The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-05-07
ARMY MANJALVEE7

America should Lcnd All Othcr ~rrous
in thc Quality uf Her Armed
These are days when lcur1p log5
with the sound Of arms and th, ar of
cannon shakes the air; huwylns alu-
sands sweep through the villages the
panopiy of war glitters and glows Upon
the fields. and smoke rises above the
peaceful woods. But 1t Is not war nor
even the runor Of war; II is the s 'hpol
of war that makes this spectacle. We
nave believed ourselves happy IN feeling
that there is no need of such exhibi-
Tons among us. We respect our army,
small as 1t is, and know great p0psibili-
ties Of ourselves should the time come
Tor American citizens TO take arms
against an invading foe. There Is no
nation in the world that has shown such
aptitude in arms rs ours. our rebel
lion OF thirty years ago had one use
for which it has seldom been credited;
It developed and proved the courage,
the readiness, the intelligence of the
masses Of the American people. Per-
haps If 1t had not been for that we
should never have consented to-day TO
an army that Is mere nucleus for pos
sibilities and should have been sup
porting at great expense and with D
likely protest Of public opinion, a force,
say as large as chat of Holland, or
Denmark. or Servla, or Bulgaria.
our ISOLATION, our natural defenses OF
ocean and mountain ana cold and heat,
our varied and enormous resources,
have begotten in US a sense Of confi-
dence that is well founded, yet that is
not wholly truthworuhy. We do not
need a large army, but we do require
that our force shall be Of the best, and
that its officers shall rank with any in
the world. 1t Is but rfcnt that we should
obtain this safeguard, in view of the
fact that our army Is the best kept,
best paid, best fed. most expensive for
its size in the world. In order that 1t
shall be made effective against a pos-
slhle invading force. and an always
probable band of intestine troublers,
the manoeuvres of our army require to
be greatly enlarged in scope. We have
no place of mobilization such as they
have in England. France Germany and
Russia, and probably the United States
have never assembled their army or
the half of 1t within the confines of
single department since the war. Con-
sdering the increasing power of the
armaments of Europe, is 1t entirely
right that we should continue to con-
duct our military business under the
rather provincial system of the past
quarter of a century.
one Of the readiest ways of increasing
the skin of our arms is TO send a GER
tain number of officers to Europe every
autumn to study and report upon the
N-lriatte
taking place. These manoeuvres are
tests of the divisions in equipment and
skin. 1t is supposed that war is actually
going on. There are battles and sieges
as well as inspections, drills and re-
views. New tactics are tried and new
theories have the test of experiment
War is a serious business abroad, and a
study of it's methods could not fail to be
enlightening and profitable to such of
our own men as should be assigned to
that service. Nor should it be merely the
young lieutenants who ought to be sent
on a mission of such a nature. 1t should
be the elderly and experienced officers
who know our own army and It's needs
and are able to make comparisons and
adopt changes and reforms. Such men
would be freely welcomed in Europe as
the representatives of other nations are
already welcomed at these manoeuvres.
We have an army and we have in the
militia reserve of brave ready, intelli-
gent young men who as to personnel,
are the betters of the army rank and file.
But that Is not enough we want officers
who shall be posted on the newest and
best methods in war; who shall have
studied foreign tactics on the field that
they may be the better prepared to
counter upon them; we might profitably
Introduce army manoeuvres for our own
forces, perhaps with the cooperation of
the militia, and we certainly might send
representatives of our army abroad to
continue their education and improve
the service at home.-Brooklyn Eagle.