The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-02-05
Duties Of tile Secretary, His Re- Re-
sponsibilities and His Many
Problems.
the MERlc CAN 5As "A SOLDIER |. /:
Well Suited for the Service,
Which Holds Many Attrac- .8
s#$ tons for oung Men. "A. q.
4 BY Frank 6. Carpenter.

S55siiss11 3g Il. Dlspntch.) t s IN X
WA sH1NGTo i. .. 81 Feb. Tel. -
me something about the work Of the
+ Secretary OF War; N 555
K 854 I made this request Of Mr.. TAFT as we
sat together In his private Office In the
War Department to-day. 4 had asked l':t'l
tor at, Interview and nnS appointment
had boon fixed for 4 p. Nj. but q stream
A OF of1lcial callers preceded me, and sait
was now almost 8. The routine clerks
\ had long since departed. The clerical lea
4 wheel Of tho great granite building had
stopped hummlng. and the Secretary OF
y War, for the first time in tho day, was
4 1t rest, I say mt rest. He was ' not not
\ entirely so. for while wo talked other,
Il callers camo In and were a sked to wait.
( General Chaffcc brought a bundle Of
papers which Mr. Taft said e he would
pass upon before morning. and his prt-- i
vate secretary was given memoranda
i OF things to do. Nevertheless. secre-!
y tary Taft looked as untroubled as q
May morning. lie is the picture Of
health Big headed and strong. framed
4 his eyes lack the worried lines Of tho
FL strenuous statesmen OF Il tho day. and
4 his laugh, which goes with good dl-5
b gestion carries with It that catching good
1 Fellowship which makes most men his
friends. Ho works easily and accom-.
pllshes much. Il
The Secretary Of War. 5.5#5.
He replied: SS3 3iS
The Secretary OF war has plenty to
y do ! think Mr.. Root found It sc. .s The
Il Office Is one OF responsibility, and 1t
+ grows with the country. It deals not
q only with the army organization OF the
United states and ali that that Implies
s but also witt our coast defense, * our,
vast expenditures upon rivers and 1lar-;
Fl bors. the government and &mnnng
II OF the Philippine Islands. and now with
4 the Panama canal &. 8$8,84S
Nevertheless. tho Secretary OF War.
4 has the advantage of m excellent force
A OF trained men to help him In the work
{ tinued, as he arose and walked to and
"A fro across the room. Everything Is
a thoroughly systematized. and each d.
5lgrlAion Is under trained head gti} Take
A our vast engineering department! That
y Is managed by skilled engineers. under
h q n & engineer officer who has d been edu-
cated rs such and has been doing noth-s
& Tho Squartermaster's Department. is under
a man who has been connected with That,
y department lnll his ltfe; and It'll Is the
Same with every branch of our war
3 business. Indeed overnight almost think
the department. could run itself for a
time without a Secretary Still there
fis much to do. New questions come
up every day. and new lines OF policy
must be considered, Much general d..
grection is required. the question OF mill
tary court arises, and now we have,
IN the government OF our colonies md the
4 Isthmian Canal"
One Hundred and Twenty-Five
.B, Millions.
Can you give me some idea Of the
money involved r.
4s IT. Is not small. said the Secretary
of War. This Is one OF the richest,
z II not the richest among nations OF the
world. and 1T must be prepared to- de-
fend Itself. Our sea coast defenses were
Iegun on the present plan by Congress
3 In 1886 and they have already cost
pletcd and we shall need SOS, 00O. 900 more
before they are done. That. however,
/ is a matter Of time. We spent last
E yearsinSrou numbers more than 81, 800. -
600 in terrifying the Philippines, and we
4 are asking for double that amount this
4 year. We spent something like s3i-5
600. 900 on, public works and rivers and
harbors last year, and tho estimates
OF this year nre more than $40 600. 900.
For the military establishment alone we
arc asking ST. 600. 900, which is little
more than was expended in 1904 Al
together tho total estimates for 1905
are just about 1926 900 ooo.' 535as
Our Army in 1905. 81
5Sssti$ What Is the present condition OF the
army. Mr.; secre tary?" I;
A. Excellent. The war has Improved tho
Il temper OF the men and the service In
Cuba and tho Philippines has made them
better soldiers than ever before. AS
Z to some things n steady improvements
posts In the Philippines attered nll over
the islands. Some were small, and at
II times a lieutenant and even q sergeant
might be In charge OF a post. Under
such conditions. they became lax in their
drill, The number OF posts Is now greatly
reduced and tho drill is improving. Tho
responsibility q sucl, places has done
Is the subordinate officers. They have
learned to rely upon themselves and have
improved In resourcefulness. There Is
no training for war itself, and It seemSto
mo that our soldiers are now In better
condition than they could possibly be
through tho most rigid disc pima ny tac-
4 tics in time OF peace,
The American as Soldier,
''poea the American make u good
& soldier?" n :. 4, !.
"Yes, One Of the best, He Is naturally
fighter; he gadapts himself 70 MS sur
roundings and takes advantage q theIsi,
We are n warlke nation, although Wo
4 have comparatively not many troops \ u
the field. Our army is not expected TO e
defend the country. II Is merely, tho :,
nucleus Of the great american !. aa y, !;
which will rise up whenever 1t Is needed
owhat is the size Of the army now,
Mr.. secretary2'' asked
In round numbers we have about 60
900, officers and men. There are more
than $500 officers and more than $4,000
men, 6 we have more cavalry and Ar
tillery in proportion to the needs eds Of 9
great army than Infantry, ,rhe M
fantry, you know, is the backbone of an
army. It does. It Is estimated 50 per
Cent Of the effective work. But our