Evening star., 1909-05-31
Taft lauds Regular Soldier;
Pleads for Adequate Army


We are gathered at this historic spot
To-Day 10 dedicate monument to the
memory OF the officers and the enlisted
men OF the regular army who gave u2
thelr lives for their country in the
iifee days battle. 1t is but a tardy
recognition of the nations debt to its
brave defenders whose allegiance was
purely TO the nation without local color
or strengthening of state or municipal
pride.
he danger of a standing army. en-
Ieftalned by our ancestors, is seen in
the constitutional restrictions and the
complaints registered in the Declara-
1lon of Independence. 1t has always
been easy to awaken prejudice against
the possible aggressions of a regular
army and professional Soldiery. and
correspondingly difficult to create
among the people that love and pride
IN the army which we find today aad
frequently in the history of the coun-
try aroused on behalf of the navy
Standing Army in the Past.
This has led to a varied and changea
bic policy in respect to the regular army
AT times it has been reduced to almost
nothing. In 1854 there were but eighty
men who constituted the regular army OF
the United States. and of these Battery F
of the 4th Artillery Corps had tifty-five
of them.
Bur generally the absolute necessities
in the defense of the country against the
small wars, which embrace SO large a
part of our history, have induced the
maintenance of a regular force, small to
be sure, but one so well trained and eff
fective as always to reflect credit upon
the nation.
In the war of 1S1o. had we had reg
nlar army of 10000 men, trained as such
an army would have been. we should
have been spared the humiliation of the
numerous levies of unframed troops and
the enormous expense of raising an army
on paper of 100000 or 10000 men, be-
cause, with effective force of 10000
men. we might have promptly captured
Canada and ended the war
The service rendered by the regular
army in the Mexican war was far great
>er in proportion than that which it rem
dered in the civil war. The success which
attended the campaigns of Taylor and OF
Scott was largely due to that body OF
men.
ITO the little army of 5000 men tina,
survived the civil war we owe the open
ing up of the entire western country. The
hardships and the trials of frontier Indian
campaigns, which made possible the con
struction OF the Pacific railroads, have
never been fully recognized by our peo
pie. And the bravery and courage and
economy of force. compared with the task
performed by our regular troops. have
Congress ore the nation.
New Use for Regular Soldiers.
To-day. as a result of the Spanish war
the added responsibilities of our new de-
pendencies in the Philippines and Porte
Rico, and for some time Cuba, together
with a sense of Importance of our posi-
ton as a world power. have led TO the in
crease in our regular army to a large,
force than ever before in the history oi
the country, but not larger in proportion
10 the increase in the population anC
wealth than in the early years of the
republic
1t should not be reduced.
The profession of arms has always
been an honorable one. Under conditions
of modern warfare it has become highly
technical and requires years of experience
and study 10 adapt the officers and mer
to its requirements.
The general purpose of Congress and
the American people. if one can say there
Is a plan or purpose. is to have such a
nucleus as regular army that 1t may
furnish skeleton for rapid enlargement,
In times of a war TO force ten or twenty
times it's size and at the same time be
an appropriate instrument for accomplish
ing the purpose of the government in
crises likely to arise other than a war
AT West Point have been able tC
prepare body of professional soldiers
we'll trained. TO officer an army anG
numerous enough at the opening of the
civil war To give able commanders [,
both sides OF that internecine strife
Heroes of Gettysburg.
Upon the side of the north many o.
the officers were drafted to command tn.
volunteer troops from the states, Will,
the regular army, aggregating abou
10000 at the opening of the war, was in
creased 10 about 25,0o0 during it's frs
year.
More than half this army was engaged
in the battle of Gettysburg. Time doe
not permit TO mention the names o
the heroes of the regular army who's
blood stained the historic field. and who's
sacrifices made the Union victory possible
With my intimate knowledge of th
regular army, their high standard o
duty. their efficiency soldiers, thei
high character men. L have seized thi
opportunity TO come here to testify to til
pride which the nation should have in II
regular army and to dedicate this monu
ment TO the predecessors of the presen
regular army, field which the
won undying glory and perpetual graft
tude from the nation which they served
They had not the local associations
they had not the friends and neighbors O
the volunteer forces TO See to il that thei
deeds of valor were properly recorded an
the value OF their services suitably note
in the official records by legislative an
congressional action. And they have nov
to depend upon the truth of history an
i'll the cold. calm retrospect of the wa