The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-07

Declined the rendered Majority in
the First Infantry.

The officers of the First Infantry have
not yet succeeded in getting their full
complement of field officers. 1t was
thought that the meeting last Friday
night had solved the difficulty that has
confronted the board for some weeks by
the election of Capt Henry Kolshorn and
Capt. N. A. O'Byrne to be majors. This
however, was not the case, for when the
committee called upon Capt. OByrne to
ascertain whether he would accept the
position to which he was nominated, he
declined. and that left the officers in the
position of still looking for a suitable man
to fill the responsible position.
Capt Kolshorn and Maj. W. l.. Gray
son Will have command of two of the
battaions. but there will be a third in
the regiment when the four new COM
panies shall have been organized, and it
Will be necessary to elect a third major
1t was thought this position had been fill
ed oy the choice of Capt. O'Byrne, and
the officers were greatly disappointed
when they found that he could not see
his way clear to accepting.
capt. OByrne told the officers that he
had resigned his commission as adjute nj
OF the FIRST Infantry with the view
OF retiring altogether srom military. He
had thought tor many months of resign
ing before he finally took that step Ills
profession, he found, left him insufficient
time for discharging his military duties
as he desired, and the same objection,
ne said, stood in the way of his accept
ing the post of major He thanked the
committee for the honor that had been
done him, which had come as a complete
surprise, as no one had mentioned to him
the probability that he would be chosen
by the board of officers.
I iS
succeed to the majority that will be va
cant when the new companies have been
organized and the distribution of them
and the present companies into battalons
nave been made by Col. T. s. Wylly Jr
Col. WILLY has announced that it is his
intention to form three battalions of four
companies each, two of the six Savan-
nah companies (the Emmett Rifles, the
new Irish command, making the sixth
being attached to each battalion. To each
battalion, too, will be attached two out
of~town companies, three of which are
yet to be organized.
The Emmett Rifles will have meeting
tonight at the Regimental Armory. Quar-
tiers will be given the new company in
the armory Arrangements will be made
through which the present officers quar-.
tiers on the first floor of the building will
be converted into d company assembly
room, TO be taken by one of the old com.
panies already occupying the building
The room will be one of the most desr.
able in the armory. The room that is
given up by the company taking that OF
the first floor will be had by the new
command, which will be given the use OF
its quarters for a year without having tC
pay the armory rent that is paid into the
battalion treasury by the five companies
now using the building. This was agreed
upon as a concession to the Emme
| Rifles, the officers being anxious to show
| the new command favors.
The officers quarters will be transferred
to the second floor of the armory, where
room will be constructed by the chang.
| ing about of partitions, thereby reducing
the size of the gun rooms of the Irish
| Jasper Greens and the German Volun,
teers. In the same way quarters will be
! furnished on the third floor. for the non
commissioned officers of the staff, the CUR
rooms of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry
and the Republican Blues being thereby
| reduced in size.