New-York tribune., 1900-05-07
a MUDDLE OF LEGISLATION
APPARENT SCHEME TO RETAIN Off
GERS, But REDUCE MEN OF
THE ARMY
THE ARMY
Usr rElEsEArH To THz rz.sUSEl

rot provide for the reduction Of the Regular Army
70 tts dimensions prior lsss Is popularity
supposed Experts say that only the rank and
hie vii be reduced 10 E.S9 meH5 that there II
hirnbIe-iggfng phraseoIogy fu the law which
tains I'll additional officers in the service In
vestigatlon appears 70 confirm this assertion.
Before the Spanish War the Regular Army con
sisted of only 2. - ali told namely. 555 rank
sIG nie. . military cadets and professors a.
West PoLzt: 10: general. staff and line officers in
tbe active service besides Izss enlisted and
ss officers TIE retired list As enlarged from
tae 70 tine under the various war legislation that
followed. the United States Army nov consists Of
sfeE rank and h]e. 81 cadets and West Point
professors. 255s general. stat and line officers il
active service. with Ias7 enlisted and 753 off,
the retired Hst- Besides these regulars
there are approximately = 80 volunteers the
active service. These figures show the following
increases in the various grades 81 the active
service: Enlisted nen. Ss.@s. officers. ~ pro-
fessors cadets 70 On the retired list there has
Deen-an Increase of = officers and rs enlisted
II the expiring hours q The LVth Congress by
the agency q q conference committee law was
rushed through, snd approved o. March 2 lsss.
containing clause which proTi9ed that on and
after July J. IsG. all the general. SAT- and Iine
officers appointed 20 the Army under this shall
be discharged and the numbers restored in each
grade existing al the passage o. this act.
and the enlisted force q the ne u the Army SHALL
De reduced 70 the number provided for by law
Prior % April 1. Iss2."
This Army law ri 1883. known as the Cockrell-
kSe-ElSU Dill MEG14e OF lueEpllcaEnE cDltTS1Ic
tons The positive recitations of The foregoing
paragraph apparently leave 10 escape from the
nearly universal conclusion that on July ! 1851
Arrny If 10 hack original strength before
the Spanish War. unless meanwhile there * sup
Elementary legislation. That such IS the under
standing in Congress has been made manifest by
the utterancez of members ana Senators in the dis
cuss!on of pending Army legislation This threat
ene1 event Is used constantly an appeal for i'm
mediate legislation 70 put the Army psrrna-
footing
HOODWTNKING CONGRESS
Severtheless a vague hint has somehow got
abroad recently that this law Of March 2 Isse does
net provide for reducing the officers % the Regular
Army the date named any other date. al
though superficial reading leaves that impression.
and that undoubtedly what Congress thought II
providing for when * Ds sssed the act 4 careful
investigation leaves little for doubt that both
Congress and Administration circles err il any pre-
sumption that the CockrelI-C5ornan act puts the
official personnel q the Army hack 10 lis old
Der before the Spanish Ear II unquestIonably com
pels the reduction o. the enlisted strength the
old maximum unless the present Congress provides
differently. and also the OUT Of the volunteer
general. STAFF ana line officers and the volunteer
soldierv But few u any u the additional Regular
officers required FOR the Spanish and Philippine
will are intended % be discharged under
Ftg provisions.
II there sere nothing else the following proviso
alone would protect three-fourths II additional
officers from muster out under the foregoing para
graph Of Section l5 reducing the several grades TO
their numbers when the act passed
been or MAJ Be bro55ed ndep % e1isr vac Is naT aT
under the rules Of seniority. shall be disturbed in
It goes almost without saying that an officer who
cannot be disturbed in his rank be dis
charged from the seryice. The foregoing is the
final prOTiso Of the whole Therefore.
officer can Re discharged VINO be4a promoted
b. law seniority whether appointed under this
. nd all Of with
the exception Of the second Iieutensnts. been
promoted one or more grades il follows corol-
larry that All SUCH viii retain their places.
An inexpert civilian might hastily construe this
pToviso meaning only protect the officers who
fortunately had been promoted from being displaced
IN their new rank through the tumble caused by
the wholesale muster out July l. 1901. of the
three hundred four hundred additional officers
presumptively appointed TO the Army under this
act but attentive Weighing Of the language
must convince the dulIest mind that # means not
only that. but much more, and was intended to be
construed meaning more
There viii no longer be doubt its meaning
after the following provision is read. Section
recItes:
That ali vacancies c.ested or caused by the pro-
tenant in the line OF the Army shall be filled by
promotion according TO seniority in the several
Under the foregoing provision Il will be that
no outsider could be appointed the Army the
rank Of general colonel. lieutenant-coonel. major.
captain or first lieutenant. To each Of the higher
grades officers OF the junior grade were pro-
rnoted. This evolution upward OF course, Created
many vacancies in the lowest grade of al-that Of
second lieutenant The only appointments, then,
Ito The Army under this act made in the
grade OF second lieutenant But a matter Of
fact nothing Ike AZ appointments followed.
because there had been no reduction in the Regu-
lar establishment at the close of the war with
Spain There had previously been a large increase
in the number Of Regular officers under the acts
ars~ar ~f.rG.
PROMOTION INSTEAD OF APPOINTMENT.
Neither the CockreH-Gorman act nor any Of the
previous acts added to the number Of generals,
colonels and Observation-Disclosures OF the line the
Regular Army. except to officer additional
tillery regiments. but by this and previous
laws the number Of ma jors. captains and neuten-
ants was Increased TO three hundred approximately
10 meet the requirements Of the two artillery
regiments and three battalion organizations Of the
infantry Observation-Disclosures. the increase made
necessary by For instance, instead Of only
major. ten captains and twelve first ieuten-
ants TO each infantry regiment. under the old
law, this act TO provide permanently for the
three battalion organization. which requires
addition Of two majors four captains and two first
leutenants to each regiment. aggregate OF
two hundred additional officers the twenty-five
infantry regiments alone None Of these officers
appointed the Army under this act: they
simply promoted from Junior higher rank
IN the Army.
How can these officers be discharged under the
proviso that officer shall be disturbed in his
rank? Besides. IL the three battalion regmental
organization is maintained appears now to be
the law, all Of them Will be required officer the
additional companies and bsttalions The number
OF each grade assigned to the new organization is
speclhcally sci out In the act.
A large number of these additional majors can
.a I2 aiio hfst Heutenants mac been appointed. or