New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-25
THE INFANTRY REORGAN1ZATlON
GOOD AND BAD POINTS IN REPRESENTATIVE
sHERMAN,S BILL.

sHERMA%'s BILL.
To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir Referring to Representative shernan's bill, for
the reorganization of the infantry, please allow me
space to make n few remarks. His resimentai or
gan.zat!on is good, with exception. IRIS IL MS
provision fer lieutenant-colonel. OF course we
have that grade now. but there is TO Sood reasp''
why II should be continued II is OF no military U.s.
As IS well known. adopted English nllltaf!
grades and among them that OF lieutenant-coioneL
It is also well kr own that In the English army inc
Northumberland is the actual commander OF the
regiment. the colonel being some scion Of royalty,
nobility or general officer, who is honorary co'one
OF a dozen or more regiments, and VINO seldonl' IL
ever sees one OF them. In our country we ha'e
no honorary colonies; each OF our colonies COM
mands a regiment. What. then is the use OF an
unnecessary grade and the useless expenditure Oh
money that can be used to better advantage IN some
other direction? The observation-disclosures has no pace
IN the tactical movements OF a regiment why
then should he be retained? When vacancy eA-
sts in the grade OF colonel let the senior major De
promoted TO that grade.
The company organization is faulty Fifty-four
men IN the fighting line make impossible proper
tactical division Of company. ana II is always
necessary that a company snol.d DE Ci'lueu' -
Mr. Sherman will add six 10 the number Of p'Nd'es
and four 10 the corporals lie will then nave per-
feet organization for company. These can DC
doubled in time Of war. and can be handled WIN
the same ease as the smaller number. -Four duty
serceants are sufficient in either case a company
of sixty-four men (ftysiX prlvaes and eisnt cor
PSS5 r,vtw Z" front can be divided into eqaa
p.atoons having the sane NUMBER pi sers frnn can
be equally divided into sections-eignt rom, Two
sets of tours in each section. with corpora. on
~ command p.atoons sergeants TO command seq
t9ns ana SeTman has pTovided for company
in time OF Ia necessary provsi9,n, re mas mas
which is just as necessary Men mus Idl ID
o;aliv as cooks and be exempt from all military
duty and paid the same amount as Is paia
tha they shall not be detached transferred from
their Company without their consent and that o' me
comnanv cook viii be in other kitchen
That portion of Mr.. Sherman,s biL pToviding Ior
IRE which the officers of the line of the Army nave
been struggling for for years II VIII fism h 81 n
wrong Provision should also be made LOT tnoSS on
a ahe heen .oversaughed" To emphasize how much
a law of this kind is needed VIII cite a Re"
ond I,eutenants In 1861 the same day: few
wears ago still captain ana tIs o.iei ~
The cantain was a major who was serving as an
enlisted man when the captain was nrst msu,
tenant and who had not entered the service u n
months after the captain was promoted a nfsI
iiemtenan. Again something over twenty years
ago cadet graduated from The Miniary AeaueI nc
a and Tantenant Three years later another cade.
graduated and was assigned as additional or cZtfa
later cade. has been a captain for years. While the
former is still lieutenant Andd s agai ns.bens
.,vtv.four wears old-who appointed a second
jietifenant in 1861 but who only reached the erde
Of captain Neither Of these ucky one 1I or
The others 10 be so numerically overslaughed.
These samples of the present system OF 6t2 -
tant-CieneraYs Ofice. JCSllC'-
Columbus )Ohio, Dec IT, lSJ'.