The herald., 1898-12-25
THE MAJORITY REPORT
ON THE HULL BILL FOR ARMY
REORGANIZATION
NO LIMIT FIXED ON NUMBERS
The Measure Advocated as Providing
the Best Military Service for
the Least Money
Associated Press Special Wire.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.-Representa
tive Hull, Chairman of the Military Com
mittee of the House today filed with tn,
Clerk his report on the bill for the increas,
for the regular army. After detailing tn,
amendments adopted in committee, all o.
which have been set out in the Associated
Press dispatches, the report says:
'"The bill fixes no maximum strength fol
the entire army. Assuming that the Gov
ernment will require one hundred thousand
for defense of the frontier, for coast defense
and maintain our authority in the islands
for whose good order and government this
nation is now responsible, together with 9
reasonable reserve force, the bill provides
for the regiments of cavalry and infantry te
provide the number required for each arm
of the service and corps of artillery for oul
seacoast battees with two regiments OF ar
tillery for field batteries.
"The Committee believes the organization
as provided for in this bill will make the
most efficient military organization, at the
lowest cost to the taxpayer, of any organiza'
tion proposed by any bill before Congress.
"The organization of the cavalry as pro
vided i'm the bill is substantially the same
organization now provided for by law. The
change in the present organization is max
ing fifteen captains in place of twelve, and
providing for a commissary of the regiment
By this increase of rank, the adjutant, quar-.
termaster and commissary are given the
rank of captain, and a commissary sergeant
is also added. The fifteen first lieutenants
provided have three extra first lieutenants
for each regiment to be available as
squadron adjutants. 1t also provides for the
creation of a band for each regiment by en-
listing them as musicians, while under the
present law they are enlisted in the regular
force and enrolled as musicians. The or
ganization of artillery provided for in the
bill changes from the regimental formation
to that of corps of artillery, and as the ar
tillery arm has so grown in Importance the
Committee feels justified in submitting the
full reasons for the change.
The relations of artillery organization to
the work that the army was to perform may
be best understood by brief reference to
its history. Our pesent 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 1885,
Now when first organized, that is, in 1921,
the question OF coast defense was not nearly
SO important as it is today, and consequently
the question of organization was not so i'm
portant. Moreover, this relative impor-
tance Of both functions and of organization
1861. On the other hand, there were ques
tions before the country that made the SER
vices OF infantry OF very great Importance,
and hence we find the artillery almost con-
tinuously used as infantry. Thus in the
Mexican War the Fourth Artillery was
used as infantry. 1t was armed and equip
ped as infantry and served as such not only
in Mexico, but also in Florida during the
Seminole troubles, on the plains and else
where, 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 converted into light bat
teries, only to resume their infantry equip
ment and duties after Appomattox In the
bill under discussion the number of artillery
units (batteries), which were obtained from
consideration of the number of gun posi-
tions to be manned. You must have, at the
limit, as many batteries as you have gun posi-
tions. Further, these batteries must be
grouped in sufficient numbers at each har-
Dor to man all the guns in that harbor. Evi-
IDENTIFY, the idea of the regiment does not
come forward here at all and for good
is no relation between the
regiment as a unit and between the work to
be done by the artillery. In other words,
5he essential of artillery organizations is
he battery, hese batteries being grouped
according to the necessities of each case,
necessities differing from harbor to harbor
The conditions are entirely different for
Infantry and for cavalry. In these each in
1ividual carries weapon, which is not the
case with the artillery when used as SUCH
The fighting strength of infantry OF caval-
~ is measured by the number. of the weapons
It can bring into line, but no such measure
ian be uniformly applied to the artillery.
Experience has shown that the regimental
organization is suited to the infantry and
% the cavalry, the unit selected, namely,
,hc regiment, being the greatest number of
nuskets and sabers respectively that can be
directly controlled by one man, and this
init is necessary one. But evidently no
such necessity exists in the artillery.
Why, then, perpetuate a system that is
essentially relic of the past and wholly out
of harmony with the present and with flu.
Eure conditions! There is no sentiment con-
1ected with the maintenance of the regi-
mental organization, because, as already ex-
blamed, the chances are against an officers
erving wholly in one regiment. For the
purely local feeling for the regiment alone
has been substituted n strong feeling of
,ride in the arm as a whole, a feeling born
II the desire to see this long-neglected arm
If the service at last rise to full realization
# its opportunities and it's duties.
Let it be borne in mind how complicated
3 the artillery service, how many different
,inds of guns it has to serve; that in the
uture it will be charged with the torpedo
ervice and that the nature Of artillery serv-
&C in general will depend entirely upon To-
ations that differ from harbor to harbor,
nd it is evident that an arbitrary division
i the personnel into regiments is inherently |
icious. The corps system, on the other
ands, gives the artillery the adaptability
nd fiexlbility that are demanded by the |
conditions oil its service.
In respect to the number of batteries rec. |
by this bill, one argument only
eed be brought up. If the necessary per-
onnel is not to be provided, why are mil |
ons appropriated every year for gunsy
The complicated ordnance of the present
annot be trusted to unframed men.
BY June 30, 1899, l95 batteries of coast ar |
illery will be needed for the guns actually
astalled. The bill asks for IA such bat