Arizona republican., 1899-04-04
President AVerSe to Forming a
 Volunteer Army.
REGULARS WILL BE ENOUGH
Practical DeSfruCiiOn of AguInaldO'S $ Army Believed 10 Have Put Mai ters in Such Shape in inc Philip hines That Additional Troops Will Not Be Needed-FOrCe In Cuba May Be Reduced.

WdSQIQSlCH.
 tative announcement has been made
 that the president will not organize the
 p.oposed provisional army of 35,OOO
 volunteers unless it is needed. So far
 there is no demand from General Otis
 for more troops than are now on their
 way to Manila. His last call was for
 three batteries of light artillery. These
 were ot ance placed under orders for
 Manila, and are on their way to San
 Francisco. They will sail about the
 10th of April.
 It is the desire Of the president to
 avoid calling this volunteer force into
 the service if possible, and it is un-
 derstood that no steps will ioe taken i'll
 the matter until the result of the pres
 ent operations in front of Aguinaldo's
 army is determined. This determina-
 ton is regarded as very close at hand,
 and, should the operations result in
 the destruction of the insurgent army,
 it is thought there would be no need
 of enlarging the army beyond the linn
 it's of the regula-s-65, ,000. At all
 events, the raising of the volunteer force could not affect the present op- erations and could bear upon the Phil ippine operations only in the event of a great protraction of the resistance of the natives, since it would take three mcnths to get the new volunteer re-
 cruits to Manila. If the volunteers now in the Philippines are willing to 1e-enlisS after the expiration of their present term of service by the procla- nation of the Spanish peace, they will undoubtedly be taken in, but the reg ular army has not yet 5een fully re cruited, being about 5000 short, and it is the desire of the department to fill | up the regular army, if possible, before ! calling on volunteers.
 The situation in Cuba and Porto Rico | warrants the expectation that the mil itary there can to a very considerable | extent be speedily replaced with civil | officials, so that not only will no addi- tionai troops be needed there, but some of those now there may be withdrawn. It is understood that some of the war department officers are strongly in favor of organizing the volunteer force at C1ce, whether or not it will ba of service in the Philippine war; their theory being that an army of 100000 is needed, anyhow, and that it's ex- istence under the temporary law would accustom the public to it and render easier the execution of the plan for the establishment of a permanent standing army of that size.
 The president, however, has shown very decided indisposition tC accept this advice and it is acknowledged among army officials that a positive necessity for the increase will have to be shown before he will consent to a call for the volunteers.
 It is stated at the war department that the greatest demand fer the or ganization of the 35.0O0 volunteers comes from the men and the friends of men who desire places in the volun- teeIs as officers. There are already many applications on file for these places, and not only men who served in the state regiments, but those who have served in staff positions and have been mustered out, are anxious to again enter the army. Those who in siSt that the provisional army must be organized say that they have informa- tion from the Philippines which indi- cates that a volunteer army cannot be enlisted fer six months, as provided for by the bill, from the volunteers who will be mustered cut when the , notifications of peace are exchanged. It is said that most of these volunteers will demand transportation home at , once, and that there will not be enough , regulars in the Philippines to carry on I the war with the Filipinos.
 Adjutant-General Co1bin says that :, these representations do not agree with information received direct from F General Otis, which is to the effect that the volunteer troops now in the 6 have remonstrated against q being sent home while active opera c liens are in progress. He made that statement in response to a direct in F luiry as 10 the desire of the volunteers q to take advantage of the law author f izing their muster out. General Otis I. said that the volunteers had patrioti- V caHy declined to take advantage of Q -hat privilege, and had expressed the q lesire to continue in service as long as r here was any fighting tc be done. He s added that they were in excellent | ,ealth and spirits, and were rendering : most efficient service. h
 4 statement prepared at the war a lepa3 tment in regard to the regiments t