Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-06
WAR Department.

| WAR Department.
The War Department has within its jul
risdiction the management of the army.
and, in connection Herewith, the coast
defenses; the government OF the depend
| encies of the Philippines and Of Porto
Rico; the recommendation Of plans for
| the Improvement of harbors and watef-
| ways and their execution when adopted;
and, by virtue of an executive order, the
| supervision >of the construction OF the
| Panama canal
The army of the United States Is
small body compared with the total num-
Der Of people for the preservation OF
whose peace and good order it is a last
recourse The army now numbers about
$1,000 men, Of whom about $1,000 are en-
gagged in the coast artillery and detailed
to the management and use of the guns
in the forts and batteries that protect
our coasts. The rest Of the army or
about $4,000, is the mobile part Of our
national forces, and Is divided into II
regiments Of infantry, including the Porto
Rican regiment, Is regiments OF cavalry,
6 regiments Of field artillery corps OF
ordnance of engineers, and of signal.
! quartermaster's department., commas
The general plan for an army OF the
United States at peace should be that of
a skeleton organization with an excess OF
trained officers and thus capable OF, rapid
enlargement by enlistments, to be supple
| mented in emergency by the national
militia and volunteer force. In some
measure this plan has been adopted In
the very large proportion OF cavalry ana
field artillery as compared with infantry
in the present army and on peace basis.
An infantry force can be trained In six
months; cavalry or a light artillery
force not under one and one-half or two
years; hence the Importance of having
ready a larger number of the more
skilled soldiers.
The militia system. for which Congress
by the Constitution is authorized to pro-
, vide, was developed by the so-cailed DICK
law, under which the discipline. the tao
the various branches of the militia are
assimilated as far as possible to those
Of the regular army. Under the militia
law. as the Constitution provides. the
governors of the states appoint the militia
officers, but by appropriations from Con-
gress, states have been induced to COM
ply with the rules of assimilation between
the regular army and the militia, so that
now there is a force, the efficiency OF
which differs in different states, which
could be incorporated under a single
command with the Regular Army. and
which for some time each year receives
the benefit Of drill and maneuvers under
conditions approximating actual military
service, under the supervision Of regular
army officers.
Volunteer Bill Earnestly Urged.
In the army Of the United States. in
, addition to the regular forces and the
militia 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 an act which dates from the civii
war, known as the volunteer act, Whlch
makes provision for the enlistment or
volunteers in the army OF the United
States in time of war. This was Iound
| to be SO defective in the Philippine war
| that a special act for the organization OF
volunteer regiments to take part IN tnat
war was adopted, and 1t was much bet
ter adapted to the necessities of the case.
There is now pending in Congress bill
repeating the present volunteer act ana
making provision for the organization or
volunteer forces In time OF war, wnich
gencies which would be then presented.
| The passage of the bill would not entail
| a dollars expense upon the government
| at this time, or in the future, until war
| comes. OuI WNeu wal OOCS SoiiO TIC
methods therein directed are in accord
ance with the best mi itary Judgment as
| to what they ought to be, and the act
! would prevent the necessity for the dis
| cussion of new legislation and the de,
| lays incident to it's consideration and
adoption. / earnestly urge the passage
of this volunteer bill.
I further recommend that Congress es-
| tablish a commission to determine as
| early as practicable comprehensive pol.
~, Niya MI
| administration Of the regular army. the
| organized militia and the volunteer forces
| in the event of war.
Need for Additional Officers.
One of the great difficulties i'll the
| prompt organization and mobilization OF
| militia and volunteer forces is the alb
sence OF competent officers Of the rank
| of captain to teach the new army, by the
| unit of the company. the business OF be-
ing soldiers and OF taking care OF them
This need of army officers can only be
supplied by provisions of law authorizing
I the appointment OF greater NUMBER or
army officers than are needed a, to supply supply
| now enlisted in the service There are
| enough regular army officers to command
| the troops now enlisted. but Congress has
authorized, and the department has
|
| and exercised the authority con-
| fcrred by detailing these army off,
| GERS to duty other than that Of the COM
mand of troops. For instance, there are
| a large number of army officers assigned
| to duty with military colleges or In col
| leges in which military training Is given
| Then q large number of officers are as
| signed to general staff duty. and there
! are various other places to which army
| officers can be and are legally assigned,
| which take them away from their reg1-
ments and companies
Army Officers to Drill Militia.
! In order that the militia Of each state
| should be properly drilled and made more
| like the regular army, regular army ON
/ GERS should be detailed to assist the adj
! tutant general Of each state in the super
vision OF the state militia but this Is inn
/ possible unless provision Is made by Con-
| gress for a very considerable increase In
the number of company and field officers
/ OF the army. bill was pending in the
/ last session of Congress for this purpose.
| and l earnestly hope that. in the interest
| of the proper development of a republi-
| can army, an army small In the time o.
| peace. but possible Of prompt and ade-
| uuate enlarr ement in time of war, shall
! become possible under the laws of the
United states.