The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-16
THE NEW ARMY.
It Will be More Popular" Than the
 Old One

It Will be More Popular" Than the
 Old One.
 The annual reports, of which we are
 publishing synopses, show how com
 plete a transformation the army of the
 United Staes has undergone during
 the period they cover. In almost every
 respect constituting distinctive char
 acter our present army is unlike that on
 which we depended up to the time of
 our difference with Spain. In men. in
 officers and in the methods and the
 ideas controlling it, our army is essen-
 tially new one. Whether or not 1t
 shall be better one, at least in it's
 adaptation to present conditions, de-
 pends largely upon the question
 whether Congress will have the wisdom
 to make the best possible use of the
 experience it is now acquiring, or shall suffer all to be thrown away to enter once more upon the wary round of change in obedience to the demand of those whose ignorance of military sub jects requires that they should be set entirely aside in considering the subject or army organization.
 In the first place, as to numbers there can be. no doubt that we shall need to continue in service every man we now have This Is the judgment of the best authorities, including the com missioners sent to the Philippines, who have had excellent opportunity to learn what is needed. When the opinions of men with the experience of Admiral Dewey and General Otis are accepted and approved by eminent civ ilians having the best opportunity to form a judgment, 1t is obvious that Congress cannot go wrong in acting on it. A total of 100000 men under the flag will not give Us for actual duty in the field more than 75,0O0, which is the minimum force we have been sug- gested The codnitions of tropical ser vice are such as to necessitate a larger number of men than might otherwise be required to provide for the necessary reliefs.
 Nothing that can be said in praise of the admirable work done by our volun- teers in the Philippines can weaken the force of the argument for per manent establishment of somewhat near the present dimensions. We shall find abundant material for It in the young men who have more or less experience of war and who have been educated out of the crude ideas con- cerning military service with which the man fresh from the ranks of civil life enters upon his duties in the army. Could the army we had year ago. regular and volunteer, have been made permanent we should have had the material for splendid organization What it lacked was the element of permanence which Congress should now provide The adjutant-general recommends the repeal of so much of Sec. 15 of the Act of March 2, 1890, pro- viding for the return of the army to it's status prior to April 1, 1898, as effects or relates to those appointed to the grade of second lieutenant in the regu- lar army. This is earnestly urged "because the promotions which have already occurred since the passage of this act have scattered the officers to all points of the globe occupied by the army and to attempt to decide to what positions these officers should be restored on July l. 1901, would result In endless confusion. Probably the easiest way to secure an increase of the army would be to repeal the whole or JHG lOLH otCllOI cuOpL lIG present establishment as the regular army, making such notifications in it as experience may suggest Regard should be had, however, to this final pro- viso of Sec. 15, and provided further, that no officer who has been or may be promoted under the existing laws or nnder the rules of seniority shall be disturbed in his rank.
 If existing laws have brought new men into the army, with them have rome new influences which will be very helpful in securing for the army what If needs to make it efficient. The diff ficulty with the old establishment was that it was not sufficiently in touch with the people. Our army, officers and men were regarded as class apart and were viewed with dislike and distrust by a large proportion of our population l and with indifference by those who in I , mild sort of way were disposed to ad- | nit the necessity for standing army | If large dimensions. It was hard | struggle to maintain in existence even 1 The few regiments CIV had, and they | were the constant subject of assault by | powerful influences which sought to | ,ender them as inefficient as possible by | ,rinnling their resources. Congress even went to the extent of refusing to vote l heir pay, and we remember the ocasion when the well-known banking house of | Drexel, Morgan & Co.,, loaned the offi- | ,ers half a million dollars on the securi- " of their pay accounts to tide them ,ver while Congress was waiting to do ts duty md personal influence unite the army with the people. and insure on it's be- half the good offices of many whose