The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-07
Affairs in the Philippines Are
 Treated in Detail
THE MILITIA IS IMPORTANT
Steps Have Been Taken to Improve the Volunteer Branch of the Service. Many Additional Reports
 Also Submitted.


 of Secretary Moody on the war depart ment is in part as follows
 War Department,
 Washington, D. C., Dec :. 1903. To the President:
 l have the honor to submit the following report of operations of this department for the past year:
 On the 1st of December, 1902, the date of the last annual report, the army of the United States, according to the latest reports which had been received from the military departments, consisted of S5se officers and 66,OOS enlisted men, a total of 69,5S9. In addition, there were in the ser vice S59S men of the hospital corps ex- cluded by the act of March 1, 1887, from classification as part of the enlisted force of the army. There were also in the ser vice 1S2 volunteer medical officers. 100 officers and 1878 enlisted men of the Phil ippine scouts, and % officers and $40 en- listed men of the Porto Rico regiment
 At that time l reported an order made on the 24th af October, 1902. providing for further reduction of the army to the minimum strength allowed by law, except
 
 be kept at full strength for instruction purposes at Leavenworth and Riley, and the legation guard at Picking. That or der has been executed during the year by permitting enlistments to run out with out filling the vacancies.
 Army's Strength.
 At the date of the last reports received from the military departments, October l.1 lar army was 36S1 officers and 55 300 en- listed men.
 There were also In the service 26 officers and 520 enlisted men of the Porto Rico regiment, 99 officers and 4S05 enlisted Philippine scouts, and 2S07 hospital corps men.
 These figures show a total net decrease during the year of il ,97S.
 The acting adjutant general reports that the number of enlisted men who will be entitled to increased pay for length of service during the next fiscal year-that is to say, the men who will be serving un- der re-enlistment after the expiration of one or more terms of service-will be ST. 765, and of these 1O,17s will have had a con tinuous service of five years and upward. The total number of enlistments in the army during the year ending June 30 1903 (not including hospital corps and Philip pine scouts), was 1S,291. Of these, 6906 were re-enistments and Il ,3S5 were new enlistments; 15,537 were native born, 2737 were of foreign birth, and r were born in Porto Rico. Of those enlisted in the Unit ed States. 17,469 were white, 793 coIored, and 12 Indians. Five hundred and seventy seven were enlisted for staff departments and 17714 for the line. The reports show that these 17,714 were selected from 91 .97O AnnllpantS of whom "A Of these, 1856 were rejected as aliens and 264S as illiterates.
 The aggregate of all enlistments and re-enistments during the year. including the hospital corps and Philippine scouts, was 19,917.
 Organization of General Staff.
 The important military event of the year affecting the regular army has been the reorganization of the system of mili- tary control under the general staff act approved February 14, 1903. For more convenient reference a copy of that act is annexed hereto as Appendix A. This act abolished the separate office of general commanding the army, provided for a military chief of staff to the President who, acting under the directions of the President or of the secretary of war rep resentng him. should have supervision not only of all troops of the line but of the special staff and supply departments which had heretofore reported directly to the secretary of war; and 1t created for the assistance of the chief of staff a corps of H officers, who were relieved from all other duties, The function of this new corps is described by the statute in the following words:
 Section 2 That the duties of the general staff corps shall be to prepare plans for the national defense and for the mobiliza- ton of the military forces in time of war; to investigate and report upon all ques- tions affecting the efficiency of the army and it's state of preparation for military operations; to render professional aid and assistance to the secretary of war and to general officers and other superior com manders, and to act as their agents in in- forming and co-ordinating the action of all the different officers who are subject, under the terms of this act, to the super vision of the chief of staff; and to per- form such other military duties not other wise assigned by law as may be from time to time prescribed by the President.
 Many Details. Although. by its terms. the act was not to take effect until the 18th of August 1903. it was obvious that this radical change in the administration of military affairs and the adjustment of the new macnlnefy to lHt Olu ifldcillueTH WHICH had been in operation for many years, would require a vast number of details to be worked out experimentally and upon full consideration by all the officers whose duties were affected. A board was accord ingly convened in March to recommend selections for the new corps. It consisted of Generals Young. Chaffee, John C. Bates. Carter. Bliss and Randolph and Major Henry A. Green recorder. The board was required under oath to recom- mend 42 officers for detail upon their merits as exhibited by their military rec ords. The order which convened the board also provided that vacancies occur ring in the general staff corps, after it's organization should be filled upon the recommendation of a permanent board consisting of the chief of staff and the corps on duty at the war department coryps on duty at the war department, operating in a similar manner A copy of the order is annexed hereto, marked Appendix B..
 Tn view of the importance of these means of producing availabl .--'-' for appointments to the reg