Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-18
ANNUAL ARMY CIRCUS
Yearly Merry-Go-Round Will
Soon Be in Motion.
ENDURANCE Of OFFICERS
Tests by Walking or Riding Must
Be Sustained.
TAFT ADOPTS ROOSEVELT PLAN
Rides From Fort Myer Will Be Be-
gun September 81 and October 1.
Ninety Miles in Three Days.

| prove his stability in the matter OF riding
a horse ninety miles in three days without
dropping either himself or his mount.
| That is the sieve through which nearly III
| per cent of the field officers of the army
were filtered out of the service last year.
The results are expected 10 be but little
less startling this year.
President Taft, following the sugges-
tions of Gen Bell, the chief OF staff, in
dorsed the Roosevelt horsemanship test
, and has failed to heed the pleadings from
various sources in the army that the
Roosevelt test be modified.
This. the greatest uniform army circus
on earth, is to have so many rings that 1t
will take the reviewing authorities, in
swivel chairs. in Washington a long time
to review them. The center of the arena
will be held by Gen. Wood, the ranking
officer i'm the east, and by Gen. Grant in
the central west. There will be several
rings within these rings, one main ring for
each of the nine big departments in the
United States and three general rings in
the Philippines. Incidently there will be
little side show down on the Canal Zone.
Another ring, which was located in Cuba
last year, will not be re-opened.
Public Not Invited.
There are no flaming red, white and
blue posters flown to the breezes nor
pasted on the bilboards announcing this
great circus. The public is not invited :;
in fact. it is not wanted. Every aged
officer or officer who has fears of being
railrOaded or ridden. rather, out of the
army. prefers that the show be pulled
off way back in the woods where none
may see. His wishes are being respected
as far possible. and no one. not even
the officers taking the test, will know his
route of travel until he is actually cover
ing it. The first test of fifteen miles two
years ago was such joke that many
officers were made more sore by the news
paper gibes than by the saddle-seat. Last
year the amount of publicity was less
ened considerably by direction from the
War Department that the officers conduct
ing the tests select remote rural roads,
This year the order is that even more
secrecy must prevail. SO that the tests
may be over and the officers back at
their posts without the denizens of the
community where they were held realizing
what had occurred.
New Plan of Comparisons.
The carefully laid plans for secrecy may
miscarry. however. for confidential order
specifying the dates and the general To-
calfty OF the rides has gone astray. The
shows will be held as nearly as possible
at the same time this year, and under
weather and climatic conditions as near
alike as possible, in order that a new
ability of the older officers may be en-
ployed This is for the purpose of deter
mining the actual value of the officer
above sixty years of age for horseman-
ship in the field in time OF war The tests
will be conducted during the last week
In SeDtemDpr and the first yEaalc In
October. within the judgment Of the de-
partment commander, as relating to the
recent work of the officers and horses in
maneuVers, etc.
The fall season Is regarded as the most
practicable for the tests in that nearly all
of the maneuvers and other summer work
will have been completed by that time
Aside from this, it was deemed advisable
to. have the tests in the fall. on the
strength of reports from the quartermas-
tiers that the horses suffered last year
from the heat and dust of the roads more
than the officers. Last year the tests were
begun in July and extended Ito the LIST Of
November. the limit of time when they
must be completed. in accordance with or
ders. This years tests are to be the
same as those of last year. The distance
to be covered horseback is ninety miles in
three days. of six hours in each of two
days and seven hours on another day.
Coast Artillery. Engineer Corps and pay
officers have the option of taking the
walking test of fifty miles in the same
period of time. A larger number of these
horsemanship test in preference TO the
walk
Commanders Of Departments.
BY the War Department orders the tests
will be conducted in the different depart
ments under the direction of the depart
ment commanders. as follows:
Philippines division. Maj. Gen. w P.
Duvall; Department of Luzon. Brig. Gen.
w. H. Carter; Department of the Visayas,
Brig. Gen. D. X. Brush; Department Of
Mindanao. commander not assigned.
Department of the East, Maj. Gen..
Leonard Wood: Department of the Lakes,
Maj, Gen. F. D. Grant; Department of
California, Maj. Gen. j. F. Weston; De-
partment of the Colorado Brig. Gen Earl
d. Thomas; Department of the Columbia
Brig. Gen. NJ. P. Maus: Department of the
Dakota, Brig. Gen. Charles l.. Hodges
Department of the Gulf. Brig. Gen. A. L.
Mills; Department of Missouri, Brig Gen
Charles Morton; Department of Texas
Brig. Gen. a. L. Myer.
Gen. Wood, it appears, Is not so fond OF
the saddle as Gen. Grant is. The latter
| divided the Department of the East into
| three rides last year-one in Vermont
| another in New York and another at
| Fort Myer. conducting each himself and
| thus riding over 900 miles, including
rides to and from the starting point in
| less than six weeks. Gen. Wood has sim
| piried the matter by making two rides
at Fort Myer. two at Fort Ethan Allen
| and one at Albany. He will personally
| conduct only. the last one. each of the
others being under the personal direction
| of the senior officer taking the test in
each
The first Fort Myer and Fort Ethan
! Allen rides will be on the same days,
September 81, Is and %. The second Fort
| Ayer and Fort Ethan Allen rides also
| will be on the same days. October I,
| and 3. The Albany ride will be on Octo-
Der 49, II and II
First Fort Myer Ride.
The detail for the first Fort Myer ride
is as follows: Col. Joseph Garrard. 18th
Cavalry. Fort Myer, in charge; Lieut..
Coils. William c. Iangf1tt. Corps of Engi-
neers. Washington barracks: Edwin P.
Andrus. I'd Cavalry, Fort Slocum. N. Y;
Majs. Frank A. Keefer Medical Corps,
| Fort Wadsworth, N Y Samuel Reber
| Signal Corps, New York city; Francis A.
| Winter. Medical Corps. Fort Myer; Rob-
| ert S. Woodson. Medical Corps, Fort
| Hamilton, n. Y; Richmond MICA. Scho-
| field. quartermaster's department, New
York city; Charles G. Treat. Sd Field Ar
| tillery, Fort Myer: F. S. Foltz, 18th Cav
airy, Fort Myer: Benjamin W. Atkinson,
| 18th Infantry, Philadelphia: Thomas B.
| Dugan. I'd Cavalry. Fort Slocum: Mai.
| Harry l.. Hawthorne. c. A. c., New York
city; Richmond P. Davis. c. A c.. Fort
Monroe, Va; II. c.. Schumm. c. A. c.,
| To- IJa,, 7 S1x,lx