The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-30

Congress TO publish their professional writ
ingn, they have established their own mag
a~zines-the journal Of the Military Ssrrtos
Institution, the artillery Journal, and the
CdUuiry JournuI-in which they publish
military papers of the highest value.
The last number Of the former named mag.
aEine contains n prize essay on Our olun-
teer Armies" by Lieut.. s. NJ. FoorE Of the
Fourth Artillery, which shows not only the
most careful study. but constructive states
manship Of a high order. He traces our
military institutions and practice from
their Anglo-Saxon source, through the
French and Indian wars, the Revolution,
the war of 1912, the Mexican war, and the
war of the Rebellion, pointing out with
care the condition OF the country, the size
Of the continental, volunteer and regular
armies, and the character and cost of our
military operations at each period Of our
history. His description Of the civil war,
while necessarily much condensed, is full
Of interest. He shows that our patriotism
was almost without fault and as high as
we have any right to expect 1t ever to be;
that our militia laws were neglected and
inefficient, our regular army too small and
too widely scattered; and that we were
forced to depend at first entirely on volun.
teering, stimulated by high bounties, and
afterward supplemented by conscription.
He points out hat with good men INT ma
terials In abundance, our great want from
the start was for instructed and compe.
tent officers" to teach the men to drill and
use their arms, and that IL we would pre-
pare the country against misfortune and
wasteful expense hereafter we must "pro-
vide in time Of peace q number of capable
officers of volunteers sufficiently large to
raise and train all the volunteers we shall
need at the first CALL" remembering always
that Eat last the man who holds the gun Is
the man who fights the battle"
Our great problem. therefore, is to call
out, organize, and get into position within
the shortest possible time enough men with
guns in their hands, and fairly well drilled,
to meet any enemy who can land Upon our
shores or cross our borders.
Without following the details Of Lieut..
FOOTE'S statements he shows that, in case
Of war with Great Britain, we should have
to fight both her and Canada, in which
event we should require 100. 600 moro men
to defend the country han we should re-
quire as against any other first-class power.
He points out that it is fully within the
resources Of such a power under cover of its
fleet to land an army from $4,000 to go, 900
strong in any Of our unfortiied harbors.
Inasmuch as any power intending to make
an invasion of our country would be free to
select that part of our extended seacoast
which appeared to offer the greatest advan.
tages and the least risk for the time being,
and as it is now pretty we'll settled that
such a force could be modified, embarked,
transported across the Atlantic and landed
within four or at most five weeks after the
declaration of war, i" we should require an
army of at least 100000 volunteers to pre-
vent their advance. and certainly 200, 900
to dislodge them before they could be rein.
forced" He estimates therefore tina we
SHOULD need about 1856 900 volunteers for
Notifications, $4,000 volunteers for an army
of observation for the North Atlantic coast,
$4,000 volunteers for al army of observa-
tion for the Middle Atlantic coast, rs, 900
volunteers for an arm of observation for
the South Atlantic coast, rs, 900 volunteers
for an army Of observation for the Gulf
coast, and $4,000 volunteers for an army
of observation for the Pacific coast total,
400, 900"
Such an army would require from 10000
to %, 200 officers. Where and how could
they be obtainedi Certainly not from the
regular army, unless every man in 1t, as
now allowed by law, were competent to be-
come a commissioned officer, and were al
ready assigned his place and rank in a regi-
ment of volunteers. While we agree with
the late Gen. KAUTZ that the regular
army might be SO organized, recruited, and
instructed as to furnish all the officers re-
quired, nothing is more certain han that
the present laws do not provide for or per-
nit any such use of it. Hence some other
plan must be devised to furnish the officers
needed to organize, instruct, and command
the men that are to hold the guns in the
next great war.
Lieut.. FooTE regards the solution of the
problem as fully within the resources of our
country, and thinks that we may work out in
the time of peace a volunteer system which
will give us the necessary number of officers
and men "tolerably prepared for a defen.
sive campaign in from four to six weeks
time" His plan is as follows: He would
apportion one regiment of twelve compa-
mics, of 100 men each, to each Congressional
district, including three Territories and
the District of Columbia, or 357 in all.
This would give 433,20O men. The officers
should be commissioned and trained in
time Of peace. The Colonel of each regi-
ment should be an officer of the regular
army, not above the rank of Major. selected
from the active list for his special fitness.
Obviously he might be u native of the dis
trict, or at least of the State, in which his
regiment is raised. He should receive his
commission from the President, and while
with his volunteer regiment, which need
not be longer than one month per year, he
should have the local rank, pay and allow
ances of a Colonel. Officers on college
duty, or with the militia, could readily
take this work in addition.
The method of procedure would be as fol.
lows: The first year each Colonel, assisted
by a medical officer, would hold an exam.