The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-08
GEN. MILES'S VALEDICg"
 7 Commanding 4eral to Retire lay, HIGH pRAy 7 FOR ARMY
 aM It Should Never Be a Menace
 to Freedom. Has Faith That Under All circum- stances the High Character ' Gained in the Past win
 Be Maintained.

Washington, Aug. 7.-Iieutenant Gen. eral Nelson A. Miles. commanding the army will retire from active service at noon tomorrow, having reached the age limit of 64 years.
 The following order was prepared today and will be issued tomorrow:
 washington, Aug. s, ls0S.
 .'The retirement from active service by the President, August 8. 1908, of Leuten- ant General Nelson A. Miles. U. B. A. by operation of law, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved June so. 1882, is announced. Lieutenant General Niles will proceed to his home. The travel entoined is necessary for the public service.
 By order of Secretary of War.
 I'll. c. Corbin, Adjutant General.
 Major General. U. s. A.
 Several other orders resulting from the retirement of General Miles has been issued, one assigning Lieutenant General Young to the command of the army until August IS, when he will assume the duties of chief of stan, and assigning Major General Corbin as president Of the Soldiers Home Board, another assigning Brigadier General Gillespie as president of the board of ordnance, and fortnca- ton and still another. assigning Lieuten- ant General Young as q member Of the Sherman Statue Commission.
 Miles Issues Orders.
 General Miles has issued the following form active service: 4..-s. f General Order No. u6-
 Headquarters of the Army,
 Washington. Aug. 5. 1903.
 "In accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress of June %, 1882, the undersigned will retire from the active service August g. 1906.
 "In relinquishing the command of the army of the United States, to which he was assigned by the President. October 2, 1895, he hereby acknowledges his ap- preciation of the fidelity manifested by the officers and soldiers during the past eventful years.
 "To those who were his companions and associates during one of the greatest of all wars, he takes pleasure in expressing his qualification that they have lived through the trials and dangers of long service to witness the results of their for titude heroism and unselfish devotion to the welfare of their country. They have also in a most commendable manner ex- emplified to the younger generation of soldiers those principles of discipline and patriotism which make the army the protector and defender and never the menace of the nation and its liberties.
 Unswerving devotion to our Govern ment and the principles upon which 1t was established. and has been maintain ed, is essential to the efficiency of the National forces and especially is this so in a Democratic Government, where the individual, in order to be a perfect sol' dier, must first be a true citizen. The boast that every soldier of a great nation carried a marshals baton fin his knapsack in higher sense is more than equalled in significance by by the fact that every American soldier personifies sovereign cit- izenship and may by his own conduct, exemplify impartial justice to those who have never experienced it and the results of the highest liberty to those who have been strangers to 1t, thereby aiding to secure for his country a moral influence not otherwise attainable.
 Words of Washington.
 During the darkest hour of our history, the first commander of the American forces demonstrated the grandeur and mo- bility of his character by combating the evil influences then prevailing the army and by manifesting the strongest confi- dence and faith in the ultimate justice and integrity of his Government His words of wisdom uttered at Newburg, l20 years ago, had the effect of inspiring ''un-
 
 rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings."
 It Is one of the glories of our country that the army has maintained those prin- ciples for more than a century.
 The commanders of the army succeeding Washington have, by their example, in- fuence and orders, engendered and main- tained the highest degree of efficiency, discipline and patriotism.
 Since it's organization, the army has been charged with a great variety of re- responsibilities, all subordinate to defending the country, and maintaining the rights of it's citizens.
 Tn the discharge of its manifold duties the army has confronted enemies repre- senting every stage of human develop ment from the highest civilization yet obtained. to savagery and barbarian. It has ever been it's duty to observe in war those chivalric and humane principles by which inevitable horrors are so great ly mitigated. while by unyielding prose- cution of warfare against armed forces its valor has been demonstrated.
 All honorable activity and life of the army must exist within the we'll defined lines of patriotism. untarnished honor, sterling integrity. impartial justice, obe- dience to rightful authority, and inces- sant warfare against armed enemies.
 A New Obligation.
 The events of recent years have placed upon the army a new obligation and an Iopportunity for broader exemplification of its country's principle. The United States army is now brought into daily communication with millions of people, to whom its individual memberE of every grade are the opponents of American civilizati tion. A serious duty and great honor are now presented to every officer and soldier. namely, to exemplify to those with whom he comes in contact our coun- try's principles of equal and exact jus tice, immunity from violence, equality before the law and the peaceful use and possession of his own.
 Marked changes at different tines have occurred in the strength and orgsniz tion of the army. resulting from divers influences and various experiments rave I been tried. Time has rectlfied errors