The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-28
Rushing New Regiments.

| When the new ieVieS reach the Phil
ippines the work of quieting the islands
will be begun by the war department
in earnest. A large part of the twenty
new regiments will be in the islands.
according to the present plans of the
administration, By the first of October.
and Secretary Root expects TO have the
last of his recruits in the trenches be-
fore Christmas.
1t is also claimed that the secretary
1yill recommend that the president ask
congress, upon its assembling, to pro-
vide for a large reserve, of perhaps
fifteen or twenty regiments, ready for
use in a further emergency 1t will be
remembered that it was at first pro-
posed 10 make the ten regiments called
for last week a reserve, but instead OF
being IN any sense reserved" they are
to be rushed to Luzon with a haste
rarely known in the case of raw re-
cruits. If there are any reserves or
ganiZed under act of congress, they
will also speedily be up against the
real thing" unless Aguinaldo and his
forces are defeated and dispersed be-
fore that time. II would. of course, be
interesting as well as novel To have
congress. the only constitutional war
making power represented in the Phil
ippine war, as il would be if it approx
ed additional levies for that purpose.
For, as is well known, up to this writ
ing congress has never authorized the
Philippine war.
1t is evident that the administration
expects TO make a distinct Lit with the
secretary Of wars much praised new"
policy of recruiting the volunteer army
up to the full limit allowed undes leg
islatiOn, and rushing the regiments to
the Philippines. The late secretary of
war, General Alger. long since urged
ft,a.f w.,-, 49,.
able forces of the United States as early
as possible in the Philippines. He un-
doubtedly desired more thorough prep
aration than the regiments have had
which are now being rushed to the East
Indies and those which are TO follow
them But, with this exception, the
recruiting of troops up to the full
limit is believed to have always been
desired by the former administration
of the war office. Adjutant General
Corbin was. however. not in favor of
this extensive recruiting. and the preSi-
dent himself only came to the concM-
sion that General Alger was right, and
that General Otis could not take care
of himself with the forces at hand,
after he had dispensed with the secre-
tary'S services.
Facts Coming to Light.
Some highly interesting facts have
lately been developed concerning the
command of the troops in the Philip
pines. For some time before General
Alger was 'ScapeSoated" out of the war
portfolio the charge was frequently
made that he was personally respohsi-
bic for General Otis assignment to the
Philippines and that he kept him there
in spite of the conviction of leading
army officers and even of the president
that he was not sufficiently active and
in addition was burdened with the re-
sponsibility of the civil administration
of the islands.
The important fact has now been es-
tablished that General Alger prior TO
the receipt in this country of the round
robin of the newspaper correspondents,
recommended TO the president that Gen
eral Otis be retained merely as the mill
tary governor of the Philippines and
that General LawtOn be given immedi-
ate command of the operations in the
field. The president declined TO accept
this recommendation, declaring his full
faith in General Otis. Secretary Alger
explained that his suggestion was based
upon desire to relieve Otis from the
great exertion necessary to administer
the civil affairs of the islands and at
the same time command the military
operations.
The present indications are that Colo
mel l.. w. Kennon's Thirty-fourth regi-
ment will be ordered to leave Fort Lo-
gan soon, about the LIST of September.
The regiment will go by way of the
Preside and the Pacific and therefore
be one of the first of the new volunteer
regiments in the Luzon trenches. Colo
mel Kennon did not respond TO the adj
jutant generals inquiry about the fit
ness of his regiment for immediate de-
parture quite as promptly as some of
his brother colonies. This was due I'M
doubleday to his desire to be absolute
ly accurate in his statement of the eff
cheney and readiness of the Thirty
fourth. But the reply when received
was entirely satisfactory, and the regi-
ment is among those listed for the
earliest possible departure.
The Ten New Regiments.
1t is not yet known which of the sec
ond ten regiments will have the Rocky
mountain states in its recruiting ter
ritory. There are several of the new
in whom the western people
would have special local interest by
reason of their having seen service in
the west as regular army officers. A
number of them are old Indian fighters
and many of them have been stationed
at prominent frontier posts.
1t is definitely announced today that
volunteer officers who served in the
Spanish war will be favored with the
line commissions in the ten new reyi-
ments and there will undoubtedly be
found places for a number of officers of
he volunteer regiments from the msun-
tain states which were raised for the