Show LARGER An ARMY Y POSTS New York Tribune In taking steps to enlarge the size sizo and reduce the number of our army posts the President President President dent and Secretary Taft TaCt arc are governed b by sound military policy Our standing stand stand- In big ing arm army being small it should be kept at the top notch of efficiency making good in iii quality for relative lack of quantity Yet it Is evident that no high mark of efficiency can be reached if Jf the troops are arc dispersed in small commands and have no op opportunity opportunity opportunity op- op for drill in iii ma masses es ese We e have unfortunately been Jon long accustomed accustomed tomed to th the practice of isolation and dispersion a a practice forced on us b by necessity For a century we have had a n. nast vast ast frontier territory to guard and police and with a permanent p es establishment establishment es- es averaging a well below helow 26 men it has been heen impossible to concentrate anywhere enough troops to garrison a brigade post Indeed In the old days as a's it was sas rare Tara to find a n. full regiment on an any station and when war came caine a as nS it did ld In 1 1845 SHi and amid 1898 officers who had lI never neverseen ver seen a full fun brigade assembled were called caned on to lo command divisions corps and armies The old system turned out excellent excellent excel excel- lent soldiers for it Il gave officers i plenty plea plen lenty len len- ty of fighting experience and trained trained trained train train- ed the men to perils and antI endurance But It built up no dependable staff starr and problems of transportation equipment equipment equipment equip equip- ment sanitary care an and medical re relic relief re- re lic lief as well as of ot v on a large scale had to bo ho mastered through costly experiments Tho The War with Spain exposed the radical weakness of our staff starr organization and oui our camps became a n. scandal It took six months to h bring a little or order er out o of chaos and by that time tho the war had ended This latest lesson in the tho dangere dangers dan dan- nn- nn s gei-s gere gers of forced a a. a re re- re organization of tJI the army and a n mo modernization mod mod- of our military methods We c chave have now a 1 fa far I more more efficient staff starr system and are arc beginning to apply appl more scientific methods In arm army train train- Ing lug Brigade and division maneuvers have become common and the state militia organizations are drawn on to help man the summer practice camps At Manassas two small Emall armies were assembled assemble in 1901 t and operations on ona ona ona a large scale paralleling the tho maneuvers maneuvers maneu maneu- vers of DIM second Bull Run campaign campaign cam cain were undertaken In Kansas and Kentucky similar amalgamations of re regular ulal troops and state militia have been successfully effected But these operations have had something of a holiday character and the experience experience ex ex- has hns benefited the tho men perhaps per per- haps more than It has hos the fhe officers liatis needed by the officers Is Js more than two w weeks weeks' eles' eles training in any year yem In the handling of larger bodies of tr The problems of tactics transportation sustenance anti ami sanitary sani sani- tar tary regulations should be he studied In detail un under er changing conditions and andIn In different seasons and to offer an aim adequate school for tOl such stud study regular regular regu regu- lar troops must be he available In bo bodies les as lar large e as a brigade e or a division The President enl and Secretary Taft Tort have lave now no Initiated the new policy of concentration by selecting four per- per permanent manent brigade posts The posts posta named are Forts RUe Riley and Leavenworth Leaven Leaven- worth in iii Kansas Fort Sam Houston in n Texas an and Fort D A. A Russell Il in Wyoming Each of these stations st. is already alread large enough to accommodate a brigade Fort Sill in Oklahoma will vili ill be enlarged and made a brigade post lost and permanent brigade headquarters head bead quarters will be established establish ell later Inthe In Jn inthe the he East probably In Pennsylvania Pennsylvania- I The rhe archaic distribution of ot troops among or garrisons once garrisons once to protect the frontier will frontier will pass ass away and antI the army relieved from rom the tIme burden of mere macre police duty will vili begin to fit itself more thorough- thorough I 13 y for fOI the concentrated and scientific kind Ind of warfare deman demanded e h by modern Co cond n d I It t i Ions on a. a |