The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-12-25
REoRGANIzE THE ARMY!

III ls dlSCOuFd5lOg 10 sec Jue lbhiliNi-
euce with which the earnest, practical
and common-sense pleas of General
Wood for the reorganization of the
Army OF the United States are re-
ceived. There is no indication that
Congress rcpcnts OF its vicious deal
ing with the Army. The Army is main
tained, from the Congressional stand
point. not for the purpose of having
a fighting force available for the dc.
feuse of the Nation, but in order that
the governmental expenditures for the
troops and the cost of housing and pre-
pairing permanent posts for them, may
be as widely distributed among the
tradesmen as possible. The availability
OF troops for use on call is lost sight
of, and the chief aim Of Congress ap-
pears 10 be commercial instead of mil
itsy
General Wood wishes the Army to
be on a thorough military basis; he
wants the troops massed, SO that they
can be trained in their military ma
neuvers and duties. lie wants the
posts where these troops are Co be
stationed TO be SO distributed as to
make the troops Immediately available
in case of invasion or need. The only
weak point in his programme is the
want of reserve forces, but this is per
haps because OF the smallpess of the
Army, which does not admit OF the
reserves that ought to be held back in
interior posts, and there thoroughly
drilled and prepared for their active
duty.
1t has been abundantly demonstrated
in the wars Of the past that dreadful
and sickeuing waste of men S lives and
OF public resources, as well as the
jeopsrdlzing of the National life. are
directly brought on by uuprcparedness
for war. Of the upwards of 100000
men, enlisted on the Union side in
the War Of the Rebellion. probably at
no timo was there available for duty
at the front, to exceed one.fourth of this
force. Most of the time the troops
available on the firing liue were mere
fraction of tho total enrolled. The
vast bulk of tho Army was in the hos
pital or on light duty, the meu not
being 6t for campaigns The reasons
for this were twofold, incxpcrt officer.
ing and careless enlsting, but the
chief reason was the iuezperiencc OF
the volunteer officers. who were ieno.
raDtly elected by the companies TO
them. Those officers knew
about caring for their men,
aud the men wasted away like snow
in the spring-time sun.
Whenever there is need OF an Army. |
the United States never has it.. Tho
shameful, impotent campaigns OF the !
war of 1872 tell The story even more
strongly than the waste of life and |
treasure in the War Of the Rebellion.
But VIC never learn anything from
those dreadful lessons, and have the
same old round OF inefectiveness al |
ways presented whenever the need of
action is presented. It. was
the same In the Spanish American war.
we called out troops in quadruple mum.
bcrs as compared with the need. and
those troops rottcd in the camps under |
their volunteer officers without care,
without service, a shame TO the mill. |
tary system of the republic. It has
been fairly said that "'if we ever have
a war the blood Of thousands of Amerl. !
can young men will be on the hands /
of corn-fed statesmen 1t is a true
saying, and it is saying born of OK
perIence, where that waste of thou. |
sands of lives of young men has been
TO no purpose whatever.