The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-10-22
The Standards OF the Civil War Not
AvailAh1p Tn.nav

The Standards OF the Civil War Not
Available To-Day.
New York Commercial Advertiser: They
who would defend the war department by
ton of the general staff during the civil war
confess judgment. The civil war lasted four
years and employed more than a million men.
This lasted less than four months and en-
ployed less than 1OO, 600. At the beginning
of the civil war we had general staff. That
like the line, had to be made out of the raw.
The army suffered horribly at first, but
volunteer staff was organized with the volun-
teer line. They gained skill and experience
together, and by the time the line had the
quality of an army the staff had mastered
army was we'll clothed. armed and feel, was
moved with promptness and CELEBRITY, and the
inevitable hardehips of camp and field were
reduced to the minimum permitted by the
medical and sanitary science OF that time
That was an experience by which it was
supposed We had profited, as we'll as by the
large advance Of administrative and technical
science Nominally the magnificent stan
created by the civil war was maintained. The
bureaus and places in the war department
were kept up, millions Of dollars were ap-
propr1ated to support the staff and a br,ye
show Of efficient organization was made IT.
was the boast Of the department in it's defense
OF large: appropria lions fora small army that
IN It's stan and resimental organization our
small army was the skeleton Of one four times
as great that the rank and file could be in
creased at any time to 100000 men or more
Without exhaust1ng the trained officers in
the army OR at command OF the department
or without exhausting the administrative re.
sources OF the general staff. Yet before half
OF 1oo 900 men were in the field the boosted
general staff, maintained for thirty wears If
peace to hold the country ready for war. broke
doWn more entirely than the British commits
sarlat IN the Crimea. and the war would hav
been suspended in Cuba by disinteRration OF
our own forces had 1t not been brought to
an end everywhere through the Operation Of
our forces at sea. The difference between this
war and the civil war is that then we ad
no general STAN and expected nothing till one
was created. Now we have an elaborate and
costly general STAFF which excused ali the
heavy expense lis caused all the plea that ~
was keeping up q skeleton organization. :" to
be ready for war. War came and the skee.o
crumbled to dust like an exhumed corpse. Ieav.
ing US as badly off as in 1861 '--- -
Inad Is not the worst Of 1t. The science
OF military administration and the technical
sciences which save life in camp and hospital
nave made as great advance in thirty years as
the sciences OF chemistry and mechanics an
piled to firearms and explosives, which DESTROY
life on .the field of battle. every great war
has shown notable advance over the last. un
to the Rueso-Turkish war, in movement and
supply of armies, in sanitation Of camps and
IN treatment OF sick and wounded in hospitals
Inc war OF 1859, bad as it was was better in
these respects than the Crimea and the wa re
OF Prussia were made with scientific precision
and economy Of human material. Our wretch
ed little war In Cuba, with its fever camps
and bare hospitals, it's deadlocks in administra
ton and stalled artillery and supply trains,
recalls the worst condition of the Crnea
Our army staff, which seeks to cover itself
behind presidents thirty years old ia forty
years behind the times. =