Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-08
SEVEN LARGE ARMY POSTS
President and Secretary Taft Arrange to
Consolidate Garrisons,
AIM TO DRILL TROOPS TO ACT IN MASS
BriEades win he Located at Forts
riley, LeaveBworth, Robinson,
sill, san, Houston, Russell
aud OEIethOrpe.

OYSTER BAY, n. Y. July 7-Important
steps calculated to materially develop the
efficiency OF the army were taken today
by President Roosevelt and Secretary Taft
at Sycamore Hill In his last annual mes
sage TO- congress the president said the
number Of posts in which tho army is kept
in time of peace should be materially di-
minished and the posts that are left made
cotrespondingly larger.
This recommendation is to be carried out
at once Seven brigade posts, to be com
manded by brigadcr generals. are TO be
established. Two Others are desired. but
the funds at the disposal OF the secretary
may not be. sufficient to allow OF their
equipment during the present fiscal year.
The posts which the president and seCre-
tsry tentatively decided today to enlarge
10 brigade posts are those at Fort Riley,
Kan; Fort Jeavenworth. kan. Fort Sam
Houston. Tex; Fort Robinson, Neb.; Fort
u. A. Russell, Wyo.; Fort sill, OkL and
Fort Oglethorpe. Ga. It is desired to have
one in PENNSYLVANIA and one on the Pacific
coast but these will have to be taken care
of later Final action regarding these posts
will he taken a week from next Monday,
when Secretary Taft will make second
visit to oyster Bay.
necessity Tor prompt Acti0u.
The necessity for the formulation Of a
complete plan al this time for the develop
ment Of the new scheme is occasioned by
the requirement in the urgency deficiency
appropriation act Of the last session, which
is that all appropriations shall be appor-
toned so as to last throughout the year
for the purposes fer which they were made
without causing a deficiency. The army
appropriation act carries $4,000 for the
creation OF army posts II also carries
10000 600 for barracks and quarters and
$l2,000,OO0 for transportation OF the army
Before this money can be expended
complete plan as to what IL shall be used
for must be made and the lump sum APP
preparations so apportioned so that no de-
ficiency will be created. In attempting to
carry out his plan. the president is simply
following the line he indicated to congress
in his message II is his firm belief that
the army should be trained above all else
to act in a mass To this end he suggested
that provision be made for maneuvers Of
a practical kind. In this plan he says
the generals and colonies would have op-
portunity to handle regiments, brigades and
divisions, and the commissary and medical
departments would be tested in the field
What he added regarding the establishment
of larger army posts was that no local in
terest should be allowed to stand in the
way of assembling the greater part of the
troops, which would, at need, form our
field armies, in stations Of such size as
will permit the best training to be given
to the personnel of all grades, including
the high officers and staff officers
ITO accomplish this end" he said I'VE
must have not company and regimental
garrisons, but brigade and division gar
risons."
wedding Out Process.
The president follows this with comment
on the wedding out process the West Point
Military academy does on prospective army
officers and says there should be, some pro-
cess in the army that would achieve the
same end. -
After a certain age has been reached"
no says, "the average officer is unfit 20
do good work below a certain grade"
Provision, he maintains. should be made
for the promotion OF exceptionally meritor-
GUS men over the heads of their COM
rades, and for retirement of all men who
have reached a given age, without going
beyond given rank The plan now be-
ing worked out by the president and the
secretary Of war. it is intended, will ac-
complish much that the president has ex-
pressed a desire Tor In the foregoing rec
concentrations to congress. The locations
| selected are all places where the govern
ment has large reservations and where
troops may be mobilized to advantage for
maneuvers or other purposes. At Ogl9-
thorpe, Ga, the post is adjacent to the
Chickamauga National park.
Secretary Taft spent but two hours
with the president today. He arrived
from Washington at 1915 o'clock this
morning and left on the noon train. This
was Secretary Tafts first visit to Oyster
Bay. Besides going over the army post
matter the secretary discussed the speech
he is to deliver to the republican state
| convention of North Carolina Green's
boro) Monday night.
| The secretary has one more speaking
engagement, an address before the Ohio
Bar association at Put-inBay, after
which he is to take a two months rest
at Murray bay, eighty miles below Que.
bee, on the st. Lawrence river, Canada.
The secretary will accompany the presi-
dent to Panama, and said the start for
the isthmus would be made Immediately
after the November elections, that the
president might be in Washington before
the opening of congress