Evening star., 1898-12-24
FOR A LARGER ARMY
Chairman Hull Submits Report on
His Bill.
EFFICIENT MILITARY ORGANIZATION
Needs Of the Artillery Branch of
the Service
INCREASING THE COMPANY


filed with the clerk his report on the bill
for the increase of the regular army. After
detailing the amendments adopted in COM
mttee, all of which have been set out in
The Star, the report says:
THE bill fixes maximum strength for
the entire army. Assuming that the gov
ernment will require about 100000 for de-
fense Of the frontier, for coast defense and
to maintain our authority in the islands
for whose good order and government this
nation is now responsible, together with a
reasonable reserve force. the bill provides
for the requirements of cavalry and in
fantry to provide the number required for
each arm Of the service and a corps of ar
tillery for our sea coast batteries with two
regiments of artillery for field batteries.
'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 Or
ganization proposed by any bill before Con-
gresS.
1.-The organization of the cavalry as pro-
| vided in the bill is substantially the same
organization now provided for by law. The
change in the present organization is max
ing hfteen captains in place of twelve and
providing for a commisSary of the reei-
ment. BY this increase of rank the ad-
jutant, quartermaster and commissary are
given the rank of captain and commits
sary sergeant is also added The fifteen
first EeutenantS 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 enlisting them as musi-
clans, while under the present law they are
enlisted in the regular force and detailed
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 committee feel
justified in submitting the full reasons for
the change.
Artillery Organization.
"The relation of artillery organization to
the work that the army was to perform
| may be best understood by brief refer
ence to its history. Our present system
dates back to 1921. when the first four
regiments were organized. The 9TH Regi-
ment was added in 1861. and the 9th and
1th 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 or
ganization was not so 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 be-
fore the country that made the services
of infantry Of very great Importance, and
hence We find the artillery almost continu-
ously used as Infantry. Thus in the MeXi-
can war three-fourths of the artillery was
used as infantry. 1t was armed and equip
ped as infantry and served such, not
only in Mexico, but also in Florida, during
the Seminole troubles. 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 converted
into light batteries, only to resume their
infantry equipment and duties after APP
pomattox.
I'm the bill under discussion the number
of artillery units (batteres) was obtained
from 4 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 regi-
n.ent does not come forward here at all,
and for good reason: There is no relation
between the regiment as a unit and the
work to be done by the artillery. In other
words, the essential of artillery organiza-
ton is the battery, these batteries being
grouped according to the necessities of
each case, necessities differing from har-
bor to harbor.
1.-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 cav
airy is measured by the number of the
weapons it can bring into the line, but no
such measure can be uniformly applied to
the regimental organization is suited to the
infantry and to the cavalry, the unit Sc
lected namely, the regiment, being the
greatest number of muskets and of sabers.
respectively, that can be directly controlled
by one man, and this unit is a necessary
one. But evidently no such necessity eX-
lists in the artillery.
"Why, then, perpetuate a system that is
essentially relic of the past, and wholly
out Of harmony with present and with fu-
ture conditions? There is no sentiment
connected with the maintenance of the regi-
mental organization, because, as already
explained the chances are against an Off
GERS serving wholly in one regiment. For
the purely local feeling for the regiment
alone has been substituted a strong feeling
of pride in the arm as whole, feeling
born of the desire to this long neglected
arm at last rise to a full realization Of its
opportunities and its duties.
Let it be borne in mind how complicated
is the artillery service, how many different
kinds of guns it has to serve, that in fu-
ture it will be charged with the torpedo
service, and that the nature of artillery
service in general will depend entirely upon
local conditions, conditions that differ from
harbor to harbor, and it is at once evident
that an arbitrary division of the personnel
into regiments is inherently vicious. The
corps system, on the other hand, gives the
artillery the adaptability and fleXibiity
that are demanded by the ever-varying
conditions of its service.
'In respect of the number Of batteries
fecohthen0ed Dy thiS Dill, one argument
only need be brought up. If the necessary
personnel is not to be provided. why are
millions appropriated every year for guns
and forts? The complicated ordnance of
the present cannot be intrusted to un-
trained men.
by June 80, 1899, 1876 batteries of coast
artillery will be needed for the guns actu-
ally installed. The bill asks for 144 such
batteries. According to reliable observa-
ton the deterioration of electric machinery
in our coast forts, when uncared for, is 33
per cent per annum; of other machinery, 20
per cent, and Of guns and of carriages, 25
per cent. A battery Of two 12-inch guns,
complete, with all it's machinery, costs
STAG, 900; If uncared for the yearly loss
would be about $44, 900.
Infantry REORGANIZATION.
'in the organization of the infantry regi-
ment the change has been made in the
number of enlisted men in a company from
1O6 to las. The object of the increase is to
provide for an adequate force at the very
lowest cost to the government It has not
been the object of the committee to sac
rihce efficiency for economy, but taking
the number Of men necessary to carry out
the purpose Of the government, We believe