The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-25
Fixes No Maximum Strength for
the Military ARM
FEATURES OF TIE MEASURE
Claimed That 1t Will Give Great
Efficiency for Little Money
MORE OFFICERS PROVIDED FOR
MORE OFFICERS PROVIDED FOR
Cavalry Regiments to Have Fifteen Cap
tains Instead of Twelve, as Now
Organized-Facts Cited to JUS
tify Provisions of Bill.

Washington, December 24.-Representa-
tive Hull, chairman of the military COM
mittee of the house, today filed with the
clerk his report on the bill for the regular
army. After detailing the amendments
adopted in committee, all of which have
been sent out in the Associated Press dis
patches, the report says:
THE bill fixes no maximum strength for
the entire army. Assuming that the gov
eminent will require about 100000 men for
the defense of the frontier, for coast de-
Tense and to maintain our authority in the
islands, for whose good order and govern
ment this nation is responsible, to-
gether with reasonable reserve force, the
bill provides for the regiments of cavalry
and infantry, to provide the number re-
CURED for each arm of the service and a
corps of artillery for our seacoast batter
les, with two regiments of artillery for
field batteries.
Cost Will be Moderate
1.-The committee believe the organization
as provided for in this bill will make the
most efficient military organization at the
lowest cost to the taxpayer of any organ
ization provided for by another bill before
congress
The organization of the cavalry as pro-
vlded In the bill is substantially the same
organization now provided for by law. The
change in the present organization is
making fifteen captains in place of twelve,
an~ providing for a commissary of tine
regiment. By this increase of rank the
adJutant-quartermaster and commissary
are given the rank of captain, and COM
m1ssary sergeant is also added. The fif-
teen HfSt llGutenantS provided have
extra frst leutenants for each regiment,
TO De available as squadron adjutants., 1t
also provides for the creation of band for
each regiment by enlisting them as must
clans, While under the present law they
are enlisted in the regular force and de-
tailed as musicians The organization of
artillery provided for in the bill changes
from the regimental formation to that of
corps of artillery, and as the artillery
arm has so grown in Importance the COM
mittee feels justified in submitting the full
reasons for the change.
Artillery Organization
1.-The relation of artillery organization to
the work that the army was to perform
may be best understood by a brief refer
ence to its history Our present system
dates back to 1921, when the first four regi-
ments were organized. The Fifth Regiment
was added in 1861 and the Sixth and Sew
enth in 1898. Now, when first organized
that Is, in 1921, the question of coast de-
tense was not nearly SO important as it is
today, and consequently the question of
organization was not 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 services of infantry
of very great Importance, and hence we
find the artillery almost continuously used
as infantry.
Used rs Infantry
THUS in the Mexican war three-fourths
of the artillery was used as infantry. 1t was
armed and equipped as infantry, and served
as such, not only in Mexico, but also In
Florida during the Seminole trouble, 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 infantry were con-
verted into light batteries, only to resume
their infantry equipment and duties after
Appomattox.
I'm the bill under discussion the number
of artillery units (batteries) was obtained
from consideration of the number of gun
positions to be manned. You must have, at
the limit, as many batteries as you have
gun positions. Further, these batteries must
be grouped in sufficient numbers at each
harbor to man all the guns in that harbor.
Evidently the idea of the regiment does
not come forward here at all, and for a
good reason; there is no relation between
the regiment as unit and the work to be
done by the artillery. In other words, the
essential of artillery organization is the
battery, these batteries being grouped ae-
cordng to the necessities of each case, ne
cessities differing from harbor to harbor
Conditions Are Different
''The conditions are entirely different for
infantry and for cavalry. In these, each in
dividual 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 the number of the weapons
ii can bring into line, but no such measure
can be uniformly applied to the artillery
Experience has shown that the, regi-
mental organization is suited to the imam
try and to the cavalry, the unit selected,
namely, the regiment being the greatest
number of muskets and of sabers respect
lively, that can be directly controlled by
one man and this unit is a necessary one
But evidently no such necessity exists in
the artillery.
''Why then perpetuate system that is es-
sentially relic of the past, and wholly out
of harmony with present and with future
conditions. There is no sentiment con-
nected with the maintenance of the regi-
mental organization because, as already eX-
planned, the chances are against an officers
serving wholly in one regiment. For the
purely local feeling for the regiment alone,
has been substituted a strong feeling of
pride in the army as a whole, feeling born
of the desire to see this long neglected arm
at last rise to full realization of it's oppor-
tunities and its duties.
Complications Of the Service
"Let It be borne In mind how complicated
is the artillery service, how many different
kinds Of guns It has to serve, that in future
1t Will be charged with the torpedo service