The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-31
ON THE ARMY
New Jerseys Junior Senator
Replies to the Criticisms
Of congressman Me-
ClelIan.

WASHINGTON, Jan 30, 1S9S.-Alluding
to the late speech~of Representative Nc
Clellan criticizing the military establish
ment of the. United States Senator SeWel
said to a correspondent yesterday
Il have seen some remarks of Colonel
Mcclellan in relation to the Army, al
though l do not call them now in detail,
except the general impression. left on my
mind that the criticism was adverse TO
the present condition of our army, and
that it was not up to the standard of
some years ago.
II differ from Colonel Mcclellan in this
view of the case. While the army is la
boring under the difficulty of not having
an organization up to the present require
ments and to compare with modern ar
mics, its personnel, both officers and men,
is. fully up to, if not in advance OF any we
have ever had in the aggregate.
eat the beginning of the late war we de-
veloped that from a small army could be
taken from junior positions men OF the
highest character and capacity. who sue
cessfully, on both sides, commanded larse
bodies of troops in the most brilliant ac-
tons, and very man. of them during a
period of four years. The standard Tor
the education of officers since that per-
iod has not deteriorated; in fact, 1t mas
always been growing higher-sometlmes
more than conservative men, ike myself
believe to be necessary. Personally, l do
not think thai the requirements OF the
service make it essentia that every grad
uate of West Point shall be a high class
engineer. and | am afraid in trying to ar
rive at. this we sacrifice in the examIna-
lions many bright spirits who would make
successful soldiers, if not. great sludenis.
we may not be able to point out from the
line today, any more than we coulc IN Iool
a Grant. a Sheridan. a sherman. a NC
Clellan. a Meade. a Hancock. a Inomas,
or a Lee, a Jackson, q Johnson, and oFhefS
of the Confederacy; but they are there al
the same, and would soon show themselves
when the opportunity occurred. IhereIofe,
| assume, that the army is in as good con-
dition today as it ever has been. SO far
as the officers are concerned, ana II is a
we'll known fact that the enlisteu force
has improved materially in the last Few
years, so that tits actually a much more
Intelligent body of men now than we nave
ever had in the service before and is
largely increasing ns4rinf,c ne aen Amealfah'snn anu
.sThe army might be improved by a bet
ter organization. With five thousand more
men it would ave three naI5aro onS =; % q
week By recruiting from thirty tnousand
to fifty thousand men, making. an organl-
cation of two army corps when couid not
be exceFed in the world.
"As to our seacoast Notifications, they
are going on as fast as Congress, makes
the appropriations, quite, a deveiopment
having been attained. so that in some har-
bors We have a PRETTY fair amount of pro-
lection. such as first class high power
guns and mortars; these, though; are
Without the necessary force to man them
or even to axe care of them. but | trust
this session of Congress will agree to the
additional regiments of artillery report
ed for this purpose by the Mliltafy COM
mittee of the Senate.