The times., 1899-07-04
THE NEW PHILIPPINE ARMY.
General Otis Cables That He Needs
More Than 5000 Recruits.

More Than 5000 Recruits.
The FIRST official acknowledgement OF the
intentions of the Administration in regard
TO the organization of the volunteer regi-
ments for service in the Philippines was
obtained yesterday from Adjutant General
Corbin.
There wiz be nine regiments OF 1926
each. or nearly u Geo men in all This viii
give General Otis a total enlisted strength
of about - Geo men. Orders for the en-
listment of volunteers have been seat 10
the seventy army recruiting stat.cns, bat
will not be carried into effect until re eassd
by telegraph. The release viii BE- sent IS
soon as the War Department has ascer-
tanned whether the Regular Army is u9 10
its authorized strength OF C5,000. In
telegram to the Adjutant General Ma.ot
General Otis says that he needs something
more than 5000 recruits to fill vacancies
in the regular regiments now in the PHI
ippines.
The records of the recruiting branch Of
the Adjutant Generals Office are being ex-
amined to ascertain whether the number
of recruits on hand is sufficient to fill p
these regiments. More than 1900 recruits
are now on their way to Manila, and the
Adjutant General believe./ that he has the
other 1000 at the various recruiting sta
tions and at San Francisco. II this belief
is confirmed the enlistment of yoluntee S
will begin Immediately.
The Adjutant General has received from
General Otis the following reply to an en-
quiry as to the number of recruits neces-
sary TO bring the regiments in the Philip
pines up to the maximum strength:
Number recruits required to fill companies 10
one hundred twenty eight each regular regiment:
Iniantry-Third, S3G; Fourth, 800; Sixth. l15;
Ninth, S05; Twelfth, 800; Thirteenth. 253; -Four
teenth 7s9; Sixteenth. go: Seventeenth 29i;
Eighteenth s2s; Twentieth, 33s; Twenty FIRST,
1876; Twenty second, io0: TweHty-t third, Gs0.
ArtilleTy-First, 6; Third, 256; Fourth, q
Fifth. ?; sixth. 49,
Cavalry-FOurth. s9S.
Engineers, :.
The number of recruits required for the
regular regiments in the Philippines is,
therefore, 6,33s. Toward filling. there are
now on the way TO Manila I.507 recruits
and at San Francisco 1924, making a total
OF 4.7sl. leaving a deficiency Of l,547 re-
cruits.
The large number of vancancies exist
ing in the Fourteenth. Eighteenth and
Twenty-third Infantry is due to the fact
that these regiments went with General
Merritt's original expedition TO the Phil
ippines and were not filed to the maxi
mum; also that the men in these regi-
ments who enlisted for the war are Just
now being discharged: the men enlisting
for the war in the other regiments were
discharged before the regiments left this
country, and the vacancies are due TO the
increase Of the companies from log to 12S
men.
AT the rate of enlistments for the last
few weeks, the entire number VIII be en-
listed by the close of the present week
General Shafter has retained thirty-two
officers Of regiments in Manila 10 give
daily instruction to recruits at the Pre-
sidio, in order that they may be made as
efficient as possible in target practice. TO
which he has subordinated all other drills.
In the same cablegram General Otis gave
list OF the volunteer regiments still at
Manila and yet to be returned to the Unit
ed States. These regiments, with the num-
Der OF men in each organization, We're
stated as follows:
California, l,lss; Colorado. LA; Idaho. 5ss.
North Dakota, e23; Wyoming, 800; Minnesota
1,i65; South Dakota. 9l7; Montana. gO6; Cali,
iOrfiia ARTILLERY. S5s; Washington. IOss; Tennes.
wyoming ARTILLERY, So Iowa, se5; Signal Corps
The California and Colorado regiments.
General Otis adds, were preparing to take
transports Sherman and Warren, and
would leave shortly. To meet the require
ments of the returning volunteers, the
Quartermaster' Department reports tha,
there are now in Manila transports sher-
man, Warren. and Grant, with capacity OF
199 officers and 1874 enlisted men; that
there are now on sea en- route to Manila
the Zealandi Cdue July 20), Sheridan tdue
July 2D, Valencia (due July 25) and
Pennsylvania (due July 2e), with capacity
for l61 officers and 200 enlisted men.