Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-10-06
Army REORGANIZATION.

Army circles are reviving a more or
/ less old time agitation for a separate
head for the artillery branch of the
service, and the creation Of a depart
ment of coast Notifications. The artil-
lery people complain that they are ham,
pered by being placed under the control,
in matters strictly relating to the artil-
lery service of officers of other arms of
the service who may have never seen
the inside Of a fertilization.
There is u good deal Of justice in this
complaint. and it is something that civil
ians who have seen any military service
will appreciate. The matter OF coast de-
Tense has become a speciality by itself,
The manufacture of ordnance for forti-
fications has assumed a complex form
and i~ntricacy Of manufacture that car
not adequately be attended to by officers
who have more or less of their talent
called to other branches Of wal service
Modern guns, especially those of the
larger variety, are very complicated af-
fairs. 1t takes a long time to make
them, and it also takes a long time to
drill men into handling them properly.
The artillery service should have
it's own head, the same as the ord
nance and the engineers, and, moreover,
there should be a permanent divorce of
the light from the heavy artillery. The
light artillery is largely of a cavalry
character, and there might with profit
be two regiments of this branch of the
artillery, leaving the heavy artillery to
remain at coast garrisons. where they
can attend to the multifarious and In
creasing responsibilities there without
interference from officials whose duties
scatter their attention over various de-
partments, when the changed order of
things demands that a mans attention
shall now be given to one speciality In
order that justice may be done to 1t.
The military committee of the house
of representatives at Washington will
have a most important duty to perform
in providing for the reorganization OF
the army. and a decided effort will be
made by artillery officers to secure the
attention that the growing Importance
of that branch of the service demands.
Congressman Bailey, the meteoric but
brief Democratic leader In the last con-
gress, like many other public men, inn
agined that anybody could be made
an available soldier at short notice
and declared in the house, with 9
majestic a Of his hand, that the
farmers with their pitchforks, and the
machinists with their hammers, would
rush to the rescue Of an imperiled coun-
try, from their farms and their shops
This was very beautiful as q piece OF
spectacular oratory, but it did not show
much horse sense or much knowledge o.
military requirements. Mr.. Bailey and
other Democratic leaders inveighed bit.
terly against the increase of the army OF
threatening the liberties Of the country
and then went home to be sat down or
hard by the Texas Democratic state
| convention.
The folly of so small a standing army
as $4,000 men, and the folly Of the Demo
cratic party in opposing an army which
could act as a respectfully sized nucleus
for a larger and impromptu organiza
ton. was abundantly shown in the wal
with Spain, and now that new condi'
tons exist calling for the reorganization
Of the army Of the United States on
more substantial and effective basis, Il
will be well for the Democratic party t.
withdraw from their past position of op-
position and agree to such proper reor.
ga~nization.