Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1901-10-26
GEN. CORDIN ON The
NEEDS OF the ARMY
General Points Out Many
Shortcomings in Military
Establishment,
FORCE IN The PHILIPPINES
lt VIII He Rsduccd NJ tho Rate of About
1900 u Month From Now On Until
June, 19o2-rhe Transport
System IL Criticised.

Washington, Oct. 21.-The annual re-
port Of Major General Henry g. Cor
bin, adjutant general Of the army, COM
~prehensively reviews the work, condi-
ton inc needs Of the military estab-
lishment. General Corbin submits a
table to show that the army In he
Philippines is to be reduced by expired
enlistInents at the rate Of about 1000 a
month from now on until June, 1907.
The question whether the regiments
thus depleted In strength are to re-
main so or be recruited to their full
register, he says, is n requiring the
very earliest consideration, for II the
latter Is contemplated II Is already
time to begin special recruiting. The
losses from all causes in the regular
army and the volunteers from July l!
1900, to June 80 last totaied 16,294 Off
GERS and men in the former and S,19l in
the latter. The casualties to the troops
I'm the Philippines since the date OF the
first arrival, June 80, 1898, to June 80
last were lis officers and 3,37S men
killed and 1872 officers and 2,646 men
wounded.
General Corbin dwells at some length
the Philippines and calls attention to
the proInptness and dispatch with
which those regiments were brought
home n mustered out.
Haxing NJ an End.
General Corbin invites special atten-
ton to the remarks Of Colonel Mills,
superintendent Of the West Point mill
tary academy, on the improved disci-
pline condition Of the cadet corps. II is
safe to predict, says General Corbin,
that hazing OF q brutal nature Is q
thing of the past. General Corbin rec
ommends thai the cadets Of each grad
uating class be sent to Fort Munroe
for practice and instruction In sea
coast gunnery.
He devotes special attention to the
question OF the instruction Of the
army. He believes that the system Of
training for the officers should begin
with elementary technical instruction
at each post and terminate In the high
err training which would be provided at
a war college, the speedy organization
OF which he considers most desirable.
The general say that 1t has been re-
ported to MIN that retired army officers,
detailed at full pay as military instruc-
tors, In some instances do not even live
at the colleges and only occasionally
visit them. This state of affairs, he
says, should be corrected.
General Corbin recommends that the
old law requiring that each candidate
from the ranks for a commission In the
army be n "non-commissloned officer In
good standing, who has displayed an
aptitude for command and control of
men," be revived. While a great many
excellent young men havS come Into
service as officers under the pres
ent law which opens the way for COM
missions to enlisted men who have had
two years service, General Corbin says
there have been a number of others
who have entered the army as officers
In this way who are not up to the re-
quirements Of their ranks.
Criticises Transport system.
General Corbin believes that the army
service on the Pacific Is cost
ing the government more than the use
of commercial steamship lines, for the
would have the advantage, de-
MED to the government, of transporting
passengers, freight and mails to the
orient, 10Th on outward and homeward
voyages and would meet the needs for
American trade in the ORR
ent. He therefore suggests that con-
gress with safety could offer induce
to United States shippers to In
stall q line Of steamers under charters
that would permit them, in time of ne
cessity, to serve as reserve army and
navy transports. BY this means, says
General Corbin, the government inter-
ests would be far more economically
III luSl DIS tlltNllNNlg SAs ~
would be particularly beneficial to the
mail service which has been very un-
satisfactory TO the military and civil
government In the Philippines ever
since the occupation Of h Islands.
An equally important need of the
service, General Corbin says, Is a do
cable from the Pacific coast to
the Philippines. The present cable
communication through Europe, Asia,
and Japan, he says, for obvious
should be discounted at the
date. The rates charged by
the existing cable service are exorbi-
tant, 1925 per word being the regular
tariff on messages between Washing
and Manila. This excessive rate, he
declares, practically prohibits any real
ly efficient service, ana the cipher code
of the war department has necessarily
been adjusted TO cope with the high
He urges that more comfortable
quarters for the troops In the Philip
pines be provided as soon as possible
and that an appropriation be made Tor
the erection of store houses In and
about Manila, where the government
now pays $500, 900 annually for the use
OF rented buildings.
Change In Uniform.
If the suggestions are adopted, he
the cost OF maintaining the army
In the Philippines will be scarcely more
If the troops were on home sta
tions. He suggests the need of many
changes in the uniforms Of officers ana
urges hat the matter have the early
consideration OF n competent board.
During the recent military operations
in China the good name and discipline
OF General Chaffce's army was several
times called into question by h row.
dyism Of non-combatants, generally In
the uniform Of a soldier. General Cor
bin therefore urges that farriers, team
sters and the like should have uni
forms different from the regularly en-
listed soldier. He also says that Of