The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-25
increase of THE ARMY
Chairman Hull Files the Com
mittee's Report.
DETAILS OF THE BILL
The Artillery Arm o. the Service Ii to
Bs Thoroughly Reorganized on
tho Corpa System About
100000 Men Needed.

Washington. Dec. 2i.-Representative
Hull. chairman of the military commit
tee OF the house. to-day filed with the
clerk his report on the bill for the in
crease Of the regular army. After de-
failing the amendments adopted in
committee. all of which have been sent
out in the associated press dispatches,
the report says:
The bill fixes no maximum strength
for the entire army. Assuming that the
government will require about 100. 900
for defense of the frontier. for coast de-
fense and to maintain our authority in
the islands for whose good order and
government this nation is now RESPONSE
BILE, together with a reasonable reserve
force. the bill provides for the regi-
ments of cavalry and infantry to pro-
vide the number required for each arm
of the service and a corps of artillery
for our sea coast batteries with two reg
iments of artillery for field batteries.
"The committee believes the organi-
zation as provided for in this bill will
make the most efficient military organi-
zation at the lowest cost TO the tax
payer of any organization proposed by
any bill before congress.
THE organization of the cavalry as
provided in the bill is substantially the
same organization now provided for by
law. The change in the present organi-
zation is making Is captains In place OF
IL and providing for a commissary OF
the regiment BY this increase of rank
the adjutant and commlssary are given
the rank of captain and "A commissary
4. -. IL. ~. 49,.
tenants provided have three extra first
lieutenants for each regiment to be
available as squadron adjutants. 1t also
provides for the creation of a band for
each regiment by enlistlng them as mu-
sicians. while under the present law
they are enlisted in the regular force
and enrolled as musicians.
THE organization OF artillery provid-
ed for in the bill changes from the regi-
mental formation to that of a corps of
artillery. and as the artillery arm has
so grown in Importance the committee
feels justified in submitting the full rea
sons for the change.
Artillery organizations: The relation
of artillery organization TO the work
that the army was to perform may be
best understood by brief reference to
its history. Our present system dates
back to 1921, when the first four regi-
ments were organized. The fifth regi-
ment was added I'm 1861 and the sixth
and seventh in 1888. Now. when first
organized. that is, in 1921. the question
of coast defense was not nearly so inn
portant al 1t is to-day and consequently
the question OF organization was not
so important. Moreover this relative
unimportance OF both functions and OF
organization continued for many years,
in fact down to 1861. on the other hand.
there were questions before the country
that made the services OF infantry of
very great Importance and hence we
find the artillery almost continuously
used as infantry. Thus i'm the Mexican
war the fourth artillery was used as in
fantry. 1t was armed and equipped as
infantry and served as such not only
in Mexico, but also in Florida during
the Seminole troubles. on the plains and
elsewhere, even i'm the forts. When the
civil war broke out i'm 1861 all the foot
batteries heretofore armed and equip
ped and serving as infantry were con-
verted into light batteries. only to re-
sumo their infantry equipment and
duties after Appottomax. In the bill
under discussion the number OF artil-
lery units tbatteries) which were OBJ
tanned from consideration OF the num-
ber Of gun positions to be manned, you
must have. at the limit. as many bat
teries as you have gun positions.
Further. these batteries must be
grouped in sufficient numbers at each
harbor to man all the guns in that har-
Dor. Evidently the idea of the regi-
ment does not come forward here at
all and for a good reason. there is no
relation between the regiment as a
unit and between the work to be done
by the artillery. In other words the es-
sential of artillery organization Is the
battery. these batteries being grouped
according to the necessities of each
case, necessities differing from harbor
to harbor.
The conditions are entirely different
for Infantry and for cavalry. In these
each individual carries a weapon, which
is not the case with the artillery when
used as such. The fighting strength of
infantry or cavalry is measured by the
number Of the weapons IL can bring in
to line. but no such measure can be un-
iformly applied to the artillery. Exper-
ience has shown that the regimental or
ganization is suited to the infantry and
to the cavalry the unit selected. namely
the regiment, being the greatest num-
ber OF muskets and of sabres respect
lively, that can he directly controlled
by one man. and this unit is necessary
one. But evidently no such necessity
exists In the artillery. why then per-
petuate system that is essentially
a relic of the past and wholly out of
harmony with present and with future
conditions. There is no sentiment con-
nected with the maintenance of the
regimental organization. because as
already explained. the chances are
against an officers serving wholly in
one regiment. For the purely local feel
ing for the regiment alone has been
substituted strong feeling Of pride I'm
the arm as a whole. a feeling borne of
the desire to see this long neglected
arm al last rise to a full realization Of
its opportunities and It's duties.
Let IL be borne in mind how compli-
Gated Ii the artillery service. how many
different kinds OF guns IL has to serve.
that in future IL will be charged with
the torpedo service and that the nature
Of artillery service I'm general will de-
pend entirely upon locations. conditions
that differ from harbor TO harbor. and
IL Is evident that an arbitrary division
OF the personnel into regiments is in
herently vicious. The CORPS system on
II.