The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1899-07-05
10000 Volunteers Wanted.
Seventy Recruiting Stations To Be
Opened in Different Places Soon.

Organizations are not Acceptable
Appointments for Both Regular
and Volunteer Commands To Be
Made by the President-No State
Troops Are To Be- Recognized.
Washington, June 2S-Secretary
Alger, Adjutant General Corbin and
Colonel Bird, assistant quartermss'
tef general in charge Of transporta'
tion, had an hours consultation with
the president today relative to the
question of re-enforcements for Gen
eral Otis. A definite decision has
been reached to continue recruiting
men at all the recruiting stations for
service in the Philippines and Secre-
tary Alger said when he left the
white house, after the conference,
that General Otis would have $4,000
men when the rainy season closed fer
a resumption of active operations.
There are seventy recruiting sta
tions in the United States and enlist
ments 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 assigned to regiments
already formed after enlistment.
No organizations as such-are to be
accepted, if sufficient recruits can be
obtained by regular enlistment.
SERIOUS DIFFICULTY PRESENTED.
General Corbin said the enlist
ments would be for three years, al
though the law for the creation of
the provisional army of $4,000 in ex-
cess of the regular army of $4,000
provides only for such force until
1901. Arrangements are to be made
at once for increasing the transporta-
tion necessary to get these additional
troops to the Philippines. The de-
cision to REINFORCE General Otis by
the end of the rainy season is inter
preted to mean that aggressive cam
paigning will cease until the bad
weather ends. Until that time oper-
ations will probably be confined to
occasional excursions to places in
close vicinity to lines where the in
surgents may have cougresated in
force. remaining qaiescent under
good shelter during the rainy season,
it is hoped the health of our troops
will be conserved and the darger
from climatic fevers reduced to a
minimum.
- ~oFFICEIs READY FOR COMMAND.
General OTIS has cabled the war
department that he has the skeleton
organizations of two of the regi-
ments which it is proposed to raise
in the Philippines. At the war de-
pertinent this is said to mean that
General Otis has the officers for
these regiments selected and that
they are ready to be filed with en-
listed men. How many of these can
be scured from the volunteer regi-
ments now in the Philippines is not
known. It is stated at the war de-
partment that the recruits now being
enlisted at the rate of 1000 a week
cannot be used for the volunteer
army provided for in the act of
March I'd, authorizing $4,000 men,
although it would be an easy matter
to transfer these men with their own
consent to the volunteer service if it
should be determined to raise addi-
tional troops
Later in the day it was definitely
decided to begin the enlistment for
the first volunteer service under the
act Of last congress. The reports to
the adjutant general based on the
reports OF the recruiting officers and
on close estimates and to the mum.
ber of soldiers in the Philippines and
in each command in Clba and Porto
REQ show that the regular army is
up to it's full authorized strength.
VOLUNTEERS MUST BE CALLED.
The additional soldiers needed
must be obtained under that section
of the act of congress authorizing
the enlistment of volunteers. The
only exception will 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 cas-
ualties and by the expiration Ct en-
listments. The officers scattered
among the principal cities of the
country who have been eDlisting reg
ulars only will be instructed imme-
diately to prepare to enlist volunteers.
The present indications are that
about 100000 men will be wanted.
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