The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-29

washington, June Zo.-Soecreldry Al
ger, Adjutant General Corbin and Col
onel Bird, assistant quartermaster gen.
eral, in charge of transportation, had
an hours consultation with the presi-
dent today, relative to the question of
reinforcements for General Otis. A
definite decision had been reached to
continue recruiting men at all the re-
cruiting stations for service in the
Philippines, and Secretary Alger said,
when ne eft the White House after
the conference, that General Otis would
have 40, 600 men when the rainy season
closed for resumption of active oper-
ations.
There are seventy recruiting stations
in the United States, and enliStments
are TO be taken at all of these stations
The enlistments are to be for service
in the regular army, and recruits are to
be organized into regiments, or assign
ed TO regiments already formed after
enlistment. No state organizations. as
such, are to be accepted, if sufficient
recruits can be obtained by regular en-
listment-
General Corbin said the enlistments
would be for three years. although the
law for the creation of the provisional
army of 50 900 in excess of the regular
army of g.. 900 provides only for such a
force until 1901. Arrangements are To
be made at once for increasing the
transportation necessary to get these
additional troops TO the Philippines
Active Campaigning Will Cease.
The decision TO reinforce General
Otis by the end of the rainy season is
interpreted to mean that active cam
paigning will cease until the bad
weather ends Until that time our
operations will probably be confined to
proximity to our lines, where the in
sIlrgents may have congregated il
force BY remaining quiescent under
good shelter during the rainy season.
it is hoped the health of our troops will
he conserved, and the danger from eli
matte fevers reduced to a minimum.
General Otis has cabled to the war
department that he has the skeleton
organizations of two of the three regi-
nentS which he proposes TO raise in the
Philippines. At the war department.
this was to mean that General OILS
has the officers for these regiments Sc
lectad and that they are ready to be
filled with enlisted men. How many of
these can be secured from the volunteer
regiments now in the Philippines is not
stated. 1t is stated at the war depart
ment that the recruits now being en-
listed at the rate of 1000 a week cannot
be use for the volunteer army pro-
thorizing 81 600 men, although it would
be an easy matter 10 transfer these
men with their own consent To the vol
unteer service. If it should be deter
mined to raise additional troops.
Later in the day it was definitely de- |
cided TO begin the enlistments for the !
volunteer service under the act OF the 1
last congress. The reports to the ad- |
jutant general based on the reports of |
the recruiting officers and close esti- |
mates as to the number of soldiers in /
the Philippines and in each command |
in Cuba and Porto Rico show that the |
regular army is up to its full author /
lied strength. The additional soldiers !
needed must be obtained under that |
section of congress authorizing the en- |
listment OF volunteers.
Fill In the Gaps
The only exception viii be in the |
case of the few enlistments that will !
be made from time to time to fill gaps
in the regular army caused by casual
ties and by the expiration Of enlist
ments. The officers scattered among
the principal cities OF the country who
have been enlisting regulars only will
he instructed Immediately 10 prepare to
enlist volunteers. The present indica-
tions are that abont 10000 men will be
Usr:o5
Volunteers will not be accepted in or
ganizatl0nS. Secretary Alger is deter
mined TO adhere to that rule. Looking
over the act of congress he had cOnclud-
ed that the authorization to raise these
volunteer troops .'at large" indicates a
purpose on the part of congress to fol-
low out the plans. successfully adopted,
OF immune regiments.
II is the present purpose to disregard |
state and local lines in securing the re-
cruits and welding them into organiza-
tions. Regiments VIII be designated
the First Second. Third. etc, volunteer
United S,2tes infantry or cavalry. No
difficulty is anticipated in securing the
men needed. 1t is believed the 1.000
men who are weekly Offering them
selves at the recruiting offices will be
even more willing TO enter the army as
two-year volunteers than as long-term
Regulars.
Officers for these volunteer regiments
will be obtained by promoting officers
now i'm the regular army and by COM
many of the best officers of
the volunteer organizations which saw
service. The war department has care
fSsly preserved the records of these Off
GERS and has at hand a long list of such
of them as exhibited the qualities re-
quisite for the successful organization
of troops