The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-02-01
VALUE OF FORT IS
FULLY APPRECIATED
War Department Has Never
Seriously Considered
Abandonment.

That the military strategic value o
Fort Douglas is fully appreciated b
he war department, and that no ide
# its abandonment has ever been ser
,usly entertained in that quarter,
he opinion of Adjutant General +. 4
Hedgwood, who has just returned frol
On the other hand, a,
.ording TO General Wedgwood, tn
is not considering immed
tie enlarg ement OF the fort TO a br
yade post.
Upon the several points counecte
With this question, and concernin
,ther items pertaining to his visit i
" ashington, General Wedgwood yeste
lay said:
While in Washington my time
was mostly devoted to military
matters, although L gave some at
tention to the Green River irriga'
ton project, known officially as
Utah segregation No. 10.
Meetings of three bodies, repre-
senting different factors OF mill
tary service, were scheduled to be
held at about the same time, tho
Adjutant General s association, the
national militia board and the Ma
tional Rifle association Many mat
ters of general interest were taken
up by these bodies and recommen-
dations made or action taken.
Ny personal opinion is that Fort
Douglas, considered from purely
military standpoint, is one Of the
two most important posts in the
United States. and heard nothing
in Washington that tended to
change my view in this regard, but
on the contrary, l believe that its
military worth is recognized by
the war department to such an ex-
tent that the question Of its aban-
donment has never been seriously
considered
The question Of tho enlargement
Of posts ut any point does not ap-
pear to be a matter Of present
possibility, concern or Importance.
From publication Of facts made by
the war department officials, it
seems that provision for needed
arms and ammunition Is Of greater
concern than the concentration Of
troops ut particular points in garri-
son for tactical training.
The question Of the extent TO
which any post IN the United
States will be garrisoned in the i'm
mediate future is question which
apparently depends upon day by
day events and tho question Of the
necessary movement Of troops up
On tho border and their retention
in camps Of concentration,
believe the sole consideration
prompting action of the war de-
partmsnt In regard to location Of
posts, the enlargement thereof,
the garrisoning thereof and tho
concentration Of troops at differ
ent points from time to time, is
military efficiency and necessity,
and / am of the opinion that the
military value of Fort Douglas has
been fully placed before the war
department by our congressional
representatives and that the de-
partmeDt fully senses the same.
Many mattors were taken up by
the national militia board, but as
their action is In the form Of rec
concentrations, which are to be ap-
proved or disapproved by the sec
retary Of war, full statement in
relation thereto would not be prop
er at this time. 1t may be said,
however, that in all probability the
national rifle competition at
Camp Perry will be revolutionized
by providing in the rules for the
competition in 1915 that at least
ten Of the shooting members of the
team must be enlisted men, and
that no officer above the grade OF
captain will be permitted to be a
shooting team member, and it is
possible that no members Of
shooting team will be permitted to
be a man or officer who has over
before attended as competitor.
If these steps are taken it will be
to the end that the professional
CHARACTERISTICS of the competition
be abolished and that the compe-
htion stand squarely as an in
struction event.
Wesley King, secretary Of the cit
ems committee, said:
With reference to the appoint-
ment Of a delegation by the Salt
Lake citizens committee Of sixty,
Of which Governor Spry is chair
man, it was the decision Of that
committee. previous TO General
Wedgwood IS going to Washington,
that he was to obtain all possible
information as to the present at
titude OF tho war department rela-
tive to Fort Douglas, and that he
was TO wire the committee if it
seemed advisable to represent the
committee in Washington, TO join
him there. Receiving no telegram
from him, the delegates selected bv
the committee did not 90, and
General Wedgwood has advised
me since his return to Salt Lake
City that there seems TO be no
apparent reason for alarm relative
to the abandonment of Fort