Arizona republican., 1902-12-03

cieney, and the general kind-hearted- ness and humanity of our troops have been strikingly manifested. There now remain only some fifteen thousand troops in the islands. All told, over one hundred thousand have been sent there Of course, there have been indi- vidual instances of wrongdoing among them They warred under fearful difii- culties of climate and surroundings; and under the strain of the terrible pro- vocatiups which they continually re- oeived Roin their foes. occasional in- stances of cruel retaliation occurred. Every effort has been made to prevent such cruelties. and finally these efforts have been completely successful. Every effort has also been made to detect and punish the wrongdoers. After making all allowance for these misdeeds, it re- mains 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 wrong doing by the victors as in the Philip pine islands. On the other hand, the amount of difficult, important, and benefieent work which has been done is we'll night incalculable.
 Taking the work of the army and the civil authorities together, it may be questioned whether anywhere else in modern times the world has seen better example of real constructive statesmanship than our people have given in the Philippine islands, High praise should also be given those Fili- pinos, in the aggregate very numerous, who have accepted the new conditions on na infr xx,ff to fa work with hearty good will for the welfare of the islands.
 The army has been reduced to the minimum allowed by law. It Is very small for the size of the nation, and most certainly should be kept at the highest point of efficiency. The senior officers are given scant chance under ordinary conditions to exercise com mands commensurate with their rank. under circumstances which would fit them to do their duty in time of actual war A system of maneuvering our army in bodies of some little size has been begun and should be steadily con tinued. Without such maneuvers 1t is folly to expect that in the event of hostilities with any serious foe even small army corps could be handled to advantage. Both our officers and en- listed men are such that we can take ! hearty pride in them. No better ma terial can be found. But they must be thoroughly trained, both as individuals and in the mass. The craftsmanship of the men must receive special atten- | tion. In the circumstances of modern 1 warfare the man must act far more on his individual responsibility than ever before. and the high individual | efficiency of the unit is of the utmost | importance. Formerly this unit was | the regiment; 1t is now not the regi- ment, not even the troop or company; it is the individual soldier. Every effort must be made to develop every work manlike and soldierly quality in both the officer and the enlisted man.
 I urgently call your attention to the need of passing a bill providing for general staff and for the recognition of | the supply departments on the lines of the bill proposed by tHn ~ncretary of war last year. When the young off cers enter the army fror1 West Point they probably stand above their com peers in any other military service. Every effort should be made. by train ing, by reward of merit, by scrutiny | into their careers and capacity, to keep them of the same high relative excel lence throughout their careers.
 The measure providing for the re- organization of the militia system and for securing the highest efficiency in the national guard. which has already passed the house, should receive prompt attention and action It is of great importance that the relation of the national guard to the militia and | vol oAe of 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 the secretary of war to keep cavalry and artillery hores, orn-out in long performance of duty. Such horses fetch but a trifie when sold; and rather than turn them out to the misery awaiting them when thus disposed of. 1t would be better to employ them at light work around the posts. and when necessary to put them painlessly to death.
 THE NAVY.
 For the first time in our history na- val maneuvers on large scale are be- ing held under the immediate command of the admiral of the navy. Constantly increasing attention is being paid to the gunnery of the navy. but it Is yet far from what it should be. earnestly urge that the increase asked for by the secretary of the navy in the appropria- tion for improving the marksmanship be granted. In battle the only shots that count are the shots that hit It is necessary to provide ample funds for practice with the great guns in time of peace. These funds must provide not only for the purchase of projectiles, but for allowances for prizes to encourage the gun crews, and especially the gun pointers, and for perfecting an intelli- gent system under which alone it is possible to get good practice.
 There should be no halt in the work or building up the navy, providing ev- cry year additional fighting craft. We are very rich country, vast in extent Of territory and great in population; a country, moreover, which has an army diminutive indeed when compared with that of any other first-class power. We have deliberately made our own certain foreign policies which demand the DOS session oi a first-class navy. The isth- milan canal will greatly increase the