and that the tendency toward
concentration should not be carried to
this point of depriving the western settie-
ments of proper protection.
Under the head of coast defense, Gen.
eral Miles states that the condition OF
vessels is such as to require decided ana
immediate action Tor their improve uient.
The unguarded portion OF our COAST IS
known by every first-class power, and our
people should not be led into false seeur-
ity. He quotes from his report OF 1874
q strong argument for the defense OF
Puget sound. showing that since the tisne
the new Canadian railroad connections
have been established there, not single
gun has been placed in position for do
Tense, while those at the entrance OF the
Colum bia are obsolete and of little value.
1t is true that some progress has been
made toward defending San FRANCISCO,
and few modern guns and rifles nave
been placed. These, however. are but
small part of the general plan for the de-
Tense OF the harbor, while San Diego Is In
the same condition as Puget sound-en-
tiYely at the mercy OF any foreign fleet.
General Miles recalls what he said in
his report of 1889 upon the absol ute I'M
portance of the defense OF the entire Pacific
coast, in view of the fact that it was Nos
sible for any naval power to blockade
every important port within ninety days,
while 1t would take many years to make
a successful resistance, and the country
might be required tn pay an indemnity OF
81 600. OOO 900. While the railroads might
transport million brave men to the
coast, they would be useless without ap.
planes to cope with modern engines OF
war and with all our Intelligence, pride,
inventive genius and enterprise. we are
as far behind in the modern appliances
of war as China or japan. Such were the
conditions six years ago, says General
Miles, and such are the conditions today,
with the exception of the slight progress
made at San Francisco. The entire gull
coast and all the great cities on the At
lantic coast northward to Philadelphia
are entirely without modern guns. In
position are few obsolete guns, but none
of these batteries could stop a single first
class warshlp, much less feet. Some
progress has been made at New York,
but like San Francisco, only a small part
OF the project has been accomp lished:
With one exception, the cities north OF
New York are jim similar condition.
TO the south of it some guns and mortars
have been constructed and shipped to
their destination; carriages for them are
under construction, ana implements
have been made to a limited extent.
General Miles, in support of his recon-
incubation for adequate coast defenses
poInts to the fact that the batteries at
MouItrle and Sumter kept at bay for
four years the most powerful fleet in the
world. He says that our psople cherish
two misleading delusions: First. that
torpedoes can be depended upon to pro-
tect our coasts, and. seconL, that its 1000
miles of coast can be defended by navy.
He shows that torpedo plants are useless
without protective batteries. and that the
water in our principal harbors is so deep
tDaL llRUL uIdlJ war VESSELS SHb pass
over torpedo mines without danger. lie
asserts that the recent manoeuvers in
England have shown that even the
powerful British navy is unable to
to def nd the British coast against a for
eign fleet, therefore be argues that the
main reliance must be upon coast batter
les. While he does not anticipate war
in the near future, he shows that In the
last two hundred wears in less than ten per
cent of the wars has there been any for
nal warning or declaration of hositllties,
and as it would require years of time to
construct modern weapons of war, it
would not be wise to disregard the lessons
of tory. In our own country Tor
nearly 20) years there mas never been a
period of thirtyhve years in which it mas
not been involved in war. He points 20
the case of China, which made the fatal
mistake of relying upon its vastly super
ior mum bers for safety, and argues that
tine best guarantee OF peace is condition
OF readiness for war. therefore he strong
ly recommends the construction of all
the high power guns and system of de-
lenses called for IN thegeneral plan OF the
board of ordnance and tortlhcatious and
other boards, and to meet IN part the ex-
pense of this costly undertaking he sug-
eests the application of the funds that
mi, hit he derived from the sale of aban-
doned military reservations. To man
these guns he asks an increase of the ar.
tillery arm. with this provasion of bar
racks at Fort Hancock, New York, for
the accom- m odation OF the troops and the
sytematic detail of supaltern officers for
instruction in rotation AT this place.
Touching the infantry, General Miles
recommends the three battalion organ.
izations and regimental order to keep the
regiments together. He thinks at least
one full regiment OF cavalry should be sta
toned at Fort Riley. Kansas, where field
maneuvers might be undertaken annu-
ally.
70 thoroughly demonstrate the utility
OF bicycles and motor wagons in the
army 1t is recommended that a furce of
twelve companies be equipped with these
devices to be manned by good,oilicers and
men able to use bicycles, which have al
ready been found extremely useful.
General Miles argues for an increase in
the sire myth of the army, saying that
there is no reason why it should be cen
traized and kept at one strength as it
has for years. 1t should increase with
the growth OF the country and be Se-
termined by the census at minimum OF
one soldier ior each 1000 population.
General Niles concludes hiR report with
several recommendations intended to
benefit the condition of the officers and
mel and attract to the military service
the b-st element in the community. One
suggestion is that where q soldier has
served honorably for five years and
wishes to leave the service he NAV, after
passing an examination, be com I'm ission ed
second lieutenant and discharged
Such a man would benefit any commun.