The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-08

the Postmaster General, in order that the
names of those whose services may be
required be kept on the pay roll and their
positions reserved for them. | think We
! can easily send to the front a regiment of
| l,000 or more on two days notice.
Soldiers of New York.
! New York. April S.-Adjutant General
Tillinghast has instructed officials of the
New York Central. Lake Shore Della
ware and Hudson. Erie, Long Island and
! other railroads in the State TO have en-
gines and cars i'm readiness and all pre-
parations made TO move the entire Ma
tional Guard to the seaboard immedia tely
in ease of the outbreak Of hostilities or n
declaration of war. The instructions were
not in the form of a formal order but
simply a verbal request made by men,
ber of the generals STAFF to the different
officials I'm person.
The request was made with the under
standing that the railroads We're 20 be
ready to move the troops last Wednes-
day in case the Presidents message, eN-
pected on that day, should be followed by
hostilities. Everything was ready then.
and the cars are now being held in con-
venient places until Monday. If the
Guard is called out there will be no
delay caused by the railroads
f. Van Etten, general manager of traf-
fic of the New York Central said yes
terday:
I'VE are ready. If We were to receive
word that the Guard was called out and
ready to start now, il a messenger were
TO bring fhe order in at this minute. I
would guarantee TO have every soldier
along our lines in the Grand Central De-
pot within twelve hours. In an emergen-
cy we could do it in less time than that
1t would be easy. and would be done
without disarranging our regular trains
at all We take regiments to camp at
Peekskill every Summer. and know iust
where they are and how to handle them -
No official orders have been given, but
the guardsmen have been told TO be
ready to respond quickly when orders do
come and word has been passed around
to watch for orders Immediately after
Congress- acts on the Presidents message
The men are now looking forward to
next Tuesday as the time when they viii
be called to arms. The rank and file are
eager to avenge the Maine. They want
war and want to take part.
One of the officers of the Ninth Regi-
ment said yesterday:
"Our boys are all anxious for war and
we expect to go to Cuba. Some of the
public have the idea that We will be kept
here as home guards and never see any
fighting at all. but we don't think So II
we did, the men would leave the regi-
ment en- masse to volunteer at the first
call 1t would be foolishness to let our
magnificent organization go to waste just
when the country needs it.
'As soon as war is declared the Regu-
lar Army will be entirely too small to
make a decent showing and We know the
President has arranged to call at least
part of the National Guard of the States
into the service. New York can give 49,
900 armed. equipped, and drilled men on
twenty-four hours notice. That is near
Iy half of the available force of the
Regular Army.
Some people think there would be
nothing for the Army to do for long
time That is foolishness. Spain has
a big army in Cuba, and if it should hap
pen that our Navy should meet with dis
aster at first Spain could in a few days
land a force on some undefended port
of our immense coast, and, unless we
had an army TO oppose it, could make
raids which would do incalculable dam
age.
'-Of course we do not expect the Navy
to meet with defeat, bat we are sure
that as soon as war is declared the
President will call out an army large
enough to repel any force which could
threaten us. in case the worst should
happen. Our forces are ready and we
will be called.
"Once we get to the front We will not
be sent back. and will go on all through
the war, just as the militia regiments
did during the rebellion.
There never was such enthusiasm in
the regiment. Ever since the war talk
began recruits have been pouring in
Last week fifty -'An were enlisted, and
twice that number applied but we could
not take all. We have on our honorary
list hundreds of men who have served
their enlistments and retired. These