The San Francisco call., 1899-11-02
PRESENT STATUS
Of THE MILITARY
Fighting Strength Up to
the Maximum.
GENERAL CORBIN'S REPORT
SUGGESTS CHANGES OF BENEFIT
TO SOLDIERS.
General Otis Total Force in the Phil
ippines Will Be Nearly Sixty
Eight Thousand
Men.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-The annual
report of the adjutant general of the
army, Brigadier General Corbin, to the
Secretary of War was made public to-day
General Corbin sums up the military
forces now in the service of the United
States as follows: Regular army, 64,5S6
volunteers, 1854: total $3.50.
The regular establishment consists OF
ten regiments of cavalry. seven of artil-
lery and twenty-five of infantry. The
volunteer establishment consists Of one
regiment of cavalry, twenty-four of in
fantry and a Porto Rico battalion.
The distribution of these troops up to
October l last was as follows: In the
United States, 34,229; Porto Rico, 1868
Cuba, 11,1s7; Philippines, 32.s15; en- route
TO the Philippines, 1909; Alaska, 499; Ha-
waiian Islands, 466.
General Corbin adds the following tc
this summary:
infantry regiments, United States Volunteers
shown above in the United States, will have
sailed for the Philippines. These with the
troops now there, will give a total strength OF
2117 officers and 3,60S enlisted men, aggre-
gate OF 65.725
A recapitulation of the casualties in ac-
tions and deaths In the regular and vol.
unteer armies between May l, 1S9S and
June go 1899, contained In the annual re-
port of the adjutant general, shows a
grand total of 0,076 men. The casualty list
alone aggregates 3454, Of whom 35 officers
and 45S enlisted men were killed and 1871
officers and 2764 enlisted men wounded
The death list, numbering 6619, was made
up of 224 officers and $685. enlisted men.
OF this total but 3S officers and ASS en-
listed men were killed, the remainder OF
the deaths resulting from various causes
including the following: Wounds, 10 off,
GERS and 1872 enlisted men; disease, 165 Off
GERS and 5344 enlisted men; accident, Of
ficers and 209 men; drowning officers
and So men: suicide, 2 officers and 81 men.
and murders and homicide, 80 enlisted
men.
In the regular army the total of casu-
alties In action and deaths amounted to
4155 and in the volunteer establishment to
1921. In the casualty list the regulars had
and wounded, and the volunteers 105 off
GERS and 1866 enlisted men killed and
wounded. In the regular army between
April 30, 1898, and June 30, 1899, 81 enlisted
men were discharged by sentence of gen
eral court-martial, and 2946 enlisted men
deserted Three officers of the regular
sions in the volunteer forces, in which
they are included in the foregoing reca-
The service of many of the troops after
the terms of their enlistment had expired
causes General Corbin to say in his re-
port:
The patriotism of the regulars and volunteers
who had enlisted only for the with Spain,
by willingly and actively serving after the ex-
pration of their terms of service, calls for evi-
dence of appreciation on the part of the de-
partment To this end 1t is respectfully recon-
nended that each officer of the several volun-
teer regiments and each enlisted man who con-
tinued in service in the Philippine Islands after
the I'd of March. 1899, until honorably dis
charged, be awarded a suitably inscribed medal
During the year there have been 62,17S
enlistments and re-enlistments, of which
53,024 were native born and 9151 foreign
born. In point of color Sc, ,154 were white
5000 colored and 20 Indians.
The following recommendation Is made
for extra pay for the officers serving ir
our new possessions:
The pay of all officers below the grade OF
brigadier general should be increased at least
80 1-3 per cent while duty in Cuba or oul
new possessions. Most of these gentlemen have
families that they unable to have with
them, and, therefore, are compelled to main