The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-07

and Regulars Kxtension Project Probable-AdJutant General coie's
 Expression. in Favor sf shs mnnsuv
 The prospects are bright for the Con- necticut National Guard abandoning its annual encampment at Mantle this summer, and joining with the militia of the New England states and de- tachment of the regular army in series of elaborate field maneuvres, Ad- jutant General Cole said, Friday. that during his recent visit to Washington he inquired of the authorities in the United States war department con- cerning the status of the proposed mili- fary maneuvres. He was told that the army bill now before congress car ries with 1t a request for an appropri- alton for sum sufficient to cover the cost of the maneuvres. The plan has such earnest and enthusiastic support in the war department and among all officers of the regular army thta 1t is expected that the appropriation Will be passed. Adjutant General Cole was told that if the appropriation is grant ed, the maneuvres will surely be held.
 The cost to the government will be for transportation, subsistence and pay for state troops, and for transportation for the regulars. The subsistence of the regular troops would have to be borne by the government whether they were on duty in field exercises on or off regular duty.
 Adjutant General Cole expressed himself strongly in favor of the man. euvres. He witnessed the exercises at Fort Riley, Kan, last year, and saw that they were of great value. Similar movement were held in West Point, ky. during the past year. Adjutant General Cole says that the reason why they are so strongly favored by the war department, by the regular army officers, and by the officers in command of state troops is because they con- stitute on great object lesson from be- ginning to end. Information which can be got in no other way is obtained concerning the time required to move troops 400 or 800 miles, how the jour ney affects the condition of the troops, and how the men can endure long marches. The field naneuvres furnish fine opportunities for the men to gain accurate knowledge of the conditions to be encountered in attack and de- fense. The ground selected usually presents all the obstacles to be encoun- tered in actual warfare, including val lays, meadows, hills, mountainous ter ritory, creeks mad rivers.
 The magnitude of the maneuvres will be apparent from that fact that more than 10000 troops are expected to par ticipate and 35,000 or 45,000 acres of land will be required. The general staff of the war department will have full charge of the evolutions. It is expected that the movements will be planned by Colonel Wagner the au- thor of many noted military works, and one of the greatest strategists in the world
 The action of the general staff in endeavoring to secure grounds indi- cates confidence on their part that the maneuvres will be held thsi summer. Adjutant General Cole says that it is probable that the site to be selected will be in Pennsylvania, not far from Camp Meade, on land which was oc- cupied by the Connecticut volunteers in 1898, during the Spanish-American war. The war department made an effort to lease land in New York in the foothills of the Catskill mountains, but the residents objects. A mass meeting of the land owners of the neighborhood was held on Tuesday oe this week, and a proposition from the war department was laid before those present. Captain Moss, of the regu- lar army, made an earnest plea that the proposition be accepted. The site offers large sections of Orange, Sulli- van and Ulster counties, near the New Jersey line, and army officers say it would make an ideal spot, offering every kind of ground imaginable. But the land owners rejected the war de- partment's proposition, fearing that the troops would make wholesale de- struction of their property.
 If the maneuvres are held in Penn sylvania, as is expected, this will not affect the permanency of the states occupation of the encampment grounds at Mantle. The Mantle encamp- ment would be dispensed with for the year, but next year it would be held as usual. It is the intention of the war department to hold field man. euvres in the east, west, south and north in consecutive years. If Con- necticut takes part in maneuvres of this kind, this summer it will be some time before it's troops will have another opportunity of this kind, and the Mantle encampment will be held as heretofore.