Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1886 — THE WAR DEPARTMENT. [ARTICLE]

THE WAR DEPARTMENT.

Annual Report of the Hon. William C. Endicott, Secretary of War. The annual roport of the Secretary of War shows that the expenditures of the departmeut for tho fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, were (36,990,903, divided ns follows : Salaries and contingent expenses, $1,933,469; military establishment, including transportation, $24,279,500; public works, $6,294,305; miscellaneous, 84.406,627. A surplus of 31,208,016 remained unexpended. The appropriations .for the year ending June 30, 1887, are 848,027,559, and the estimates for the year ending June 30, 1888, are 848,208,8 55. The army at the date of the last consolidated return consisted of 2,103 officers and 23,940 eu--1 sted men. There are ten regiments of cavalry, five of artillery, and twenty-five of infantry Of Indian scouts there are 595, and 2,003 enlisted men are on detached service-with recruiting parties, etc. The report gives in detail the changes and operations of the different divisions. The Indians are generally quiet, although the presence of tru< ps is necessary to preserve peace and to prevent, especially in the Oklahoma country, the soizure of the land by settlers and ts invasion and occupancy by herders oi cattle. The Secretary says : “There seems but little hope of improving this condition of things, in view of the avidity with which this fertile country is coveted by the settlers and the cattlemen, and the duty resting upon the Government to koep its agreements with the Indians, for whose benefit it has been set apart. Congress alone can give the needed remedy, and in tho interest of good government it is earnestly hoped by all who have executive duties to perform in this Territory that speedy action will bo taken.” The Secretary recommends that the retired list be increased so as to include all officers permanently incapacitated for active service. He also concurs in the opinion of the Lieutenant General that the army bo increased 5,000 men. It is suggested that Congress enact a law providing for examinations for promotions similar to those held in the navy. At the West Point Military Academy there are 3 9 chdets nna fifty-eight officers The Superintendent favors tho competitive system in the selection of candidates for the academy. In discussing the report of the Engineer Bureau Secretary Endicott again calls attention to the utterly defenseless condition of our seacoast and lake frontier. He mges that appropriations should be made and work begun at once to fortify the principal seaboard cities against attacks by water. The report sayß: “We have a single problem to solve in defending our cities ; how best to resist and silence tho armored ships and the steel guns and mortars of modern construction. It can only be accomplished by guns of equal force to those which uny epemy can bring against us. and by torpedoes or submarine mines laid in tho navigable channels, both so guarded and protected that they can do efficient service when required. \Ve have no gun now which can atop the progress of or do any material injury to a well-armored ship. The manufacture of a g%n is a work of time, and of a long time, and cannot be extemporized when wanted. Torpedoes may be more quickly created, but still time and money are needed for their construction. It has been said by a well-informed writer on the subject that it is a matter of doubt it we have on hand enough cables and cases to control with torpedoes tho channels past Sandy Hook alono.” During the year the Springfield Armory manufactured 39,527 rifles, carbines, and shot-guns, besides repairing arms and manufacturing swords and miscellanaous articles. Tho Secretary expresses a hope that Congress, during its present session, will place the army on an equal footing with the navy in the matter of the manufacture of guns, and urges that the hill, which has already passed the Senate, to establish a gun foundry at the Frankfort Arsenal, be taken up and passed by the House. Ih conclusion, tho report recommends tho appointment of an Assistant Secretary of War, nnd that the salaries of the principal officers in the Secretary’s office be increased.