Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-12-28

the state, amount to a total of $SS, 191. 80,
summarized as. follows:
Pay of volunteers. S79, 613 60
FAY OF rejected men. ............ 6,651.06
ray OF physical examinations. =. 1,007. SO
salary OF Maj. NJ r. Doyon, pay
master ............. 3Ol. 9S
Balance. of pay, Gustave Disch
Second regiment .............. ga
Ten l.. W. ByerS, expenses. .... 212.36
Col. W. FL. Patton, assistant adj
jutant-general expenses -. 1880
kilograms ........ ......... 102 At
commissions $50. ........t 49,. 1926
Printing ........... ......r. 1916
The expenses of the adjutant-gene
department, not including! those OF the
quaFtermaster-genera for the year end
ing September 80, 1888, aggregate
S45,354.o7. This of course does
not include. the war expenses
that there was no encampment CO state
troops the past year, which in 1897
amounted to S41, 433. 20 for the payment
OF troops in camp.
AdJt. Gen. Boardman recommends a re-
organization of the Wisconsin National
guard to make it conform as nearly as
possible to the organization Of the United
States army. He says:
Inc number of companies and batal-
hons and the number and grade of all of
nCefs III each regiment should conform
TO the provisions for the same in the
army when war exists. In Wisconsin
there have been some eight and some
tWeIFe-company regiments, the state law
allowing but forty companies of infan-
try.
L believe if the National guard sys-
TEN IS to be maintained. as | think it
should be- not for state service alone,
but IS part of our national defense,
that the state should strive TO have the
instruction and organization placed more
under the supervision of the federal gov
ernment. This, it would seem. might be
done without interfering with the states
authority over the troops in the follow
ing manner: Let the United States gov
ernment increase the annual appropria-
ton which It now makes for the support
OF the National guard of the various
states from 100000 to 81, 100000 or So
OVo,O0O and apportion this amount
among the several states, as it now does
according to population. The sum that
each state would thus be entitled to re
celye would be sufficiently large to make
1t an object, as a matter of economy if
for no other reason, for each to strive to
obtain its share Then let the govern
ment establish certain conditions, con
formity to which will be necessary
on the part Of each state before its
appropriation can be available These
conditions should be that the Organiza-
ton. equipment and instruction of the
appropriation should conform as far as
practicable to the organization, equip
ment and instruction of the United
States army when war exists
The report gives table unofficial and
incomplete as the muster-out rolls of the
regiments have no been received, stat
ing that the number Of men furnished by
Wisconsin in the war with Spain and
deaths from ali causes to December /
1898. The total number was 5469 as fol-
Txxx 4
Third, 1853: Fourth. 1901: Battery A,
l09. Two from the Third regiment We're
killed in action, or died of wounds; II of
the First regiment died from disease. II
III the Second, 81 in the Thidr and 10 in
the Fourth. Unofficial information has
been received Of the death of seventeen
soldiers from Wisconsin who served in
the regular army or with the volunteers
from other states
The report of the pension division shows
q notable increase in the business Of this
branch of the acknowledgements office
During the first full biennial period after
this division was created. from September
SO, 1892, to October /, 1894 there were
filed 30 new claims. In the next two
years, September So 1894, to October /,
1896. SOB new claims were filed; and in
the period covered by the present report,
from September 30, 1896, to October
1898, 1904 new claims have been entered
upon the files. In the last two years 554
claims have been settled, of which 81
were allowed and 243 rejected: 125 of the
rejected claims were for increase In a
recent report by the commissioner of pen
sions it IS shown that of all the claims
adjudicated during the years 1S94-95-96,
II per cent. were rejected and 20 per
cent. allowed, while the records show that
of the claims settled by the pension divis-
ion of this office during the past two
years, 81 per cent. have been allowed and
43 per cent. rejected. During the past
four years over IS per cent Of all claims
settled through this Office have been al
lowed.