The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1910-12-06
WAR DEPARTMENT.
We Are Sadly In Need of More Of
ficers-DeaIs With Militia.

The war department. has within Its
jurisdiction the management of the ar
my and in connection Herewith the
coast defenses, the government OF the
dependencies of the Philippines and of
Porto Rico. the recommendation of
plans for the Improvement of harbors
and waterways and their execution
when adopted and, by virtue of I'm ex-
ecutive order, the supervision of the
construction OF the Panur1a canal.
The army OF the United StateS is a
small body compared with tile total
number OF people for the preservation
of whose peace and good order It is a
last recourse. The army now numbers
about $4,000 men. OF whom about 49,
Oco are engaged In the coast artillery
and detailed to the management and
use of the guns in the forts aud bat
teries that protect our coasts. The rest
of the army, or about 60,oO0, IS the
mobile part of our national forces and
is divided into thirty-one Regiments of
infantry, Including the Porto Rican
regiment, fifteen regiments OF cavalry.
six regiments of field artillery, corps
of ordnance, of engineers and Of sig
nal, uuartermaster's department. a
commissary department and medical
corps.
The general plan for an army OF the
United States at peace should be that
of a skeleton organization with an ex-
cess of tra ned officers and thus capa-
bIe of rapid enlargement by enlist
ment:: . he supplemented in ener-
gen. v the national niIitit ind n
vo!un, r force. In some measure this
plan las been adopted in the very
large proportion of cavalry and field
ARTILLERY rs compared with infantry in
the present army and Oh Al peace basis.
An infantry force can be trained in six
months, Il cavalry or a light artillery
force not under one and Al half or two
years: hence the Importance OF having
ready a larger number OF the more
skilled soldiers.
The militia system. for which con
gress by the constitution is authorized
to provide. was developed by the so
called Dick law, under which the dis
cIpIIne, the tactics. the drill. the rank,
tbe uniform and the various branches
Of the militia are assimil1ted as far as
possible to those OF the regular army.
Under the militia law. as the cOnstl-
tuition provides, the governors Of the
states appoint the militia officers, but
by appropria lions from congress states
have been induced to comply with the
rules of assimilation between the reg
uIar army and the militia, so that now
there is n force, the efficiency of which
differs in different states, which could
be Incorporated under single COM
mand with the regular army and which
for some time each year receives the
benefit Of drill and maueuvers under
conditions approxlmatinE actual mill
80, 7nFs Ol
regular army officers.
In the army of the United States, In
addition to the regular forces and the
rnilitin forces which may be summoned
to the defense of the nation by the
president, there is also the volunteer
force, which made up very large part
of the army In the civil war and which
In any war OF long continuance would
become its most important constituent
There is IN act which dates from the
civil war, known MS the volunteer act
which makes provision for the enlist
ment of volunteers In the army of the
United StatcS Ia time OF war rms
was found to be so defective In the
Philippine war that special act FOL
the organization OF volunteer regiments
to take part In that war was adopted
mud It was much better adapted 10 the
necessities of the case.
There Is now pending in congress n
bill repeating the present volunteer act
and making provision for the organNn
zion OF volunteer forces In time OF
war which is admirably adapted to
meet the exIgencIes which would be
then presented The passage OF the
bill would not entail dollars ex-,
pense upon the government ut tllls
time or In the future until war comes
but when war does come the methods
therein directed are IN accordance wltl,