The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-01
REPLY TO LONDON TIMES
yoST VOLUNTEER APPOINTMENTS WERE
MADE BY MCKINLEY.
tIger D clares The Charge of Wrong or Care,
less Use If Money For Carrying on
the War is False,

Washington, July 31.-Onc of the last
official acts of Secretary Alser: ~ho To-
morrow will rcinuush his portfolio, was
to prepare a statement covering several
matters regarding the cnnluct of the
war which have been thc subject of cr,ii-
cisn in the public press. The state
ment follows;
Il am led to m9le the following
statement on account of tho many crit
cisms which have Deen made ny the pub
lie press, and especially on account of a
recent article which appeared IN the Lon
don Times containing assertions which
have no foundation, in truth.
AT the commencement Of the war
Nt th Spain, and for several wears prior
to that time. the regular army consisted
of only 25,000 men, with the minimum
number of officers prescribed by law.
Within sixty days from the declaration
Of war the strength OF the army was in
creased to 275,0G0 :lel, aud everything
for the equipment of This great fprtc,
had to be manufactured, transporteVund
distributed for use.
Prom the statement referred to tRe
public might be led % believe that tn.
volunteer army was offcercd by men Sc
leCted through political influence by t!,e
Secretary Of War by special favor. Tho
volunteer force, with the exception Of
three regiments of engineers, three regi-
mentS of cavalry, and ten regiments If
immune infantry, WAS made mp of lcgi-
ments from the various States, the Off
GERS of which were al apnoiatcd eSclu
II IV hV II,
States from which he ragincuts came,
and any officer found united for service
and discharged was replaced hv another
in the same manner. Iha President ha,!
The returns of the volunteer army
show that in August, 1898, there were
20I244 enlisted men and S,1SJ officers
in those regiments. This, with the regu-
lar army recruited UP to the war
strength, made an aggregate force Of
about 27o,0U0 officers and men, Iac
volunteer officers appointed by the
President numbered, all told. ,032. OF
this number Al were taken from the
regular army and 591 from civil life.
The scarcity OF regimgnetal officers iil
the regular service, owing to appoint
mentS in the volunteers special recruit
ing and mastering Details had so re-
duced their number that to have Il larger
number for service with the volunteers
would have seriously impaired the eff
cheney of the regular regiments For Il
little over thousand appointments
made by the President the number Of
applications was over 25.G00, and each
application was accompanied by II cer-
tificate of ability. and in N 2st instances
in the military service, either in the reg
ular army or a State organization, of
the applicant and not infrequently I'M
both. THESE certificates Showed that
each one was as well qualified for the
position he sought and to which he was
appointed as could be possible for men
in civil life in this country. OF the
number appointed there were, for in
stance, twenty-SiX major generals. OF
whom nineteen were taken from tie
regular army, and seven from civil life
OF these seven all but one were grad
yates of West Point Military Academy.
and all had distinguished themselves in
command during the Civil War or
brigadier generals there were 102 ap-
pointed sixty-siX from the regular army
and thirty-siX from civil life. Those
from civil life had all seen service dur
ing the Civil War, or ON our Western
frontier. and all had proved themselves
to command.
ut has heen stated, and repeated
many times. that the Secretary Of War
made these appointments. when the
truth is that very few were mayie upon
Ills recommendation, although he caused
the entire list, with the recommrnda-
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