Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1906-07-25
wA1PPLE TO BE A IARoE1 POST.
(from Fridsv's Dsilv

'"'' evening to a representative of this paper was that recently given by . eo'o"e' Of the regular army in Los Angeles, with whom myself as well as ssner Arizonaus were conversing.
 "The subject came up first over the continent of the people of this terri. 'ory on The statehood question, in which this officer predicted that from D" Knowledge of the type of Americans with whom he once was familiarly as. sociated while stationed at whipplc barracks, the merging of the two peo. ples would be n disastrous proposition and would meet with disapproval on the part of the IIassa yamper, be firm. Y believed.
 "DigFessing from the statehood is sue, this officer adverted to the sub. iect of whipple's rehabilitation. say. isg to the party: T see you people down there are having a oew post re. built. Such being the ease, would like now very much to give you some inside reasons why the old pos, has been selected as the site of what is in. tended to be made one of the grea, est points of rendezvous in the United States, and incidentally speaking ,hc snly barracks of it's kind that will ever be maintained by the military in thi. country. To be brief, it |, to be the iuvaliding garrison of the entire army of the United States. and it afford. me great amount of pleasure 10 be able to speak advisediy on the subject. To recall the past that has led to the selec. tiop of whipple, 1 win relate the mat. ter briefly md in detail. About five years ago tho wnr department realized that it was face to face with n deli. cate and n somcwht dangerous proposi. ton, that of having desirable center in which to cnrc for the disabled men of the service serving not only with. in the boundaries of the union. but in its insuiar possc~sions. Accordingly q confidential officer of the war ,le. pertinent wss given carte blanche 10 travel over tho union. and cndeavor to make selection suitable for the pur. pose of the military, and he was spe. ci6caliy instructed to follow three lines of instructions, and to ripidlv a. far ss possible observe the same.
 The first wns elevation. Not under 4,500 above sen level, and not over $500 above.
 The second was the purity of the wa. ter supply, solids being taken as inc bssis of the quaiity.
 Tho third was the general climatic conditions in summer and winter
 'This officer travelled for nearly two years in m effort to find these eondi. 'ions prevailing. At the termination of his service his report was in favor of whipple at Prescott. Arizona, and he unhesitatingly recommended its selection. Hm general resume was highly interesting to the war council, but when ono of the most vital mat. 'ers under consideration wns given by him, and later substantiated by chem isal snalysis that of the water sup ply available for the new garrison --- the revelation he made wns simply start. ling. Hc stated that the water sup ply of Prescott wss the pusest with but one exception, of my in the United States consumed by municipal 'corpo. rations, Exceisior Springs holding first place, hut the percentage in favor of the latter did not materially affect that question. Tue elevation was perfect for the purposes 0f recuperation to stricken soldiers, while the general climatic conditions were admirably adapted for that purpose
 In addition to giving ont this inter e-ting information, the above officer stated that the work now under hesd' way N Whipple is but the beginning of system that will take at least ten years to complete. The forthcoming appropriations he believed are to be heavier than in the past, and so far as the work has progressed and the re- juvenating qualities of the new post were satisfactory in every manner. To- geiher with presenting this data, and in making these desirable feature" known to the war department, many Arizonans figured, and such sonsidera' ton, backed up officially by one mem Der of the war board, has crystallized what is to be in the future one of the most magnificent garrisons in the eoun' try, and one of the largest also as re- gards the number of men to be cared