Evening star., 1899-02-11
Attitude of the Opponents of the
Hull Bill.
WILLFAVOR LARGE TEMPORARY FORCE
Provisions of the Law as to Mus.
tering Out.
TALK OF AN EXTRA SESSION

The opponents of the Hull army bill do
not appear disposed to accept as an ulti
matum the declaration that there will be
an extra session of Congress if the army
bill is not adopted at this session. They
say that they viii not agree to a perma-
nent increase of the army, even if an extra
session is to be the penalty of their re-
fusal Their contention is that they are
willing to provide as large a temporary
force for the army may be required for
service in the Philippines or other acquired
islands. and that this being done, the Presi-
dent will have no occasion for convening
Congress in extra session. While the vol
unteer soldiers have a right to be mus
tered out soon the treaty of peace is
ratified by Spain, even if the law under
which the volunteer army was organized
should be extended, there is nothing in the
act organizing the regular army which au-
thoriZed the President to enlist men up to
the 62oO0 limit which would give the men
enlisted the right to demand a discharge
if the law were extended for a year or
more. The only requirement for the mus
tering out of the regulars at the close OF
the war made in the act itself is that the
whole number of regulars shall be reduced
from the maximum to the minimum of
10000 men. There is no provision in the
act that the particular men who enlisted
at the opening of the war in the regular
army shall be entitled to be mustered out
at the close of the war. 1t is said that if
there was such an understanding at the
time of enlistment, it was not based on
any provision of the act The proposition
of the opposition, therefore is to extend
the present law by resolution, inSuring
regular army of 5000, and the right to
raise 4 volunteer army by new enlistment.
Provision for Mustering Out.
The fact is, however, that irrespective of
the silence of the law on that point, the
new enlistmentS in the regular army were
secured with the understanding that the
men so entering the regular army should
have the same privilege with respect to
being mustered out at the end of the war
is enjoyed by the volunteers and 1t is
the intention of the President to live up
to this understanding.
The law provides with respect to mus
tering out. simply THAT at the end of any
war in which the United States may be-
come involved the army shall be reduced to
a peace basis by the transfer in the same
arm OF the service or ABSORPTION by pro-
motion or honorable discharge under such
regula tons the Secretary of War may
establish of supernumerary commissioned
officers and the honorable discharge or
transfer of suDernumerary enlisted men,
and nothing contained in this act shall be
construed authorizing a permanent in
crease of the commissioned or enlisted
force of the regular army beyond that now
provided by the law in force prior to the
passage of this act, except as to the in
crease of twenty-five majors provided for
in section one hereof"
Extra Session Contingency.
The question of an extra session may not
depend altogether upon the army bill. The
appropriation bills are rather crowded in
the Senate and the effort to retard action
on the army bill may crowd them still more
at the close of the session and render II
impossible to get through with all the work
The friends of the river and harbor bill
in the House profess to be greatly alarmed
lest that bill fa.i. This alarm is based. not
on the proposition to add the Nicaragua
bill to it an amendment but upon the
allegation that it will probably be amended
by the Senate by the addition of many
propositions which We're rejected by the
cannot be got through the House.
While the proposition to put the Nicara-
qua bill on the river and harbor bill is be-
be rejected as burden to the bill another
on the sundry civil bill as a rider is being
discussed. AT first blush it looked as IL
such a proposition would be subject to a
ing expenditure of money, but 1t is be-
ing urged that the provision carried by an
appropriation bill for the Nicaragua com
mission was the initiative of the construc-
ton of the canal and that therefore it is
not new legislation.