The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1921-07-27
,.9}!ANP JACKSON TO Be
CLOSED IN few DAYS
Army Will Be Reduced to 10000 Men
Sunday-COmes as Surprise-Of-
ficers Did Not Expect Enlisted
Men to Resign in Such Large
Numbers
SEVEN CANTONME ENTS TO GO
Many Organizations to Be Placed on
Inactive List" and Others
SkeletOniZed.

Washington, July 26.-Reduction of
the United States army to peace-time
strength of 10000 men will be ac-
complished by July 81, in accordance
with the decision Of Congress when it
refused to appropriate funds for pay
i. of greater force after October 1.
With the reduction, Secretary Weeks
general distribution of troops, prac-
tical abandonment Of seven of the
. great wartime army cantonments
placement of many organizations on
the active list and skeltonization
of others into materially reduced
strengths.
The cantonments to be abandoned
cat the earliest practicable date" as
announced by Secretary Weeks, are
Camps Dcvans, Massachusetts; Sher-
man, Ohio; Pike, Arkansas; Grant, H.
linois; Jackson, South Carolina, and
Meade, Maryland, except for small
lima. Those to be retained under the
plan Of reorganization are: Dix, New
Jersey; Travis, Texas; Lewis, Wash
mgton, and Knox, kentucky.
The War Secretary said it was his
plan eventually to remove all troops
from the cantonmcnts to be vacated
and to salvage the greater part of
the buildings. 1t was not his purpose
he said, to sell the land but to retain
it as well as the utilities and i'm
prOvements, such as storchouscs, wa
ter systems and railroad tracks. Hc
said these would be used if future
of the citizens military training
camps.
There was considerable surprise
among army GERS when it was
found that the enlisted strength
would be reduced to the $4,000 mark
by July 81. Only Il few had believed
it possible that the men would resign
under Secretary Weeks order in mum
bers sufficiently large to effect the re-
ductlon from approximately 100000
men in June to the smaller figure be-
fore winter.
Secretary Weeks recently instructed
corps area and divisional commanders
to permit the men within the CONT
mental boundaries to resign during
July upon application without for
fcitinE travel pay to their homes o,
the $50 bonus which they received
ordinarily when their cnlistments cX-
prcd. The designations literally pour
ed in and caused the Secretary TO re-
woke his order before the month was
ended. Mr. Weeks said today that
the .applic0tionS already received
would bring the enlisted STRENGTH tc
the 10000 mark by July 81, it re.
quiring that period Of time for the
existing machinery to care for the
paper work involved in the discharges
of SO many men
Orders to commandng officers fol
them to prepare TO move to new sta
tionS and advising Others that then
units had been placed upon the in.
active lists with the selection OF
"parcnt" organizations 70 care fo,
records and orders have been sent out
by Adjutant General Harris as a part
fth" scheme REORGANIZATION. II
one instance said the adiutant gen.
rral the COMMANDING officers have
been instructed not to change stat ion.
Of III II commands until later whcr
supplemental Instructions for move
mcnt would be issued by the depart.
mCnt.