Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-12
Secretary Taft Says Uncle Sam
Has Trouble Keeping Quota
of Fighters
NOT BLAMELEss
OFFICERS
Responsible for Conditions Because Of
Too Frequent Arrests for Petty Of
fenses-Work of Recruiting is Too
sIow-Annual Report Of War Score.
tary.

Sam is having trouble in keeping his
force of fighting men up to require
ments, according to the annual report
of Secretary Taft of the war depart-
ment to President Roosevelt. The ac-
| tual strength Of the regular army on
| October Is was 3,709 officers and 54,-
$50 enlisted men. not counting the hos
pital corps, the Porto Rican regiment.
and the Philippine scouts. This Is a
decrease Of LAS men.
Moreover, Secretary Taft complains
that assertions are on the increase, and
that recruiting, Notwithstanding the
utmost efforts Of the army, is falling
off. The percentage of men who ran
away from military service last year
was IA per cent, against 6.S per cent in
the preceding year. The authorized
strength of the army is Sass men.
AS remedy Secretary Taft suggests
that the number of officers absent from
their posts on detached service be les
sened. To the consequent interference
with the discipline and efficiency of
their commands the secretary lays
much of the desertion.
Another thing which tends to make
the men dissatisfied with army life, he
thinks, is the frequent Mailing OF them
before court for minor offenses. On this
point he says:
ut is apparent from the records that
many men have been tried for most
trivial offenses. This is most ddscour-
aging to the soldier. Once tried his
record is spoiled, his pride suffers. He
becomes disheartened and grows care
less, and more trials follow"
Secretary Taft estimates the cost of
the army for the next fiscal year at
s146,247,049. against s104,9sS.267 for the
year ending. June 80, next. A great
amount of this he would spend on coast
defenses which are far from salts
factory to him. 1t is estimated that
s50,0O0,000 is needed to complete ths
defenses In the United States and near
ly $20.000,0o0 for the insular possess
sions.
Secretary Taft points out the unpre-
paredness of this country in case OF
an attack by foreign navy. Chesa-
peake bay, the key to Washington, and
commercially and strategically. he de-
clares, of first Importance, is unfortt-
fled. He quotes the Endicott board as
follows:
Should hostile fleet gain control Of
the bay, 1t can establish, without COM
ing under the fire of single gun,
base on its shores, pass in and out at
pleasure, have, access to large quanti-
ties of valuable supplies of all kinds,
and paralyze the great trunk railroad
lines across the head OF the bay"
The secretary reiterates his recent
public utterances that the dismissal of
the negro troops for the Brownsville
riot was the proper thing to do.
Secretary Taft asks for $62,692 for
the Rock Island arsenal for the next
fiscal year, $12,500 for the power plant,
and s137,50O for the maintenance and
reconstruction Of the bridge. Two
hundred thousand dollars is requested
for a target range at Fort Sheridan,
and $3.50 for the confederate mound in
lakewood cemetery, Chicago.
For road to the national cemetery
at Keokuk, Iowa, he estimates $500 to
be expended in 1908, and for the post
cemetery at Old Fort Mackinac $1,000.
Seventy-five thousand dollars is re-
quested for the survey Of northern and
northwestern lakes.