Show LATEST TELEGRAMS o General Sherman Report Washington 7In General Sher mans I report he says there is an army of 430 companies necessarily widely scattered over our vast domain to guard property and prevent pre-vent as far as foresight can complications compli-cations and troubles of every variety and kind at one time protecting settlers set-tlers against Indians and again Indians In-dians against settlers When these occur it is always sudden and reinforcements rein-forcements have to be hurried forward for-ward from great distances and always at heavy cost for the transportation trans-portation of men horses wagons and supplies This cost in the aggregate ag-gregate will in my judgment be more than sufficient to supply an increase in-crease of 20 per cent of private soldiers sol-diers all that I would ask for at this time because I believe this increase in-crease will add little if any to the annual cost of the army and yet give great relief to our overtaxed soldiers In the last ten years our frontiers have so extended under the protection of our small army as to add at least a thousand million dollars to the taxable wealth of the nation has enabled emigrants to settle up remote parts of the country coun-try and is the principal cause of the great prosperity which is felt throughout all parts of the country When the national treasury was poor and loaded with debt the army endeavored gracefully to submit to the overwork but they now appeal for relief and I do most earnestly ask the secretary of war to apply to Congress to repeal that clause of the existing law which limits the enlisted en-listed force of the army to 25000 men and to enact that each and every company in the army may be enlisted to at least fifty privates making sixtytwo enlisted men and three officers to each of the 480 corn panies thus increasing the army proper to 26660 enlisted men which number in practice will probably never exceed 25000 This should form the combatant force and as experience and universal practice have demonstrated the necessity for another or noncombatant force I further urge that an especial provision be made by law for each of the following separate and distinct purposes viz Jfingrmeer batallion 200 permanent perma-nent recruting companies and parties par-ties 1250 enlisted men detailed on genera service clerks 420 ordi a i i I ir I nance department laborers and mechanics 400 West Point detachments detach-ments military academy 192 prison guard at Fort Leaven worth sepcial 90 hospital stewards 175 ordinance sergeants 112 commissary com-missary sergeants 150 Indian scouts 300 signal detachment 500 Total 3 789 which number added to the 26660 before explained will make a total enlisted force of every nature and kind 30449 General Sherman submits a statement state-ment of the actual number of enlisted en-listed men in the regular army on October 15th cavalry 6882 artillery artil-lery 2403 infantry 10530 Total combatants 19815 noncombatants engineer batallion ordinance department de-partment recruiting service signal corps etc 3781 total enlisted force army 23596 r Nearly every general officer com mandingtroops on the frontier asks for a larger increase than Iliave herein indicated but this may be better accomplished by giving to the President the right to increase at his discretion the companies most exposed to danger to any number of privates not exceeding 100 limited always in practice by actual appropriations appro-priations of money rather than by a fixed number of men The general asks for an increase of nine majors i in the inspectors corps and recommends recom-mends that the whole question of coast defense be submitted to a board of high officers while a similar board shal consider the matter of military posts and stations now obsolete These recommendattons are with the view to their sale and the relief of the army from the care of useless forts posts and stations Some old forts General Sherman admits are worth retaining and in order that these may be properly taken care of he recommends that the President be authorized to transfer out of the class of enlisted men who have served for twentyfive years or more a number not to exceed 500 including includ-ing ordnance sergeants now 112 and establish a veteran corps to be stationed at these old forts with the rank and pay they held at the close of their active career of army service to be subject to the rules and articles of war but only to be used for guarding public property One or two officers of the retired class and half a dozen of these old soldiers sol-diers would compose a good garrison garri-son for an abandoned post or fort By granting retired officers thus detailed de-tailed fuel and quarters we would provide homes for worthy veterans which would be most honorable and charitable to them and advantageous advantage-ous to government As regards West Point Academy Gen Sherman Sher-man takes direct issue also with the recommendations of the board of visitors |