The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-07
BETTER PAY
 FOR SOLDIERS Taft Makes Recommen- dations for Army. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS A Better Discipline and a Higher
 Efficiency. The Secretary is of Opinion That the Military Service Should Be
 Made More Att
 tractive.
ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS

for the army and his annual report just sent to Congress, completely dis
 pels any doubt that may exist as 10 the Secretary's position.
 The report begins with formidable presentation of figures showing the rapid decrease in strength of the reg ular army in recent years, the loss | last year being no less than 4.42S men, and the pressing need of officers 10 | replace those now detailed on recruit ing duty or as military instructors | in educational institutions The Sec | retary declares that while many req | sons have been advanced to explain | the difficulty, sufficient one Is to | be found in the inadequacy of army | pay.
 T think 1t quite probable" he says, that an increased pay of the enlist | ed men, including considerable addi-
 tional inducement to re-enlistment and | such reasonable increase In the pay i of non commissioned officers as would | stimulate men to remain in the ser | vice and to qualify themselves for these higher positions. would have marked official effect upon the recruit I ment of the army"
 The Naval System.
 The Secretary earnestly favors the | adoption for the army of the navy | system. under which the President is authorized to fix the rates of pay with | in defined limits as means of ob- taiiing a better discipline and high
 CT efficiency. He also recommends the l creation of a general service corps to | relieve the soldiers of the vast amount
 of unmilitary work they are now call | ed upon to perform In his opinion, l the military service should be so at
 tractive and desirable that 1t will not be difficult to get and hold the class
 of mon needed for the enlisted person. | k. e zVBNa work. as 1t used to be, by offering
 rewards for proficiency and greater
 increase of pay for length of timel served. The regular army last year inst Issl officers and 2s.31O eniisted men, and.
 although it was q year of peace, IA
 of the officers and 3s of the enlisted
 men were killed in action or died
 of wounds and disease.
 To Create New Posts. The Secretary has decided to create one of the new regimental posts at
 Baguio. in the Philippines, and asks
 for an. appropriation for the purpose. He also urges an enlargement of Fort Mckinley reservation near Manila, by | 5000 acres at q cost of sis5.ooo. and the construction of an electric railroad | from Camp Overton. on the north shore of Mindanao. to Camp Keithley. on Lake Lanao, in the center of the Mo TO country. He compares Baguio to the Adirondacks atmosphere and cli- mate and says that nothing could be of more benefit to the army than a post at that point. where every regi
 ment in the island might be sent at some time during its term of duty in the islands.
 A profound conviction of the im- portance of the subject leads the Sec- retary to earnestly adjure Congress to ertN tn ha C0is nf the military department. which has been overlooked. notwithstanding at tion having repeatedly been called to 1t. The Secretary says
 Competent Surgeons.
 ''The failure to make proper and ad- equate provision for the health and comfort of the volunteer forces in tho time of war. and this can only be done by creating a sufficiently largo body of competent surgeons with mil itary knowledge and training-not on- ly needlessly prolongs the struggle and involves the country In expendi- lures of money far in excess of the actual cost of making prepore provis- ion in advance. but, most deo'0rable of all. brings sorrow and anxiety to households all over the land, and con tinues many promising youths to un- necessary suffering and possibly to a premature grave"
 Among the estimates submitted is an item of $6,4sS, 900 for the construc- ton of batteries at Manila and Subig Bay. This estimate appears in con nection with the insular possessions and the only comment made upon its report is this:
 ''The places recommended for forti- fications have all been visited by one or more members of the national coast defense board and the suitability for fOrtiacatiOn sites has beeD carefulIv studied by the board. and expendi- lures are being made accordingly"
 Estimates for Support.
 Accompanying the report are the es- inmates for the sUpport of the military establishment during the next fiscal year, the same being $ll.5S2,s31 great CT than last years appropriation. By far the greater part of the increase Imore than 90 per cent) is for coast defense works, of which about $2l,- 700.000 is required for the United States, and $s4OO,OoO for the insular possessions.
 In concluding the report Secretary Taft says:
 'It seems to me that the time has come to recognize in the same way the service of one who was not a soldier, but who, as secretary of war. render ed heroic service in the preservation of the union and whose strong person. ality and intellectual force made him one of the great historical figures in a national crisis. Edward M. Stanton labored for the maintenance and per- petuity of this government with unfal- tering courage and with a vigor that knew no abatement recommend that Congress make adequate provision for the erection of a statue to Secretary stanton in the city of Washington. where his great work was done, and where his remains are buried