Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-25
NEW ARMY PLANS
ENGLAND MUST SOON FACE CON-
SCRIPTION.
RECRUITING IS A FAILURE
Serious Indictment of Army Methods
During the Boer War-Short-
sighted and Foolish.

New York, March ca.-The London
corres pendent of the Tribune. Writing
Of Enc,and's scheme of military reor-
ganiZation, says:
The new scheme of military organ
iyation may be roughly described as the
halfway house to CONSUMPTION. 1t IN
wolves the Development of existing s!s-
TENS of voluntary enlistment ana aux
Hilary services under conditions Whlcn
nrccl,,da reasonable execution Of Site
cess. When the experiment has been
tried and the results found satisfactory.
the way will be found for compulsory
service The war office will then be IN
a rostion to assert that right which,
done under the voluntary system to pro-
vide an adequate army for the defense
of the empire. but that men We're not
forthcoming and that an elaborate pa
per scheme proved failure. The only
alternative from the official and mini
tary' point of view, Will be compulsory
service.
The reorga nized army will consist OF
three army corps of regulars, with head
quarters at Dublin. Aidershot and Sal
isbury plain. with sixty battaIlons OF
militia and volunteers. a considerable
body of imperial yeomanry and twenty
one volunteer artillery batteries in ad-
dition to the regular quota.
There will be no great increase O.:
regulars. although from IS to Is bat
talions will be gained by the with
drawal of the Mediterranean and colo
NAL garrisons and the transfer of In
dian troops to tropical posts and piac-
ing coaling stations under the control
of no h,1t
the militia. the yeomanry will be re-
cruited to 5000 and in one way or an
other over $4,000 fresh troops Will be
brought under training in six districts.
All these changes are made in order to
keep three army corps in readiness for
foreign service in an emergency. yet
to leave three army corps behind to
provide for home defense; and whether
the troops are dispatched abroad or
held in reserve. every corps will have
it's own organiza ton. cavalry, artillery
and transport and be systematically
trained for modern warfare. The
scheme looks effective on paper; the
chief practical difficulty is promptly
suggested by France, Germany and Aus
tran critics. How can the men be OBJ
tanned? What magic can recruiting
have in the future which II has lacked
pay for regulars or miltiamen. ana
there are no additional attractions i'll
service which is to be rendered more
arduouS than ever before. The scheme
of reorganization involves the llquda-
ton of a political debt. When the Sal
isbury government dissolved parliament
last autumn it pledged itself to reor-
ganize the army. and consequently some
project which looked impressive on pa
per had to be brought forward after
the elections. When that pledge was
made the government itself was open
to criticism for having underestimated
the fighting resources of the Beers, and
It was convenient for ministers to lay
stress on weak points of the military
system and the necessity for a COM
plete revision of methods. The minis
ters in redeeming their promise Indie!
the patriotism of the nation, the loyalty
of the colonies and efficiency of tho
voluntary system. Their scheme of re-
organization is virtually a confession
that everything went wrong in South
Africa, that the army was unequal to
its work and that the voluntary system
broke down. That indictment is not
we'll founded. The ministers miscal-
culated the resources of the Beers,
either Lord Lansdowne or Lord Wolse-
Law .~Ht one army corps to do the work
of SIX; infantry undertook the mpossi-
bic task of fighting mobile mounted
forces: the generals We're amateurish in
such battles as Nicholson's mex and Co.
lenso and reckless at Stormhe:g ami
Magersfontein; the officers lacked fex-
Utility and quickness of mind; .ne stat
work was bad. and the medical and
transport services were defective. Al.
dershot has not done we'll, nor has Pail