Evening star., 1898-11-11


! tribute to all the officers and troops en-
| gagged in that remarkably successful cam
paign, and says:
| During the nineteen days of active cam
pafgn on the Island of Porto Rico large
| portion of the island was captured by the
| united states forces and brought under our
| control Our forces were in such a posi-
| tfon as to make the positions of the Span
fsh forces. outside of the garrison at San
| Juan, utterly untenahe. The Spaniards
| mao been defeated or captured in the six
| different engagements which took place,
| ana IN every position they had occupied up
to that time. The volunteers had deserted
their colors. and many of them had sur
rendered to our forces and taken the oath
Q. aiieg1ance; This had demoraiixing
| eHect upon the regular Spanish troops.
| THE success of the enterprise was large
! ~ Que to the skill and good generaiship
OF the officers in command of the different
divisions and brigades. Strategy and skill
full tactics accomplished what might have
| occasioned serious loss to achieve in any
other way. The loss of the enemy In killed,
| wounded and captured was nearly ten times
| our own. which was only three killed and
| forty wounded. Thus the Island of Porto
Rlco became a part of the United States.
| 1t embraces nearly 3,70O square miles and
| mas population of nearly a million souls.
1t no longer affords a base of operations
| Tor any foreign government, thereby being
a menace to ours Under the rule of ma
tions which requires troops to remain
| during truce in exactly the position they
| occupied at the time of cessation of hostili
| ties, the commands were obliged to stay
Where they were, without regard to the
SUITABILITY of the camping grounds. and
| as hostiiities ceased during the rainy sea-
son in Porto Rico this requirement had
injurious effect upon the health of the
troops. They therefore suffered to some ex
tent on account of exposure and the un-
usual climatic effects incident to the coun
try. AS soon as practicable, however, a
| large portion of the troops were returned
| IN good condition to the United States.
Sippp u-ei
organized and equipped, under the direc
| ton of Brig. Gen. John 1. Rodgers, and
rendered efficient service wherever used.
| In my opinion the siege train should re-
| main as at present organized.
The bureau of military information. un
der charge of Lieut.. Col. Wagner was ex
| ceedingly useful and furnished valuable and
important information obtained by 1t re-
| garding the nature of the enemy's country
| and the position of their forces.
1.-The Signal Corps, under Col. James AL
| len, rendered very excellent service, espe-
| cially in the use of ocean cables, and the
| field telegraph and signal detachment, un-
| der charge of Major Reber. rendered most
important service. Telegraph and tele-
| miles and followed close to the picket and
! skirmish lines.
Comment on the Campaign.
1T is gratifying to record that during the
war not a sirgle defeat has been met and
| not prisoner color, gun rife has been
captured by the enemy. In this respect the
war has been most remarkable, and, per-
| haps unparalleled. Under all circumstan-
| ces and in spite of many most trying diff
| cuties the troops have maintained the for
| titude Of the American character and the
honor of their
While but small portion of the avail
| able forces of the United States-approXi-
! mately, 5000 men-has been on foreign
| hi M aDa1 n fohf tro low no
| those that have been in the presence of the
enemy have fairly demonstrated the char
acter and fortitude of the military forces of
| the United States.
The experience of the last few months
| l trust, will be valuable to the people and
| government of the United States The
| value of proper defenses for our ports har-
borS and seaport cities, of ineStima BILE
| wealth, has been demonstrated: and trust
| that the system already adopted for coast
| defenses, the completion of which has teen
| so long delayed, may be carried out with
| out unnecessary delay. l have urged the
| Importance of this in my annual reports for
| the last thirteen years.
| For several years 1 have urged the i'm
portance of the governments adopting a
standard of strength for its military forces
| that should be commensurate with the in
| terestS of the government in its growth and
| development, and proportionate to its rep
| ulation and wealth. Spasmodic vibration
| from a weak and ineffective army 60 one
| of gigantic proportions does not seem to be
| best for the welfare and safety of tie ma
| ton, and / think 1t more judicious for the
| government to fix a certain percentage of
| trained military men in proportion TO the
| population. The army would thereby have
| 4 more healthy growth as the nation de-
velops In fact, this system, if once adopt
| ed would be as practicable for one hun
| dred years for a single decade The art
OF war was never so much exact Gcience
as at the present time. The appliances
| used in modern warfare are constantly
! changing, and are steadily increasing in
| effective force, so that it Is of the utmost
| Importance that the government should
| have the most skilled and efficient forces
! practicable. l therefore renew my former
| recommendation that the government au-
! thorize enlistments in the army at the rate
| or one soldier to every 1000 of the popula-
| ton This would practically continue in
| service the same number as does the act of
| Congress approved April 26, 1898 authoriz-
| Ing the increase of the regular army pro-
| Vided for, namely, 2,5I9 men; but unfor-
| tunately, there was provision in that act
| which required the army to be reduced to
| It's former peace basis, which was entirely
| inadequate to the needs and interests of
| the government.
4 also recommend that Congress author
| lie an auxiliary force of native troops to
! be oficered principally by United States
| army officers. for service in Porto Rico
| Cuba, and the Philippine Islands. not II
exceed two soldiers to every 1900 Of the
| population of those islands. This would
| give the United States a most valuable
| auxiliary force. 1t would pacify the native
| elements of the Islands. and would be In the
| interests OF economy and good government
| Th1s force could be used in way similar
| to the mounted police in Canada and the
| British forces in Egypt and India
| Il recommend that Congress be requested
| 10 take immediate action upon this question
| OF increasing the army, as I consider II Of
| vital Importance. If the system 7 have
suggested is adODted II wouId epiva nc ,-.r,,