Evening star., 1900-11-28
DRAFT OF A PROPOSED REORGAN-
IZATION BILL.
One Man for Every 1000 of the Popu-
IatiOn-FavOrs an Advisory Board
on Appointments.

dltlileTy ana tnlrty-tWO regiments or
infantry. In addition to these the
bill provides for 5,OS6 on-combatants, d.
vded follows: Quartermaster' depart
ment. 1000 men; subsistence department,
500 men; Engineer Corps. 2276 men; ord
nance department, 800 and Signal Corps.
I20 men. Provision is made for an auxil-
fary force of 10000 men, to serve for three
years, unless sooner discharged, whenever
in the opinion of the President such force
is necessary, such auxiliary force to be d-
Vided into infantry, cavalry and artillery.
as may be required The bill contains
elastic provisions by which the enlisted
forces may be increased or decreased, pro-
Nlded the total strength of the army is not
increased beyond the numbers provided by
LAY" PROVISION is made for one general,
TWO lieutenant generals, seven major gem
erals and tWenty-one brigadier generals
the heads of the adjutant generals depart
ment, the inspector generals department
and the quartermaster's department to
nave the rank of major general. each with
an assistant with the rank Of brigadier gen
eral. Gen. Miles favors rotation in service
of the officers in the different arms and
also between the line and staff of the army
up to the higher grades.
Gen. Miles makes the following argument
IN support of his plan Of army reorganiza-
ton:
opposed to an Artillery Corps.
The advisability of organizing an ar
tillery corps in place of the regimental Or
S"iii1itioHS IldS Deen advocated Dy
good authorities. There Is no necessity for
establishing another bureau in Washington
and there is no more reason for organizing
an artillery corps than there would be to
organize corps for the infantry and cavalry.
each having chief in Washington: and
considering all the requirements of our
heaVy artillery and the varied nature of its
service, think such a course would be in
advisable. The regiments now in service
nave just pride in their history and in the
glory OF their achievements. 1t Is imposs-
Die TO organize an artillery corps with bat
ter1es suitable for every fortifca ton but a
regiment can be distributed or concentrated
as the exigencieS of the service may re-
quire.. This has been done in the past and
the same course can well be followed in the
future. While the heavy artillery regiments
are efficient for the defense of the coast
at the same time they, being armed, drilled
and equipped the same as infantry, are al
ways available to act as such. The heavy
batteries of the Sd and 9th regiments of ar
tllery have been doing duty in the Philip
pine Islands in this way for two years. l
therefore recommend the retention of the
regimental organization as being the best
unit as well as the most economical.
The vast extent Of our country and
the requirements Of the service will make
in the future in the past a strong cav
airy force Indispensable.
The very great improvements that have
been made in field artillery, including au-
arm of the service most important, necessi-
tating the maintenance of a reasonable pro-
portion of field artillery, to be formed into
siege, field and mountain batteries.
The skill required to keep effective the
coast and field artillery and the cavalry,
and the very great expense incident there
to- render 1t imperative that these arms Of
the service should be maintained by the
general government and they cannot be
maintained and rendered effective by the
states.
THE proposed organization of the infan-
try-which is the main body of all armies
has been found to be most effective and
the percentage to other arms as recon-
mended is based on the needs Of the coun-
try.
The Proposed Organization.
Taking into consideration all the neces-
stiles and requirements of the service and
in justice to all concerned, it is essential
that the infantry, cavalry and artillery
be organized practically the same bases.
1t has been found by experience to be most
desirable that each regiment of those arms
should consist of 1,2OO enlisted men; ard
the President should be authorized, as
heretofore, to increase or decrease the num-
Der Of men in each troop, battery, COM
pany as the exigencies of the service may
require. The three-battalion system, which
has been generally adopted, should be con-
tinued, with three regiments constituting a
lHTee DTlSaCeS a DIVISION, three
divisions corps, and three corps an army.
On this basis, the proposed bill will give
an effective organization of two army corps
of three divisions each, and a reserve di-
vision of ten regiments, which latter would
be composed largely of heavy artillery, and
reserve regiment of each of the three
arms including recruiting depots and sta
tons from which the personnel could be
furnished for the entire army
1.-THE number of staff officers provided for
is approximately that asked for by the
heads of the several departments.
'As the present volunteer force of $4,000
men must be discharged within eight
months, the President should be authorized,
in his discretion, to organize an auxiliary
force of 10000 men for such time as in his
opinion their services may be required not
exceeding three years.
THE organization provided for in the ac-
companying bill would, in my judgment
fulfill all the requisites for defensive and
offensive purposes.
General Miles further says: In order
to assist the executive in determining the
relative merits of the different officers l
would recommend that board of at least
five of the senior officers of the army be
convened to consider the character and
qualifications of those officers available
for appointment, and make such recon-
mendations would best promote the
welfare of the service
The present condition of the army and
the large reduction required by existing
laws in our military force render early
legislative action imperative"