The times., 1899-02-13

necessary to go outside and appoint from
civil life. the selections being frequently
made from officers who had had experience
in the National Guard, graduates from
military colleges and schools. and citizens
whose business or professions htted them
for the positions for which they were Sc
lected. The testimony shows that they
were honest and manifested desire TO
become efficient in their duties. Not one
has been court-martialed and but few
dropped as incompetent.
The Adjutant General testified that
there had not been a deficiency of one dol
lar reported on the part of a volunteer stah
officer. and that he wished to make it a
matter of record that in the distribution
of many millions of dollars during this
war there was yet to be made the first
charge of defalcation against an army Off
GER, regular or volunteer.
From the day war was declared until
this hour the Office of the Adjutant Gen
eral has not been closed. The heads of
the departments We're frequently called in
the night for consultation and to furnish
supplies in emergencies. The Adjutaut
General was in his Office almost the entire
time, often spending the night there and
the greater part of the force worked Sun
days and holidays and at all hours when
the emergency required it.
There have been very few complaints
against this department The records and
testimony show that it has been prompt
in its work, and has added greatly TO the
efficiency OF the army.
FnuIt Found With BrcckinridGc.
The Commission find that the Inspec
tor Generals Department was not as eff
cient as it ought to have been. There
seems to have been question as to the au-
thority by which inspections We're TO be
ordered. On at least one occasion, May IL
the Secretary of War instructed the
Major General Commanding the Army TO
inspect certain camps, viz, those at
Chiclamauga. Atlanta. New Orleans, Mo-
bile, Tampa. Miami. and Key West. The
Major General did not act upon such in
structions, stating it TO be his place TO
order inspection.
Further the Commission find that al
though several of the officers of this de-
partment were assigned TO duty in COM
mand of troops in the field. still compe-
tent officers were left in charge of the
department in Washington to perform such
duties as were assigned to them. The Or
ganization in the field was ample, and the
inspectors made reports TO the command
ing officers to whom they had been as
signed. Those reports were often not
acted upon and were not forwarded to the
War Department"
A brief reference is made in the abstract
to the Judge Advocate Generals Depart
ment, against which no charges were made.
and with which no fault is found. The
report then takes up the Quartermaster' $
Department.
The Quartermaster's Department..
ION March /. 1898. with the possibility
of war with Spain, the Quartermaster'
Department found itself charged with
varied, numerous, and important duties
its appropriation small, and facing the
probability of a large army being soon
organized for field service.
THE department, up to March, 1. 1898.
found itself confronted with the follow
ing statutes. the legality of which is un-
questioned and which apply to all depart
ments OF the army:
Section 3G79 (Rerised Statutes). No depart
mcnt Of the Government shall eNpcnd in any one
fiscal year any sum in excess OF appropriations
made by Congress for that fiscal year or involve
the Government in any contract for the future
payment OF money III excess of such apprcPria-
tionS.
Sec 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf OF
the United States shall be made unless the same
is authorized by law or is under an apprUpria-
tion adequate to its fulfillment except in the
War and Navy Departments. for clothing, suhSist-
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation
which, however. shall not exceed the necessities
OF the current year.
Sec 300. All purchases and contracts for
supplies Or services in any OF the departments OF
the Government. except for personal services.
shall be made by advertising a sufficient time
previously for proposals respecting the same,
when the public exigencies do not require the
immediate delivery OF the articles or perform
snce OF the service When immediate delivery
or performance is required by public exigency,
the articles or service required may be procured
hy open purcha1e or contract at the places and
in the manner in which such articles usually
bought and sold such services engaged be-
tween individuals.
at Will thus be observed that the
declaration of war threw upon the Quarter
masters Department an amount of labor
and responsibility for which it was neither
physically nor financially prepared.
BY the act of March .. 1898. Congress
appropriated the sum of s50.00000O for
national defence, a portion of which was
allotted to the Quartermaster's Depart
ment. The available funds during the
war were as follows:
At tho command of the Quarter
masters Department. April ],
ls9s, available for war cxpend
turc.- NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. s., Co. iJ6 81
Allotments TO the department from
the appropriation for national de-
fencc.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. l,JbDUJJ "
! Appropriated by the act OF March
10, lsf..- hrJJOrVjJ "
| Appropriated by the deficiency act
of May 1. 1885. is................... l9,55o,Ooo q
| Appropriated by the deficiency act
Of july :, ists IO3, 10000 O
isas.. :. ......................... 10000 0,
Making in .sl$3, G52, $50 81
1T will thus be seen that however
| handicapped the Quartermaster Depart
ment might have been for lack of fund.
before var was declared. Congress freely
/ placed immense sums at its disposal SC
! soon as il was believed that determined
struggle seemed inevitable.
Many Things Were Lacking.
THE department has reported that OF
/ April !, 1898, il was amply provided witt
all necessary clothing and equipage sup
I plies for three months for the army as ther
organized and for probably 10000 addi-
1 tional troops: that on April % it was con
( fronted with the problem of clothing and
! equipping an army of $4,000 men; that OF
April % the regular army was increased
/ to 81 coo men. and on May - the second
call for II. 600 volunteers was issued. Add
I ing TO these the 10 regiments of immunes
the regiments of cavalry. the 3 regiments
( of volunteer engineers, and the Sigma
Corps. it appears that within few week!
/ it became necessary TO provide for cloth
! ing and equlpplnS an army OF more tnan
quarter of a million men.
so soon as funds were available so sooI
as war was inevitable, so soon as law per
mitted the Quartermaster's Department
undertook this enormous work probably
its chief had foreseen the great emergency
in advance; possibly some one else woult
have gone into the market earlier. antici-
pating approval of his acts in case wal
was declared and the army increased ten.
fold; that the Quartermaster General threw
( the energy OF his department into thi!
work when funds were available seems evi
dent, and that his officers labored faith
IL i = L.. L..