The Saint Paul globe., 1897-09-26
NO INFANTRY AT THE CAPITAL,
WHILE THE PRESIDENT. TT Is
SAID, THINKS THAT THERE
SHOULD BE.
LONG STAY AT FORT SMELLING.
A Little History of the Regiment
Which Has Almost Become
Local Institution.

Sneilng for so many years that every
It e1ment in the army Is jealous of it.
is iikely to lose this very sXceJ ,nt POST
presently for a better one. The order
has not been officially PROMULGATED yet.
but 1T is touted in army circles that
even money would be a good thing that
the regiment will be located at the RAJ
tional capital within six months. The
news cannot be officially confirmed
but it was tipped yesterday, from a
very high source indeed, that it had
been decided to remove the regiment
and it was stated that the removal
would occur this fall-probably next
month.
1t is odd. but nevertheless fact that
tnere Is no infantry at Washington
none within a considerable distance Of
the capital. in fact. Washington bar
racks are garrisoned by cavalry. and
the nearest fort to the capital Fort
Myef' virginia, is also cavalry sta
t1on President Mckinley does not like
the idea of not having infantry at the
capital or within reach. Whether he
wants them for show or with the pur-
pose of repelling the Dons when thew
get ready to come over is not stated.
put 1t is said that he recently suggest
ed to Gen. Alger that he would like to
nave some infantry in the capital. and
the secretary of war was unoiIicialIv-
told to look about him for a regiment
That ought to be moved and which
would do credit to the nation at the
capital. Now, Gen. Alger is a very good
Trend OF Col. Page, of the Third and
the colonel has some other friends who
stand very close to the president and
the result was that the president was
informed that the Third ought to he
moved and would be the very thing
Tor Washington. These are undoutted-
ly facts, and the report that The reoi-
ment would be moved this fall is q
credited rumor in the regiment and at
headquarters.
While good many ST. Paul people
nave established social relations with
the people of the Third will hear
OF the probable removal with regret
II VIII cause little surprise and not
much regret in the regiment. The
Third has been at Smelling for fen
years and in the department for TWEEN
" years-a very unusual thing. The
regiment was moved into the depart
ment at moments notice. 1t was
stationed at Jackson barracks. New
orleans, at the time of the railroad
troubles in Pennsylvania in 1877, and
was sent there in a hurry. The reei-
ment never went back to the South
but was sent at once to the frontier
ana divided up in Montana, the regi-
mental headquarters being at Fort
Shaw. The organization saw some
herd times on the. frontier and
much of its time was taken up in the
establishing of forts which have since
nyy1 ono fnd U,t-.
&c smelling 1t was given the post as a
reward of merit, for it is one of the
best in the army, and it was under
stood that 1t would make a good stay
the regiment. But ten years at one
post is almost without precedent and
Tor three or four years the order to
move has been anticipated every
spring and fall 1t would undoubtedly
have been removed at the time of the
promotion of Col. Page to the COM
mand, but for the fact that that Of
fcer had been on the frontier for many
years and was considered as being en-
titled to some consideration in the way
of good post. Moreover, the colonel
stands very well with the army au-
thoritieG without regard to the COM
plexfon of the administration and he
probably wanted to remain here
These objections to removal having
been overcome the order to move along
Is very likely contingency An Of
f1cer of the army speaking of the mat
ter recently said:
"A change Of location is inevitable
and is requisite for the good of the
service. You see the regiment has
been here so long that it has almost
become Minnesota organization. 1t
has been recruited locally to a very
considerable extent, and it will not do
for regiment of the regular army to
take on that feature of locality. If the
order does not come to move this fall
it certainly will in the spring Notice?
No, it can't be said that it is custo-
mary to send out a notice of removal
very far in advance of the actual re-
nloval. The regiment would probably
get month to get ready in, but it
doesn't follow that such will be the
case. When the Third was sent West
it came direct from the field and the
men never had a chance to get things
they left at Jackson when ordered out
for service And l recall the fact that
when the Eighteenth was sent from
Cincinnati to Texas just three days
notice was given. That's part of the
discipline. The secretary of war just
issues the order and the government
footS the bill.
by the way, it costs something to
move regiment and the lack of funds
was thought block in the way of d
present removal You see the provis-
ion for the removal of troops. was
made years ago when the men
marched and each man was allowed a
days pay for every twenty miles or
the distance, as transportation charges.
That condition still prevails and the
officers and men lose nothing much by
the change except the abandonment CT
good deal of gear that is bound to
accumulate when men settle down fer
the length Of time the Third has been
here.
The Third will probably he replaced
by a regiment that has seen service on
the frontier. That it will come from
the Southwest is practically certain,
for the North Pacific troops went TO
the department of the Columbia quite
recently.
Col NJ v. Sheridan, who for four
years has been adjutant general of the
department Of Dakota will leave here
this evening for Chicago, where he will
relieve Col Barber, of the department
of the Missouri.
Col Sheridan will be succeeded here
by Lieut.. Col. Arthur Macarthur, who
is now at San Antonio, in the DEPART
nent of Texas, and who will arrive
here in the course of a week CT ten
cays to assume his new position.
WHEN THE JUDGES CONFER.