The sun., 1901-06-29
Tho End of the Volunteer.

A despatch from San Francisco, published
yesterday. reports the arrival there OF .he
army transport Fitzpatrick with the Forty
third Volunteer Infantry. Col. ARTHUR
MURRAY, the last Volunteer regiment to
leave the Philippines and to reach the
United States. -Four days remained after
the arrival OF the regiment TO complete the
process OF mastering out the officers and
men; and "a the work Of preparing the
muster-out rolls was not intermitted dur
ing the voyage across the Pacific. II Is
probable that the last OF the Philippine
Volunteers will have been discharged from
Governmental employ by tomorrow nj ght.
the date fixed by law for the end Of the
Volunteer army.
The Fifty-ffth Congress. on March ..
1899. two days before It's term expired.
put into the Presidents hands the weapon
which he has used so ably against the Phil
ippine insurgents, by authorizing him TO
raise twenty-five regiments OF Volunteers
10 serve In the islands. and to be mustered
out not later than June 80. .100i-to-morrow.
For four months Mr.. MCKINLEY hesitated
to direct the raising Of these regiments;
he was not sure that they were needed.
But the return Of the State troops from
the Philippines. and the continued serious
ness OF the insurrection. convinced him
that more soldiers we're needed there, and
be decided 10 raise the regiments author
lied. On July 8. 1900, ten regiments Of
the twenty-five permitted were ordered
- 81 l,,l, o tu-A
were ordered. to be recruited In the Phil
ippines; on Aug. 10 the Eleventh Cavalry
was ordered, likewise to be recruited In the
islands. On. Aug II. ten more regiments
OF infantry were ordered. and on Sept. 2
the last two regiments were ordered. These
the Forty-eighth and Forty ninth Infantry
regiments. were oomposedo OF colored men.
Gen. RUSSELL A. ALoEB was Secretary
OF War when the process Of raising these
Volunteer regiments began. He resigned
on July 10, and was succeeded by Mr.
ELIHU RooT on the 2ist OF the same month.
To Gen. ALGER. however. Is due the plan,
adopted and followed. OF raising and pro-
viding officers for the new organizations
They were raised largely as territorial
regiments" that is. they drew on the popu-
lation OF vaguely defined sections OF the
country, so that during their entire service
they have been looked on as representing
certain groups Of States and Territories,
and their doings have been followed by
persons who may have had no personal
interest in any single officer or man, but
yet looked on the regiments as belonging
to and upholding in tho field the honor Of
their sections Of country. The field officers,
the Colonel. Leutenant-Colonela and Ma jors,
OF these regiments were taken from among
the commissioned officers OF the army.
with the exception Of few commanding
officers OF State Volunteers who had dis
tnguished themselves in the Spanish war.
On the other hand. tho company officers
were chosen almost wholly from the yolun-
teers OF the Spanish war. The line officers
OF the two negro regiments were negroes;
number OF them were actually enlisted
men of the army when appointed to yolun-
teer commissions. The method OF raisinc
and offering these regiments has proved
wholly successful and Congress might
do much worse than enact that the plan
followed two years ago shall be followed
hereafter when Volunteer forces arc 10 be
raised
The first Volunteer regiment reached the
Philippines on Oct. II, 1890, the last, on
Jan. %. 1900, The first regiment to return
was one Of the three organizations raised
In the islands: 1t reached San Francisco
some months ago, and was mustered out