The herald., 1898-12-25


is SO per cent per annum; of other machin.
cry, % per cent, and of guns and Of car
riages 25 per cent. A battery of two twelve.
inch guns, complete with all its machinery,
costs $l46,000; if uncared for the yearly loss
would be about $4,000.
In the organization of the infantry regi-
ment the change has been made in the num-
ber of enlisted men in company from
l06 to l45 The object of the increase is to
provide for an adequate force at the very
lowest cost to the government. 1t has not
been the object of the committee to sacrifice
efficiency for economy, but taking the num-
Der OF men necessary to carry out the pur-
pose OF the object, we believe that an organ
ization on the basis OF l45, which would give
us but ll2 privates, is more efficient in
actual service than one OF l26 prvates, as
proposed by the senate bill. The largely
increased number OF regiments which would
be made necessary by the reduced number OF
privates would entail an increased expense
each year on the government for officers,
and would materially impair the effective
ness OF companies and regiments on the
line of battle. General Sherman in his re-
port to the war department in 1878, after a
full study Of the armies of Europe and after
he had seen their operations on the field
| of battle, recommended a company of $50
enlisted men in time of war, and further
stated that we could count on a third OF
the men being absent from duty in an army
serving in the field.
General Schwan said that after twenty
one years service line officer, he re-
garded l45 men as the best organization.
General Miles in his testimony before the
committee recommended 100 enlisted men.
The organization provided for in this bill
gives as maximum smaller regiment than
in the minimum of the leading nations.
The committee inserted new section in
| regard to the record and pension office, be-
lievlng that the present chief of the office.
by his wonderfully efficient services, made it
only proper for him to have the rank of
brigadier general. His administration of
the office has resulted in saving to the
government of over 100000 year in clerk
hire alone.
The committee has placed in the bill GER
tain limitations as to age. The government
retres an officer at "a on three-quarter
pay. If men are placed in the army at an
advanced age they render the government
absolutely no adequate service for the obi
cations the government assumes to care for
them during life.
The question of how long a man should
serve before being retired was one the com.
mlttee was not agreed upon, but a compro-
mise was finally placed in the bill, limit
ing appointments to those not over 80 years
OF age.
The retired list should not be used for an
asylum for men who have spent their active
life in civil employment. An exceptions was
made in new section exempting all the
staff corps now open to appointment from
civil life form the operation OF the age limit,
all men who served in the civil war and the
recent war with Spain. The reasons for
the incorporation in the bill of section. 5 is
found in the following, submitted by an
officer from the war department.:
Il have made calculation that the bill
prepared, provided all promotion in each
arm is by seniority in each arm respectively,
would give the following results as regards
promotion to captain: In the infantry all
the present first lieutenants and sixteen
second lieutenants; in the artillery, all the
present lieutenants and forty-two second
lieutenants; total for infantry and artillery,
forty-eight; in the cavalry tfty-seven of the
present lieutenants would be left such. The
scheme to equalize promotion to captaincy
would therefore give fifty-seven captaincies
in the artillery and infantry to the fifty
seven remaining first lieutenants of the
cavalry. All the first lieutenants in each arm
would be captains and all the second lieu
tenants in each arm would become first
lieutenants, leaving the vacancies at the
foot of the line
First lieutenants and all the second lieu
tenants to be filled by promotion from the
ranks, from the volunteers and from civil
life.
The official estimate OF the cost of the
army under the organization proposed in
the bill, Chairman Hull states, is S9O,OOO,-
000
Mr.. Hull estimates the pay of the army at
s24, 4l6,SS7, and the additional cost for sub.
sistence and all other expenses to bring the
total up to not to exceed SS3 900 900.