New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-04-28
40 YOT SEE ?"

There are several thousand amateur warriors
In this country who think that they know more
about raising troops and invading Cuba than
the generals Of the Army and the officials of the
War Department. Some Of them made their In
fuence strong enough to defeat in Congress the
wise expert plan for the expansion Of the Regu-
lar Army by skeletonizng. and forced the coun-
try to rely In the present emergency on militia
volunteers who cannot be made available quick
" and who often have not the physical power
Of endurance possessed by the hardy men who
go into the Regular Army. Then, when the call
WIS issued apportioning the volunteers required
among the States. others of this same class OF
strategists began to say that the Department
was manifestly managed by careless and slip
shod persons who knew nothing about their
business, else they would not have asked for ar
tllery and cavalry from States which had no
artillery or cavalry Guardsmen, and failed to
call out the batteries and cavalry troops or
States in which those arms of the service were
we'll organized.
1t seems never to have occurred to the critics
that possibly the authorities had method in
their madness, that perhaps they thought 1t
wise, while there was yet time. 10 organize new
troops and batteries where none existed and so
assumed that their one notion Of putting as
many men as possible labelled infantry, cavalry
ard artillery on parade was the limit Of the De-
partments ideas and they began TO clamor
about the ignorance enthroned at Washington.
until finally General Howard Carroll was led to
sound that ignorance that the croakers might be
satisfied that the National defences were not
going to the bow-wows. IL perchancc the OIL
fV>r bf,b
reasonable He asked Adjutant- General Corbin
by telegraph on what theory the artillery OF
New-York. which. under the command Of Cap
tains Wendell and Wilson, is undoubtedly eff
cient. had been ignored In the call for troops.
This was the answer:
Telegram received. Theory upon which artil-
lery OF New York left out, which Is recog-
nized among the best of any National Guard
organizations is that It Is within the possbl-
ties. even probabi Of the near future that
II Will be very much needed at home. DO you
see?
This ought to make the highly intelligent and
superior persons who were lamenting that even
after the war had broken out our War Depart
ment was prey 70 such imbecility that II did
not care whether 1t had volunteers led by pot
ical heelers or by trained soldiers heartily
ashamed Of themselves. But 1t probably will
as II they were on the bridge and were able to
see Just where the ship was going, instead OF
being down where they can only guess Mt It's
course President Lincoln had four years OF
that sort Of shouting, and Mr. Mckinley Will
have to endure his share. For the most part he
cannot answer back and tell the shouters why
he does anything for war is business which re-
quires secrecy and forbids explanations. But It
is well that the people who think they know
more about managing the Government than
those charged by law with the responsibility
should be squelched with an occasional do you
seeT'