Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1912-02-20

senate. Las fuerzas auxiliaries re-
Gently organized In many OF the Mex
lean states are cavalry organization.
under the control Of the war depart.
mcnt and while practically this may
not have much significance. n should
be realized nevertheless that ever
Mexico yea the necesessity o. pro
vidlng herself with a force which viii
combine effectively the qualities oil
the infantry with those Of the cayal
ny the very thing aimed a. 20 %,
United States.
strength of OIgari,cd Infantry.
The regular infantry and the oJ.
gained infantry militia number 1-l.
i05. The regular cavalry on Januar,
! was approximately 1900 and n,
ORGANIZED militia cavalry approx
mately i20o State troops are CON.
posed almost entirely OF infantry. a.
mat Is the arm most needed 10 pro,
scr,e Internal order, is the easiest
10 train and the cheapest 10 support
We therefore find the troops ~ sup,
ported, poorly mounted and indiffer
emily trained.
IN connection with militia cNalr,
attention Is invited 10 an extract iron
a speech Of Senator ia Point. chair.
man of the military committee Of
the scaate January Q, 1912.
Tho organized militia is even
more open to criticism as an ill-bal.
auCed military force than the regu.
lar army, and while. so far as th.
regular establishment Is concerned
proper proportions OF the various
arms could bee provided by appro.
PIRATE legislation. this would not bt
rossiLle In the Case of the organized
militia, rs 1t is evident that ON &C
count of .he expense involved tho
states could not keep up large hodio.
OF cavalry and light artillery, and 4
s. therefore inevitable that the great
hulk Of the organized militia must
always belong 20 the infantry and
coast artillery As matters now stand
throYeh no fault of its own the or
aui1ed militia on a peace footing
has only about two field guns 10
loco rifles. an actual deficiency OF
about 2"1 field gems and 81 II be
"t ON a War footing Nhl.h would
nearly dor Die its present mlautrl
-%tfouath it wo.lt have ABOUT on1
% ld gun 90 zoe rifles, "a deficiency
nl nearly GOr field guns.
Cavalry Needs Training.
last wear during the 1legican up.
rism-, practically IN the a,ailabl,
cavalry OF the United States was on
'ho border Had it been necessary e.
cross oyc~ th.s country would hay.
been woeuliy short in mounted
troops. Cavalry worthy of the name
can no more bo oytcmporailed than
can field artillery. n Is angolutcl,
important to rave q large number OF
trained cavalry az the outbreak d.
war. especially in ease of trouble
either with orr northern or southern
%nei2hbors. Owing TO the enormous
extent of the country and of those
contiguous 10 It. and Of the dolblc
role of the cavalry. its percentage to
other branches should be larger in
fhe Uuited States than In other coun-
tries. In fact. u cavalry is both
cavalry and mounted infantry. and
'sed as the latter II has enormous
advantages In CELEBRITY. II Is, there.
fore, just as reasonable 10 cut down
infantry which Is already far toe
small as % reduce the cavalry.
II is true that cavalry is expen.
siye. but II is none the less absolu.
tely essential. and when required II
can be- used as the equal of foot
troops. as happened during the San
tiago campaign Fifteen regiments
Of cavalry In a population OF 100
0oO, 600 people. inhahitating an enor-
nous country g.70o,000 square
niles with various outlying depen-
denotes Is a very small force.