The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-13
War Department Failed to Grasp the
Situation


rotary of war.
The records of the war department
which have been laid before US, SHOW
that the secretary of war extended [,
all chiefs of bureaus cordial and full
! support and promptly responded t.
i every proper demand made upon hin
! by commanding officers.
mo testimony has been presented
showing intentional neglect of duty
nor any attempt to serve personal in
/ tereSts. The charges made that tht
! secretary of war was pecuniarily inter.
eSted in contracts, purchases anC
other transactions of the war depart
ment. have been thoroughly examined
and found baseless.
In the judgement of the commits
sion, there was lacking in the general
administration of the war department
during the continuance of the WARMTH
Spain, that complete grasp of the sit
uatlon which was essential to the
highest efficiency and discipline of the
army.
The commission has refrained from
crlticISlng certain of the heads of the
bureaus for not having acted with
foresight in preparing their various de-
partmentS for active war before war
was actually declared, because it has
appeared that the national defense
fund provided by the act of March 8,
1898, was not made available for use,
except for the navy and for coast de-
lenses and the expenditures incident
thereto, until after the declaration of
war"
ADJUTANT GENERAL CORBIN.
"Adjutant generals department, Brig
adler General FL. c. Corbin, u. S. A, In
charge.
This department, which was organ
lied and trained to take care of a small
regular army, was required to rapidly
provide for organizing and mastering
in 100000 soldiers, and within six
months to muster out 100000. The adj
jutant generals department of tho ar
my, having full knowledge of the con-
dition of the army when the declara-
ton of war was made, it could not be
surprised by the inability of the depart
mentS to Immediately respond to the
demands. The economy of previous
years, by which nearly every article of
equipment not Immediately needed by
the army was disposed of and no pro-
vision made for emergencies, rendered
immediate effective expansion of the
army impossible. In the organization
of the army for active duty provision
was made for eight corps, seven of
which we've fully equipped and placed
in the field.
The suggestion has been made, and
opinion given, that it would have been
better to have Differed the army and
equipped the troops in each of their
states before they were concentrated
and modified into brigades, divisions
ana corps, but the war department had
not the officers to send TO each state to
organize, muster, feed and equip them,
nor had 1T officers of sufficient rank to
command, drill and discipline the troops
while in state camps. Early removal
of troops from state camps has the adj
vantage of avoiding the disturbing in
fluence of home locality.
During the organization and equip
ment of the army a daily telegraph re-
port was received from each camp.
Where important deficiencies were re-
ported the secretary of war called at
uention to the fact, and in most cases
it was found that such deficiencies were
due to the non-eXiStence of the articles.
There were about $50 regiments, 49,
talionS and separate organizations IN
the army, from only twenty-five of
which came complaints, aside from
those those affecting the medical de-
partment. Investigation has shown
that the most of these complaints were
because Of lack of supplies not obtain
aOle at first, or We're due 10 the mex
perience of officers in command, not,
so far as we can discover, from any in
tenional neglect.
1T was found necessary to go out
side and appoint officers from civil life,
the selections being frequently made
from officers who had had experience in
the national guard, graduates from mil
itary colleges and schools and citizens
them for the positions for which they
were selected. The testimony shows
that they were honest and manifested
a desire to become efficient. No one
has been counTtmartialed and but few
dropped as incompetent.
The adjutant general testified that
here had not been a deficiency of one
dollar reported on the part of a volun-
ter staff officer. and that he wished to
make it a matter OF record that in the
of many millions of dollars
Turing the war there was Yer to be
made the first charge of defalcation
against an army officer. regular or vol
InteGr.
There have been very few complaints
against this department. The records
md testimony show that it has been I
prompt in its work and has added
greatly to the efficiency Of the army
INSPECTOR GENERAL.
Brigadier General j. c. Brecl1inridge, /
Inspector general, L. S. A, in charge [
The commission finds that the in I
pector generals department was not (
IS efficient as ii ought to have been. /
There seems to have been a question
IS 10 authority by which inspections
we're 10 be ordered. On at least one CO,
aston, May II, the secretary of war in
tructed the major general commanding
he army to inspect certain camps, viz:
Those at Chickamauga. Atlanta
(ew Orleans, Mobile. Tampa. Miami
nd Key West. The major sc ~eral did
ot act UPON such Instructions, stating
to be his place to order inspection.
Further. the commission find that
several Of the officers of this
apartment were assigned to duty in
cmmand of troops in the field, still
officers We're left in charge
{ the department in Washington to
erform such duties as were assigned TO
hem. The organization in the field was
mple. and the inspectors made reports
D the commanding officers to whom
hey had been assigned. These reports
ere often not acted on, and were not
erwarGed to the war department"
CHARACTERISTICS.
Brigadier General NJ. l. Ludington,
uartermaster general, U. S. A., in
barge:
"On March l, 1898, with the possibility
war with Spain, the quartermaster's
apartment found itself charged with
aried, numerous and important duties,
S appropriation small, and facing the
of large army being soon
rganized for field service.
The department. up to March l, 1888.
,und itself confronted with sections
80. 1892 and 3709 of the revised stat
ties, which prohibit any government
apartment from expanding money in
lcess of appropriations. that pur-
lases shall not exceed the necessities
the current year, and that all pro-
lc oh hn .,drrnn.fiond