Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-04
z
OUR ARMY N 1905
A Chat With Secretary VIM.
q. Taft.
HIS BIG DEPARTMENT
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS COMING
UP ALL THE TIME.
What He Saw on the REIMBURSEMENT
cans as Soldiers - Our New
Military Divisions.
HIS BIG DEPARTMENT


| Written for The Evening Star.
Tell me something about the work OF
| the Secretary of Warp
| 1 made this request of Mr.. Taft as we
sat together in his private office in the
War Department today. had asked for
an interview and an appointment had
been fixed for pm, but stream of OFF,
cial callers preceded me, and 1t was now
almost 6. The routine clerks had long
since departed. The clerical wheels of the
| great granite building had stopped hum
ming, and the Secretary Of War, for the
! first time in the day, was at rest. say
at rest. He was not entirely so, for while
we talked other callers came in and were
| asked to wait. Gen. Chaffee brought a
| bundle of papers which Mr.. Taft said he
! would pass upon before morning, and his
! private secretary was given memoranda
Of things to do. Nevertheless. Secretary
| Taft looked as untroubled as May morn
| ing. He is the picture of health. Big
| headed and strong framed, his eyes lack
| the worried lines of the strenuous states
man of the day, and his laugh, which
| goes with good digestion, carries with 1T
that catching good fellowship which
| makes most men his friends. He works
| easily and accomplishes MUCH
The Secretary of War.
He replied:
THE Secretary of War has plenty to do.
| I think Mr.. Root found it so. The office is
one of responsibility, and it grows with
| the country. 1t deals not only with the
army organization of the United States
and all that that implies; but also with
| our coast defenses, our vast expenditures
| upon rivers and harbors, the government
| and management of the Philippine Is
| lands, and now with the Panama canal.
| "NaVPrtheIeSS the Spcrpt0fV of War has
| the advantage Of an excellent force of
| trained men to help him in the work of
his department., Judge Taft continued,
| as he arose and walked to and fro across
| the room. Everything is thoroughly
| systematiZed, and each division is under
| a trained head. Take our vast engineer
ing department! That is managed by
! skilled engineers, under an engineer Off
Ger who has been educated as such and
has been doing nothing else but engineer
| ing all his life. The quartermaster's de-
| partment is under man who has been
connected with that department all his
| life; and it is the same with every branch
| of our war business. Indeed, one might
almost think the department could run
| itself for time without a Secretary. Still
| there is much to do. New questions come
| up every day, and new lines of policy
must be considered. Much general direc-
! ton is required, the question of military
| courts arises, and now we have the gov
eminent of our colonies and the 1sthman
| Canal"
One Hundred and Twenty-Five Millions
Can you give me some idea of the money
| involved?'
| 1T Is not SMALL said,1the Secretary of
! War This is one of the richest if not the
| richest among the nations of the world. and
| it must be prepared to defend itself. Our
| seacoast defenses were begun on the pres
| ent plan by Congress in 1886 and they have
| already cost S109,G0000o. They are about
| half completed and we shall need $50 OQ0.-
| COO more before they are done. That, how
| ever, is a matter of time. We spent last year
| in round numbers more than ST ,30o, 600 in
| terrifying the Philippines, and we are ask
| Ing for double that amount this year We
| spent something like S34,o0OG00 on public
| works and rivers and harbogs last year
| and the estimates of this year are more
| than S40090,000, For the military estab-
| which is little more than was expended
| in 1904 Altogether the total estimates for
1903 are just about $126,000,000.'
Our Army in 1905,
What is the present condition Of the
| army, Mr.. Secretary?'
Excellent. The war has improved the
| temper Of the men and the service in Cuba
and the Philippines has made them better
soldiers than ever Before. As to some things
steady Improvement is going on. Not
| long ago we had 100 posts in the Philip
pines scattered all over the islands. Some
| were small, and at times a lieutenant snd
| even sergeant might be in charge of a
| post. Under such conditions the men be-
| came lax in their drill The number of nosts
IS now grea ~ reduced and the drill is i'm
proving. The responsibility of such places
| mas done much to bring out the latent now
| ers of the subordinate officers They have
learned TO rely upon themselves. and have
| improved in reSOurcefulness There is no
| training for war SO good as war itself and
! 1t seems to ME that our soldiers are now i'm
| better condition than they could nossiblv
| be through the most rigid disciplinary tao
| ties in time of peace
The American as Soldier
Does the American make a good SOL
dier?'
| Yes One of the best. He is naturally a
| fighter; he adapts himself to his surround
| 1ngs and takes advantage of them We ara
| warlike nation, although we have conn
/ paratively not many troops in the field. Our
| army is not expected to defend the country
! 1t is merely the nucleus of the great An,arJ
| can army which will rise up whenever it is
| reeded.'' "
What is the size of the army now, Mr.
| Secretary" [ asked
In round numbers we have about 90 600
| officers and men, There are more than Z 100
| officers and more than $1,000 men. we
| have more cavalry and artillery in proper
| ton to the needs of a great army than in
! fantry. The infantry, you know Is the
| backbone of an army. 1t does, it is esti-
mated, 95 per cent of the effective work
But our infantry can easily be increa sed
| whereas it takes time to train and ~eo,,in
| cavalry and artillery. For that reason We
| have proportionately larger number OF the
| latter in order to be ready in time of sud-
| den war;
| Where our soldiers stationed?"
| About $4,000 of them are in the United
| States replied the Secretary of War 1--WE
have more than thousand in Alaska and
| about 12,0o0 in the Philippines We also
| have few troops in Porto Rico. the Ha-
waiian Islands and China
Our New Military Divisions.
Where are the soldiers stationed in this
| country, Mr. Secretary?
| They are to be found in every part of
It," was the reply. Eve had a rearrange-
| ment of the military commands last jan
| uary. BY these the territory of the United
| States is divided into five grand military d.
visions. each of which Is divided into two or
more military departments. Each division
| is commanded by a major general, and each
| of the departments with one exception, is
under a brigadier general. Four of the five
| divisions comprise the United States proper
and the other is In the Philippine division
| ba 10 5iyfs ipcIndac oil he