The Indianapolis journal., 1898-03-14
THE UNITED DSTATESARMY
A CONSTANTLY INCREASING PER-
CENTAGE OF WEST POINTERS.
Gossip Concerning Retirements and
PrOmOtiOns-Many Promotions to
Be Made in the Artillery.
New York Evening Post.

!
number of graduates in active service was
1,1OS, which has now gone up to 1902 at the
rate of about forty q year, so that SO per
cent of the list is now made up of West
Pointers. OF the nine line generals, but one
is a graduate while of the forty line
colonels only fourteen are graduates Of
West Point, the others being appointees
from civil life In the staff corps at the be-
ginning of the year the generals were even
iy divided, five being graduates and five
having entered the army without any pre-
limiEary military training
OF the active officers in the army, / 327 are
West Pointers, GA are from civil life, and
1873 have risen from the ranks. Two regi-
ments. the First and Fourth Cavalry, have
no ''rankers, but all the others have rep
resentatives of the three methods of get
ting a commission. Forty-nine of the
Fourth Artillery's ffty-eight officers are
West Pointers, which is the largest number
in any one regiment, and the Fifth Infantry
not only has the smallest number of West
Pointers, fourteen, but is the only regiment
in which West Pointers are second in num-
ber. The engineer corps of III alone has
no other than West Pointers but the artil-
lery has for many years admitted no others,
with one or two exceptions.
That SO many of the commanding officers
are nongraduates is not to be wondered at,
although always surprise to the public,
which has an idea that every officer is a
West Pointer, and that the enlisted man has
no chance of rising. AT the close of the
war the reorganized and reduced regular
army was recruited from those of the volun-
teer officers who wished to become profess
Slonal soldiers, so that in 1870 the West
nfr ateNs. faxr, l@nNwxr
natural IL slow, course of promotion these
ex-volunteer officers have now risen to the
important positions, as is evidenced by the
fact that General Merritt is the only West
Pointer among the nine generals. In ten
years from now these men will all have
passed to the retired list, as any one who
enlisted in 1861 at the age OF seventeen will
have reached the retiring age, and then the
West Pointers will probably number four
fifths of the army and hold nearly, if not
all, the high ranks. If no war takes place
between now and then the United States
will at that time have a corps of officers
practically without any active service ex-
perience except in small Indian fights.
OFFICERS BY STATES.
Another interesting set of facts CLEANED
from the register shows that New York has
to the service Ohio being third with 1856,
and Illinois fourth with 112. None of the
other States except Massachusetts, which
these figures. The District of Columbia
furnishes seventy-fve officers, which is
easily explained when one considers how
many army families reside there, and that
the seat of the appointing power is within
the District.
The event of the past week was the
retirement on Friday OF Adjutant General
Breck and the succession to that position or
Col. Henry c. Corbin, an account of whose
services has already been given here. The
progressive and younger officers are more
and more pleased with this appointment
and do not hesitate to express the hope
that he will do much for his department
and the army as Inspector General Breck-
inridge has done in his sphere. The latter
officer has, by the way, received the heart
felt sympathy of the service in the loss OF
his son, whose tragic death near Havana
by being washed Oft the torpedo boat Cush-
ing was a precursor of the terrible disaster
1t has been definitely announced that, in
stead of Capt. H. l.. Scott, Seventh Cav
Infantry, son of Col. George l.. Andrews
retired, formerly of the same regiment, will
succeed to the vacancy caused by the re-
tirement of Adjutant General Breck. Capt.
Andrews was graduated in 1876, became
first lieutenant in 1883 and captain in 1892.
This will promote to captain Lieut.. Eaton
A. Edwards, who has been in the army as
private hospital steward and officer since
Oct 16, 1861, and Second Lieutenant Harry
A. Smith, First Infantry. The vacancy in
the quartermaSterS department has not yet
been filled.
ARTILLERY SERVICE.
Second Lieut.. James Hamilton, Third Ar
tillery, who was promoted last week by the
retirement of Major Chester, goes upon the
retired list as first lieutenant because of
physical disabilities. This promotes Second
Lieut.. Thomas w. Winston Fifth Artillery.
and additional Second Lieut.. Albert j. Bow
ley, Fourth Artillery. The retirement on
Feb. 10 of Maj. Lewis Smith, Fourth Ar
tillery, caused these promottons Captain
Frank w. Hess. Third Artillery to be ma
Jor; First Lieut.. William Z. Birkhimer,
Third Artillery, to be captain; Second Lieut.
NJ. G. Krayenbuhl, Second Artillery to be
first lieutenant, and additional Second
Lieut.. Bertram {. Gilbert, FIRST Artillery, to
be second lieutenant. Major Smith wouii
have been retired for age on May t. as lie
entered the army as a. private in the TnIrd
Artillery July l, 1851, having thus nearly
forty-seVen years of active service To his
credit, all of which service with the excep-
tlon OF the last eleven months, was with the
same regiment, Major Smith was graduated
from the Artillery School in 1876 AMI be-
came major on the 30th of April last
Captain birkhimer served as a private in
the Fourth Iowa Cavalry in 1S64-65, and
entered West Point in 1866 so that he has
waited twenty-seven years since graduation
for his captaincy. During this time he has
made a name for himself as an authority
on military law, and the writer of a his
tory of the United States artillery which
will long remain standard work as will
Ills l6Sdl l6Al-DOOSS.
The War Department has settled the long
standing controversy over the command at
the Springfield armory by ordering an ex-
change of stations and commands between
Col. Alfred Mordecai, now at that armory
and Lieut.. Col. Isaac Arnold. the present
commander at the Watervliet, N. Y.
arsenal. Col. Mordecai has been often the
subject of charges, mostly preferred by en-
ployes or ex-employes, nearly all of which
are based upon allegations of severity, or
discrimination and such things. but none
of which in any manner reflects upon the
integrity of the officer
Col. William A. Elderkin. the second Of
ficer in rank of the subsistence corps, has
been ordered to appear before a retiring
board at Fort Sheridan. Illinois.
The usual long list of boards of officers
for the examination of candidates for West
Point at the leading army posts was an
nOunced this week This method of exam
ming candidates near their homes is
great saving of time and expense.
The case of First Lieutenant James w.
disqualified for promotion and recommend
ed to undergo a surgical operation, Is now
in the hands Of Surgeon General SternDerg.
1t is said that he will soon be in order to
undergo the operation, which Is not consld-
cred dangerous. and that If he does not do
so his resignation will be called for.
First Iieutenants Henry G. Cabell and
Henry G. Learned received orders to join
their regiments on February 10, being de-
tached from the National Guard duty to
help mitigate the dearth of company off,
GERS pointed out in this column last week.
Several detachments of the regiment have
already started for Alaska, and there is
much sorrow in consequence In Portland,
service at Vancouver barracks, Is very pop
ular.
Kansas CIty's Big Dog show.