New-York tribune., 1909-07-17
ARMY AND NAVY.
Efforts to Tighten Soldiers Barde"
Haze Little Success.
From The Tribune Bureau
!. L. ~ On

rFrou1 The Tribune Bureau.1
Washington July Is
,,,,,, ,,or.,- rc1.A,-r FxPERIMENTS.-The ef-
,~ts so 70 modify the equipment Of the foot SOL
die- &C materially to reduce his burden "hicH "1
being made by the infantry board a INC -
island arsenal are not meeting win any BIe01
oss Tho hoard Is composed Of experienced oIllceIS
of the infantry arm, headed by Colonel Henry a.
crecra nth Infantry To this board all the queS-
+Iors presented from various sources in the Iast
few years have been referred, together with Fdeo
and yorninous suggestions nada At diereIl I-'ile
and acquired from European sources OF lntoihla-
tIo, concerning the articles which should be car
ried by the soldier It has been hed lhaI l.'e
weight horne may be materially reduced from the
Aftv pounds the foot soldier now carries IN t1e
deld Just how this be done is serious ques~
ton and involves such problems as the iIHpIe
ments of warfare, the emergency ration and the
bapkets- tentage end other articles which the sol
dier must have with him in the way Of shelter
The desire is to increase the mobility OF infantry
by removing as much possible Of the material
the soldier carries his person. It was found in
Cuba that the soldiers threw away many Of the
articles with which they were burdened, trusting to
luck sometimes with disaster to health and sacTi-
fee of life for protection against the rains and
the climate generally. The board must also bear
In mind the efficiency Of the individual soldier as
unit Of the fighting force. Whatever is taken
from him and is OF must be otherwise trans
ported and this means the carrying Of articles
which may be used al any time. The reports re-
ceivcd IN washington from the board at ROCK Isl
and indicate that it IS almost impossible TO deter
mine what is best to be done, and already the rec
concentrations made by various officers in Wash
ington have met with the disapproyal OF the board
resulting in considerable correspondence and the
prospect that some much cherished IDEAS which
have been tentatively adopted viii be abandoned
especially Il the infantry equipment board reports
against them.
As an aid to the determination Of these CUES
lions there will be ordered to Rock Island force
Of infantry to test the various new models and to
put into practice some Of the theories which have
been submitted. The board viii also visit one of
the larger military posts probably Fort Benjamin
Harrison, In Indiana, and conduct experiments and
tests on a more extended scale. One Of the army
arsenals is at Rock Island, and the plant has been
placed at the disposal Of the board for the manu-
facture of specially designed implements which are
believed to offer an Improvement over the exist
ing equipment. The expectation is that the recon-
mendations VIII be radical and go fully into the
question Of weapons. shelter material, subsistence
and soldiers clothing An idea Of the thorouShness
Of the investigation IS conveyed by one Of the ques
tions just submitted to the board It has to do
with the detail of the campaign hat and relates to
such questions the width of the brim and the
height Of the. crown and whether the hat sb III
be worn with the peak or the alpine crease.
A more important question is the food which the
individual soldier should be required carry. The
recommendation has been made that 1t shall con-
sist of enough food Nto last him three days. but
some officers believe that this should be condensed
IN bulk, and there Immediately arises question
as to how much Of a ration will suffice TO sUs ain
a soldier in the field. II is desired also TO have
ration which can be so composed and enveloped
that the component parts viii be readily available
in the market without the necessity Of producers
going to the trouble, expense and time necessary
to prepare specially made articles. Such a pro-
ceeding would, of course, interfere with ade
quata supply. especially with the estimate that
the provisions and all other reserve stock should
be based maintaining an army Of at least 100000
men, This means a product Of considerable volume.
and advantage must be taken It is felt by prudent
officers OF existing commercial facilities. that
the supply may De uninterrupted and in quantities
which will meet the maximum demand under
emergency conditions.
It is appreciated by army officers that these
questions are momentOus, and with the diversity
Of military view which confronts the infantry
board at Rock Island It is imaginable that
clusions will reached only after much debate
and will probably be received with considerable
criticism. Unanimity Of recommendation may be
achieved, it is foreseen, by compromise the
part of members of the board, but any decisions
which are reached will undoubtedly be the object
of complaint that much better results could have
been obtained. The work of the infantry board
will undoubtedly be followed by similar boards for
the field artillery and the cavalry, with the hope
that the mobility Of those arms may be increased.
The work Of the subsequent boards viii be less
arduous. they profit largely by the decisions
reached at Rock Island.