Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-12-06
ROOTS ARMY BILL.
House Military Affairs Committee
Receives a Letter on Measure.
PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN The BILL


committee on military affairs last
night made public letter from Sec
rotary Root, under date of the 2Sth
instant, transmitting a draft Of bill
prepared by the war department for
the reorganization. Of the army. The
letter says that the army as at pres
ent organized under the present law
will cease to exist on July /, 1901,
and thereafter will consist of total
enlisted strength of 1925 men. With,
out further legislation, he says, the
volunteers now in service must be dis
charged July l, 1901, and the regular
army reduced from $4,000 to 29,02S
men.
Continuing, the lette~ says: with
out leaving much, if any marPin TO:
sickness, such as the campaigns of
the past two years warn us must be
counted as an important factor in
any occupation by the army, peace
full Or warlike, of many OF the islands
which constitute the Philippine group,
the strength thus fixed must prove
utterly inadequate"
In the preparation Of the present
bill the minimum number Of men is
fixed for each organization, with a
proyiso that The president nty, in
his discretion, increase the nun Der of
enlisted men in any troop, battery
or company, provided that the total
number of enlisted men authorized
for the army by congress shall not
at any time be exceeded. BY ttr adop-
ton of this plan the absolute fixed
strength of the regular army can be
shown at glance, and any increase
of numbers above the minimum will
be limited by such authority as may
be conveyed from time to time by the
congress. The peace strength of each
troop, battery and company is fixed
in this bill as now authorized by ex-
listing law. The number Of regiments
has been increased by five of cavalry,
five of infantry, numbers which would
correspond to five regiments of artil.
lery and two battalions OF engineers.
As the increase in the artillery is in.
tended for the seaccast defenses, the
only increase of the regular army for
field service will re Ten additional
regiments of cavalry and infantry and
the two battahons Of engineers.
The bill contains provisions for
better distribution of chaplains; for
authorizing veterans of the war with
Spain to wear, on OCCASIONS of cere-
mony, their uniforms similar to the
authority given by congress to veter-
ans of the civil war; authority for
the retirement, with an increased
grade, of veterans of the two wars
the civil war and tie war with Spain;
for the addition of a ndrse corps. the
necessity for which has been devel
oped during the past two years; for
preliminary surveys for the establish
ment of camps for the militia and reg
ular army; authorizing the president
to appoint chiefs to vacancies oc-
curing in the staff corps and depart
ments from the army at large, and
the introduction of the detail system
10 several OF the s'aff corps and de-
partmenls. "a
10 replace the volunteers ana reeu
lars who will be discharged prior to
July and give an army of sufficient
size to meet the exigencies confront.
ing it, or sach as may hereafter
occur, provision has been made
so that the president may in.
crease the number of enlisted men
without the creation of new organza-
TONS The bill provides for mini.
mum of os,994 men and a maximum of
067G6.
Under the act of March 2, 1890.
authorizing force of $4,000 volun-
teers, one regiment of cavalry, "a
regiments of infantry and two battal-
ions OF Porto Rico troops were en-
listed The experience of the depart.
ment in placing regular officers at the
I'd of these regiments and causing
EN- to be enlisted and drilled under
q number of experienced officers has
been most satisfactory in putting in.
to the field thoroughly good and
serviceable organizations in n remark.
ably short time, but the experiment
has been most exr ,nsive one for the
country, compared to what would
have been the case had the same num-
Der OF troops been raised for three
years service as regulars. This ex.
cess OF cost arises from the necessity
of sending these regiments MANY
thousand miles away from home for
n short term of service, during which
the allowances are much greater thar
would be the case If the service ex.
tended over three years.
For short terms Of service and
during war when large numbers of
men are required the country must
always rely, as it has done in the
past, upon the volunteer soldier, but
the conditions now confronting the
department demand that II shall have
at hand sufficient number of regu |
lar regiments to furnish the garrison,
and perform the work now required
of the army. The number o. regi.
ments must be sufficient to enable