The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-25

/ BALTIMORE, Nd, Dec. 25.-In these
/ days OF backward g;ancing at the close
Of The nineteenth century all sorts Of IN
! teresting contrasts 5etween the old and
! the new have been brought u light.
! Among them all probably nothing sug-
gests more eonvIneingIy the evolution
from the swaddling clothes period OF our
national life to the present era of mili-
tary traBpings and glory than the records
Of our ceuntry's military equipment Of a
century ago, as compared with the equip
ment today In view Of the Army ReoT-
ganizatien bin now before Congress, these
records have mere t..sn the usual inter
est. - sae
Mr. William F. Stone. Collector Of Gus
toms of the Port Of Baltimore, is the
owner OF ascpy OF the journal Of
4 the first session OF the Senate Of the
United States. Some OF the pages are
missing from the front Of tie book, but
otherwise it IS in excellent condition The
leaves are yeliowed ard time-stained. The
terse reports OF sessions. the character
| of The measures considered. the brief,
clear cut. concise messages from the
/ President to the House all point TO the
/ simpler, less complex national lie of a
little more than q century ago.
IN the record Of the proceedings Of
Friday, August I, 1888. in a message to
the Senate from President George Wash
ington. appears the first mention of any
reorganization of the army. After dis
eussiRg the necessity for the Immediate
interpositien of the general Govern
ment" to settle disputes which had arts
en- between certain Indian tribes and
some of the States. the President adds.
Along with this object I ana induced
to suggest. another, with the national
Importance and necessity OF which I am
| deeply Impressed. [ mean some uni
form ana effective system for the militia
of the United States tt IS unnecessary
| &c offer arguments in recommendation Of
| a measure On which, the honor. safety
and well-being Of our country so evil
| IDENTIFY ard so essentially depend But It
| may not be -alniss to observe that / an
! particularly an, iogs it should receive as
early attention as circumstances win adj
nit, because It is new in our power to
avail ourselves of the military knowledge
disseminated throughout the several
States by means of the many weIl-in-
| structed ofscers and soldiers of the late
! army; a resource which is daily dimin-
ishing by death and other causes. To
suffer this peculiar advantage to pass
! away uninpToved would be to neglect an
opportunity which will never again oe-
| cur unless, unfortunately, we should
again be involved in a long and arduous
war
When the Senate assembled three days
iatcr-tt VIII be recalled that Congress
net il New York during the terms from
March 1. 1880. 10 March 2 II93-General
Knox presented the following message
from the President:
Gentlemen of the Senate: l have d.
rected q statement Of the troops in the
service Of the United States 10 be laid be-
fore you for your information.
These troops were raised By virtue Of
the resolves OF Congress of the 10th OF
October, 1856. and the Sd Of October. 1T87,
in order to protect the frontiers from the
depredsti0ls OF the hostile Indians; to pre-
vent all i2trusiens on the pubic lands and
10 facilitate the surveying and selling Of
the same fer the purpose Of reducing the
/ public debt
AS these important objects continue 10
require the aid Of the troops. it is neces-
sary that the establishment thereof should,
II ell respects. be couformed by law 20
| the Constitution OF the United States"
Compared with the army of today the
| amy N.4OSE 4 GU EGAtl11ttJH " d U4SCHSScl
and finally decided upon by the Congress
Of 17S9 was microscopic This was what
it included. as shown by the list which
WIS prepared by General Knox al the re-
quest Of the President.
One regiment Of infantry. consisting OF
] lieutenant colonel eommsndant, , majors
| { captains. lieutsuants. S ensigns. / sur
seon. / mates, total 30, S companies. each
Of which to consist OF 4 sergeants. cor
perais- , musicians, and 50 privates, to-
tai $50. One battalion OF artillery, raR-
| sisti1g CT 1 major. captains, 8 lieUtenants
/ ! surgeon mate, total II; I companies.
each Of which to consist Of
siciaRz ami 50 privates; total. ESQ Total
non-e9nmissioned and prixatss. $40
Of this great and glorious army Of less
than 500 men 612 were in active service
when Congress began to be disturbed
about them. Troops which included 59S
men we're stationed on the frontier at
! various points northwest of the Ohio
River; the -seYenty-six-were in
| what General Knox dignified by the mans
of two companies of artillery,
| one CT which is stationed at the arse
nal at West Point on Hudson,s River,
/ and the other at the arsenal at Spring
/ field. on the Connecticut Riyer's
General Knox adds that all of the
troops were enlisted for three vears He
also states the pay of each man He
mentions, too, that Congress fixed the
| amounts paid by acts passed April Z,
1855. October 20, 1856, and October g, 1877.
/ This is what they were, per month:
Lieutenant colonel eomman6aat. $50;
| major, S45; captain, $50; lieutenant, SIC:
ensign, so; surgeon, SIS; mate $50; ser
geants, Sc; coFporals. So; musicians. s.;
| privates, 81.
The subsistence to the officers in lieu
/ of ratians was as follows. Lieutenant
colonel commandment s. per month, ma
5ors $50. captain. So; lieutenant. So: en-
sign, s.; surgeca. SIS; mate. So.
Lieutenants acting as sdJut2nt. Guar err
master. and payraster were allowed for
their extra duty SO per month, This was
the allowance per month for forage:
Three majors. each, S12;;- one surgeon. IS;
three reginmental stat, each Sc
Each non-comTnis stoned officer was al
lowed annually according to record, .'one
suit OF uniform cIsthes" as follows. /
eoat, vest, pairs wooden overaIIs. 2
pairs linen oyeralls, / hat, shirts, 4 pairs
shoes, pairs socks, 1 stock. I stock
clasp. I pair shoe buckles. blanket.
I And these we're the daily rations al
lowed to the soldier boys who evidently
were expected to appear On parade in
winter IN WOODEN cveFalIs and whose sole
I dissipation Ia the matter of dress con-
/ sisted OF one necktie annually 1 pound
| of bread or -four, 1 pound Of beef or 81
| pound OF pork, and I gill of common rum
To every hundred rations these deijca-
cies we're added; quart of salt. ? quarts
Of vinegar, 2 pounds OF soap, I pound of
1