The record-union., 1898-12-25
Representative Hull, the Author of
the Measure,
Files an Explanatory Report With the Clerk
of the House.
No Maximum Strength for the En-
tire Army Fixed in the Bill, but
Provides for About One Hun
dred Thousand Men, in the
Event That Number is Re-
Nuired.

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.-Represent-
ative Hull, Chairman of the Military
| Committee of the House, to-day filed
with the Clerk his report on the bill for
the increase for the regular army.
After detailing the amendments adopted
in committee, all of which have been
set out in the Associated Press dis
| patches, the report says:
'The bill fixes no maximum strength
! for the entire army. Assuming that the
Government will require about 100000
| for defense of the frontier, for coast
defense and TO maintain our authority
in the islands for whose good order and
government this nation is now re-
sponsible. together with a reasonable
| reserve force, the bill provides for the
| regiments of cavalry and infantry to
provide the number required for each
arm of the service, and corps of artil-
| lery for our seacoast batteries, with two
regiments of artillery for field batteries.
''The committee believe the organiza-
tion as provided for in this bill will
make the most efficient military organ
ization, at the lowest cost to the tax
payer, of any organization proposed by
any bill before Congress.
1.-The organization of the cavalry as
provided in thesbi is substantially the
same organization now provided for by
law The change in the present organ
ization is making fifteen Captains in
place of twelve, and providing for a
Commissary of the regiment BY this
increase of rank, the Adjutant, Quar-
! icsc-o cyiU
the rank of Captain, and Commissary
Sergeant is also added. The fifteen
First Lieutenants provided have three
extra First Lieutenants for each regi-
ment. to be available as Squadron Ad-
jutants 1t also provides for the crea-
ton of a band for each regiment by
enlisting them as musicians, while un-
der the present law they are enlisted
in the regular forces and enrolled as
musicians.
THE organization of artillery pro-
vided for in the bill changes the regi-
mental formation to that of a corps
of artillery, and as the artillery arm
has so grown in Importance the
committee feel justified in submitting
the full reasons for the change.
1.-The relations of artillery organiza-
ton to the work that the army was to
perform may be best understood by a
brief reference to it's history. Our pres
ent system dates back to 1921, when the
first four regiments were organized.
The fifth regiment was added in 1861.
and the sixth and seventh in 1898.
Now, when first organized-that is, in
1S21-the question of coast defense was
not nearly so important as it is to-day,
and consequently the question of organ
ization was not so important. More
over, 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 serv-
ices of infantry of very great import
ance and hence we find the artillery al
most continuously used as infantry.
Thus, in the Mexican War the Fourth
Artillery was used as infantry. 1t was
armed and equipped as infantry, ana
served as such not only in Mexico, but
also in Florida during the Seminole
troubles, on the plains and elsewhere,
even in the forts.
when the civil war broke out in
1861 all the foot batteries heretofore
armed and equipped and serving as in
fantry were converted into light batter
les, only to resume their infantry equip
ments and duty after Appomattox. In
the bill under discussion the number of
artillery units (batteries) were obtained
from consideration of the number of the
gun positions to be maintained. You
must have, at the limit, as many bat
teries as you have gun positions. Fur
ther, these batteries must be grouped
in sufficient numbers at each harbor to
man all the guns in that harbor Evil
IDENTIFY the idea of the regiment does
not come forward here, at all, and for
a good reason-there is no relation be-
tween the regiment as a unit and be-
tween the work to be done by the artil-
lery. In other words, the essential of
artillery organization is the battery.
these batteries being.grouped according
to the necessities of each case-neces-
stiles 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 tie
number of the weapons it can bring
into line but no such measure can he
uniformly applied to the artillery.
Experience has shown that the regi-
mental organization is suited to the in
fantry and to the cavalry, the unit Sc
lected, namely, the regiment, being the
greatest number of muskets and sabers
respectively that can be directly con-
trolled by one man, and this unit is
necessary one. But evidently no such
necessity exists in the artillery
why then, perpetuate system that
is essentially a relic of the past, and
wholly out of harmony with the pres
ent and with future conditions There
is no sentiment connected with the
maintenance of the regimental organi-
zation, because, as already explained,
the chances are against an officers
serving wholly in one regiment For
the purely local feeling for the regi-
ment alone has been substituted a
strong feeling of pride in the arm as a
whole, feeling borne of the desire to
see this long neglected arm of the serv-
ice at last rise to full realization OF
its opportunities and its duties.