Omaha daily bee., 1905-10-30
Until Sentiment Changes It Will y
possible to Reduce It.
RECOMMENDS osTRAcIsM AS 6
Runaway Soldiers should Be
Like Other riminals. .
tOPLs HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN ARMY
In Time OF Peace It il Regarded ms
an Institution That May he
Pared Down with
Impunity.

~ .lSHINGToN, OCT. 29-Major General
T. c. Ainsworth. the military secretary in
his second annual report devotes consider
able attention to desertions from the army,
and says:
Many remedies have been proposed, but
consideration.
Those who know how the canteen came
70 De aDolshed are not hopeful for its res
toration, there Is not likely to be such in
crease In the soldier pay as to Offset the
greater inducement In civil pursuits; the
comforts and even luxuries that are FUR
nshed 20 enlisted men in our service are
now even criticised by some as being not
only eXtravagant, but injurious in their
erect on men whose real business IL is to
march and fight, encumbered with few COM
lOrts and no luXuries and the discipline
subjected are not likely to be relaxed in
future.
Little Interest In Army.
Our people have little real interest in the
army IN the time of peace and from the
earliest days of the republic have been ac-
customed to look upon It as a more or less
unnecessary institution that may be pared
down with safety whenever a demand for
fetrenchment of public expenses arises En-
llstment In the army in time OF peace is not
uhcOmmOnly regarded as evidence of worth
lessness on the part of the recruit and de-
sertlon In such time is generally looked
upon as nothing more cuipable than the
breach of a civil contract for service The
deserter suffers little or no loss of caste
by his offense and is seldom without friends
and, to tntercede In his behalf in the COM
parativeiy rare event of his falling into the
Aands OF the military authorities.
Ostracism TOR Deserters.
IL is safe 10 predict that desertion from
the army will continue to be excessive
unless there shall have been a radical
change OF public sentiment toward the
army and until the deserter shall come
10 be regarded the criminal that he is
TO be ostracised and hunted down as re-
ientlessly as any other transgressor OF
- Nm
such a change OF sentiment in the near
future, and there are some who believe
that the change will never come until
our people shall have learned, through
national disaster and humiliation, that the
effective maintenance OF any army OF pro-
fessional soldiers is absolutely essentiah to
the preservation of the national honor and
life and that the trained and discplinc i
troops OF a modern enemy cannot be with
. stood by hastily organized armies of un-
trained or half trained civilians.
Actual. strength. of Army.
General Ainsworth says that the actual
strength Of the entire military establish
ment June 80 last was $500 officers and 81
4SS enlisted men in the regular army 26
officers and $50 enlisted men in the Porto
Rico provisional regiment of infantry. and
los officers and 5.059 enlisted men in the
Philippine scouts, making a total of 1904
officers and 63,022 enlisted men. The maxi
mum strength OF the regular army, not in
Guiding the hospital corps. is now fixed
by executive order at 6O.475 enlisted men,
The losses in the regular army during
the hscal year were:
Oficers killed in action or died Of wounds
diseases, etc, q; resigned or discharged
20; dismissed 49, deserted. 3; retired, 50
total, 1l9
Enlisted men killed in action died ot
wounds, disease, etc. 81; discharged upor
expiration Of term of service. %, 254; dis.
charged for disability. by sentence of court
martial and by order, O,460 deserted, 6,53S
retired, 1S9; total, 3s.SlS.
Battle Flags for War Department.
During the year ga battle flags. in Gus
tody of the War department. were re
turned TO fhe governors of tho states il
which the regiments that bore them weri
raised He says there stil remains her,
452 OF these dags-l64 union and 2Ss con
federate-whose former ownership or Gus
tody Il has been impossible to trace
General Ainsworth recommends tina
, these union 1ags be transferred 10 tn
\ United States military academy and tina
the confederate flags be given 20 som
general confederate memorial or historica
association, perhaps the Louisiana His
torical association at New Orleans, tn
Southern Historical association az Rich
mond. Va. or the United Confederate Vet
erans' association.