The herald., 1898-04-30
DOINGS OF VOLUNTEERS
COMPANIES DRILL REGULARLY
AT THE ARMORY
GENERAL LAST SEALS HIS LIPS
Captain Steere Wants More Men-The
Board Of Trade Anxious as to Our
Coast Defenses

There is activity about the armory thes
days. In the drill room companies are
practicing, with numbers of admiring la
dies on all sides.
In the southeast corner of the building
where the officers quarters are, they are
present any night after 1880
Brigadier General Last was there last
night poring over books and maps. The
general, of coursesi is only human, and like
any other mere mortal has his likes ana
his dislikes. The general does not seem
to approve of the plan in vogue in wide
awake newspaper offices of printing the
news when it is news, even If 1t does not
please the person about whom it is writ
ten. And then a man doesn't like to have
what he considers a secret known only to
himself leak out and get to the ears of a
newspaper reporter-those meddlesome
fellows who acquaint the public with ev-
erythng.
In view of events that have recently
transpired which were of especial interest
and concern to the general, it is an abso-
lutely safe prediction that the next secret
he has he will keep 10 himself. So care
full has he already become in this matter
that when asked last night for military
news, he thought awhile and then said,
slowly and precisely, to make sure that he
would not be misunderstood, that there
wasn't any That was refreshing-there
was no chance there for "misrepresenta-
tion,' for that last word is Il hobby with
the general and is used on that account.
No, there was not much transpiring at
the armory last night. OF course, there
was a triiling matter of the officers of the
guard being examined by the brigade sur
geon, but the results were not made public.
1t is though probable that If the Seventh
regiment is called out a camp will be es-
tablished here for several months, thereby
saving the expense of sending them to San
Francisco or elsewhere. The climate is
more favorable to outdoor life here than in
the north and that is an advantage to be
thought Of
Colonel Berry has been investigating a
few details in connection with the Seventh !
regiment He finds that there are 920
men upon the muster rolls, Of whom 129 are
married. General Last wired the governor
yesterday as follows
Signal corps volunteers forty men for
signal service Troop C volunteers 100
men for service as cavalry or artillery. |
Troop D volunteers 100 men for cavalry |
service, and twelve infantry compap-
les. Colonel John r. Berry reports
infantry maximum strength of 101 men
or more, for service as volunteers, all
companies having entered full quota
of qualified men, and are rapidly fill
ing the emergency rolls for others to
take their places.
Colonel H. w. Lawton, inspector general |
of this district, has wired his staff in this |
city to meet him in Tampa almost imme-
diately. The inspection headquarters will |
be removed to San Francisco, and the
clerks of Colonel Lawtons staff will leave
for Florida next Sunday.
There Is No Limit
Captain Henry Steere, commissioned by
General Last to raise heavy battery, has
enrolled the 200 men he originally hoped
for, and having done so, and apparently
with ease l.a now says General Last wants
him to raise as many more as he can. The
captains explanation for this is that after
the rolls are closed the men enlisted will be
examined by a doctor and the physically
inefficient will be dropped. In this battery
are men from almost every country in Eu-
rope, many of whom have served in the
army of their birthplace. The captain is
eral Last or the governor, and when no
gets them he will know when to close the
rolls Just now they are open for an in
definite time.
Coast Defense
There seems to be a good deal of uneasi-
ness in different quarters regarding the de-
fenseless condition of Los Angeles in the
event of invasion by Spanish forces Eff
forts are being made to induce the war de-
partment to take hold of this matter at
once and provide what is necessary for the
protection of the city The board of trade
yesterday sent the following dispatch to
Washington
Los ANGELES. April %. 1858.
Hon. Stephen NJ White, WASHINGTON,
d. C.: Please urge secretary of war to
take immediate action providing ade-
quate defenses for Los Angeles. Los
Angeles Board of Trade.
=. NJ. DANIEL, President.
GREGORY PERKINS, JR.. Sec'y.
To Join the Navy
Will Dandy, son of the late secretary of