Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-12-02
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
CONTINUED from page three.)

pletely successful. Every effort has also
been made to detect and punish the
~wrongdoers. After making all allowances
for these misdeeds. it remains true that
few indeed have been the instances in
which war has been waged by a civilized
power against semi-civilized or barbarous
forces where there has been so little
w~rongdoing by the victors as In the Phil
ippiDe Islands on the other hand, the
amount of difficult, important n benefi-
cent work which has been done is well
nigh incalculable.
Taking the work of the army and the
civilized authorities together, it may be
questioned whether anywhere else in mod
ern times the world has seen a better ex-
ample of real constructive craftsmanship
than our people have given in the Philip
pine Islands. High praise should also
be given those Filipinos, in the aggregate
very numerous, who have accepted the
new conditions and Joined with our repre-
sentatives to work with hearty good will
for the welfare Of the stands.
Our Army Reduced.
The army has been reduced to the mini
mum allowed by law. 1t is very small for
the size of the nation, and most certainly
should be kept at the highest point of eff
ficiency. The senior officers are given
scant chance under ordinary conditions to
exercise commands commensurate will
their rank, under circumstances which
would fit them to do their duty in time of
| actual war. A system of m~aneuvering
our army in bodies of some little size has
been begun and should be steadily con-
tinued. Without such maneuvering it is
folly to expect that in the event of hos
~tilities with any serious foe even a small
army corps could be handled to advan-
tage. Botn our officers and enlisted men
are such that we can taxi hearty pride
in them. No better material can be found.
sodnio1byr, n-liswishym- foioi dedmiPha
But they must be thoroughly trained,
both as individuals and in the mass. The
special attention. In the circumstance
of modern warfare the man must act far
more on his own individual efficiency
thar ever before, and the high individual
efficiency of the unit is of the utmost i'm
p~ortance. Formerly this unit was the
regiment; 1t is now not the regiment, not
even the troop or company; 1t is the indi-
vidual soldier. Every effort must be mad
" utNtlOD tNtis WI oih
dierly quality in both the officer and the
enlisted man.
I urgently call your attention to the
need of passing a bill providing for a gen.
eral staff and for the reorganization of
the supply departments on the lines of the
bill proposed by the secretary of war last
year. When the young officers enter the
army from West Point they probably
49,. LzGu In ~ of or
military service. Every effort should be
made. by training. by reward of merit by
scrutiny into their careers and capacity.
to keep them Of the same high relative
! excellence throughout their careers.
The measure providing for the reorgani-
sation of the militia system and for Sc
| curing the highest efficiency in the ma
tional guard, which has already passed
| the house, should receive prompt atten-
| ton and action. 1t is of great Importance
! that the relation of the national guard to
| the militia and volunteer forces OF the
| United States should be defined, and that
in place of our present obsolete laws a
practical and efficient system should be
adopted.
Provision should be made to enable this
secretary of war to keep cavalry and ar
tillery horses, worn out in long perform
ance OF duty. Such horses fetch but q
trihe when sold; and rather than turf
them out to the misery awaiting then
when thus disposed of, 1t would be better
to employ them at light work around tn
posts, and when necessary to put then
painlessly to death.
Our Navy.
For the first time In our history nava
maneuvers on a large scale are being hell
under the immediate OF the al
miral of the navy. Constantly increasing
attention is being paid to the gunnery o
the navy, but it is yet far from what