is the commander-in-chief of our armed forces. The heads of these departments are usually civilians without practical military or naval experience.

The Secretary of War, appointed by the President and Senate, directs the military establishments of the United States; he has charge of the fortifications, river and harbor improvements, and bridges; he supervises the administration of the Philippine Islands, the construction of the Panama Canal, and the government of the Canal Zone. All matters relating to national defence, sea-coast fortifications, the improvement in the navigable waters of the United States, military education at West Point, and military education of the army, are under his control. He must subject to examination all estimates of appropriations for the expenses of his department and the entire military establishment, including the purchase of military supplies. He must also scrutinize all expenditures for the support, transportation, and maintenance of the army, and, in addition, all other expenditures which may be placed in his charge.

A great portion of this heavy burden is directly assigned by law to an assistant secretary of war, who has charge of many matters rivers and harbors, bridges over navigable waters, the recruiting service, courts martial, the militia, etc., and the preliminary questions relating to Cuba and the Philippines. To relieve the Secretary and his assistant, a number of routine duties are vested in a chief clerk.

The vast and complicated business of the military administration in charge of the Department of War is distributed as follows: the adjutant-general records, authenticates, and transmits to the troops and individuals, the orders, instructions, and regulations which go out from the central administration; he also has general charge of the records and statistics of the army. The inspector-general supervises the inspection of the army in all of its branches. The quartermaster-general has charge of transportation, buildings, and supplies, except rations, the purchase and distribution of which are in the control of the commissarygeneral of subsistence. The surgeon-general supervises the medical department of the army. The paymaster-general is charged with the payment of the officers and men of the army and the several employees of the department. The chief of engineers is at the head of the corps of engineers which looks

after the construction and maintenance of forts, military roads, and bridges, and river and harbor improvements. The ordnance department, which provides and distributes the implements of war, is in charge of the chief of ordnance. The means of communication throughout all branches of the army are under the scrutiny of the chief signal officer. The judge-advocate-general is directed by law to receive, review, and have recorded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and military commissions; and it is also his duty to give the Secretary of War information and advice on legal questions. The general supervision of the administration on the Philippine Islands is vested in the chief of the bureau of insular affairs.

As a connecting link between the civil administration and the army in the field, Congress created, by an act approved February 14, 1903, a General Staff, to be composed of officers detailed from the army at large under rules prescribed by the President. This staff includes not only general officers (major-general as chief) but also colonels, majors, and captains, thus giving the directing staff points of contact with the rank and file of the army. To keep this body in constant touch with the practical problems of warfare, it is provided that officers detailed to the General Staff may serve in that capacity for only four years at most; and on returning to the army they must remain there at least two years before they can be detailed again, except in time of emergency. The head of the staff is the Chief of the Staff, who acts under the direction of the President and the Secretary of War.

It is the duty of the General Staff to prepare plans for national defence and for the mobilization of the national forces in time of war; to investigate and report upon all questions relating to the efficiency of the army and its state of preparation; to render professional aid to the Secretary of War and to the general officers and their superior commanders; and perform such other military duties, not otherwise assigned by law, as the President may from time to time prescribe. The office of the Chief of Staff constitutes, for administrative purposes, a supervising military bureau in the War Department.

The Navy Department, created in 1798, is in charge of the Secretary of the Navy, appointed by the President and Senate. He is authorized to perform such duties as the President may

He

assign him, and to superintend the construction, manning, armament, equipment, and employment of vessels of war. is immediately aided by an assistant secretary, and by a chief clerk who has charge of the records and correspondence, and performs other routine duties.

The administration of the Navy Department is distributed among the following eight bureaus, the general duties of each of which are made clear by the titles: navigation, yards and docks, equipment, ordnance, construction and repair, steam engineering, medicine and surgery, and supplies and accounts. There is also in the Navy Department a judge-advocate-general who has, with reference to the navy, duties akin to those performed by the same officer in the Department of War. There is also a commandant of the marine corps, which has a vessel and officers and men on duty at each of the several shore stations of the United States. The whole problem of naval administration is now under critical discussion, and extensive reorganization is being demanded.

To assist in securing and preparing competent men for the army and navy, the United States maintains two institutions of higher learning: the Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis. The course of instruction at both institutions is principally mathematical and professional, but it embraces also a large range of additional subjects. The full quota of cadets at West Point is maintained by assigning one cadet to each United States Senator and one to each congressional district and territory (including the District of Columbia, Porto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii), and forty to the President of the United States, who appoints at his discretion. As vacancies occur, appointments are made, on the nomination of the Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the President respectively; but these nominees must pass regular examinations testing their preparation for the course of instruction. Midshipmen for the Naval Academy are secured by assigning two to each Senator, Representative, and Delegate in Congress, two to the District of Columbia, and five to the President. Graduates from these institutions are given special advantages in entering active service. Cadets who complete their work at West Point are commissioned as second lieutenants; and midshipmen from Annapolis, on passing their graduation

examinations, are assigned to rank in the lower ranges of the naval service on a basis of their merits.1

Army and navy officers are appointed by the President and Senate subject to the constitutional limitation reserving the appointment of militia officers to the states. In time of war it has been impossible to secure enough army officers from West Point and the government has been compelled to call men from civil life or from the ranks to fill high places. It has been provided by law that in time of peace army and navy officers may be removed only by court-martial; but in time of war the President may remove summarily. Provision is also made by law for retirement and promotion subject to a certain presidential discretion.

The Conduct of Warfare

As we have seen, the command of the army and navy of the United States is vested in the President. As commander-inchief he may dispose of the armed forces on land and sea in time of war and peace; he may supervise the execution of the military law in the government of the troops; and when Congress has declared war, or the United States has been invaded, he may employ the soldiers and direct their operations, subject to the rules of that branch of international law known as the law of war. The actual conduct of war, of course, varies according to circumstances, but the general principles may be illustrated by reference to the practice during the recent war with Spain. On April 20, 1898, Congress passed a joint resolution demanding that the Spanish government relinquish its authority in Cuba, and directed the President to use our military and naval forces and to call into service the militia to such an extent as might be necessary to carry the resolution into effect. On April 22, Congress enacted a law providing for the temporary increase of the military force and authorizing the President to call for volunteers; on the same day Mr. McKinley, acting under the joint resolution of April 20, established a blockade over certain Cuban ports, the American fleet having already been ordered to Havana. The next day, April 23, the President issued his

1 There is a Naval War College at Newport and an Army War College at Washington at which selected officers study special war problems.

2 Above, chap. x.

3

Readings, p. 312.

call for 125,000 volunteers;1 and two days later Congress passed an act declaring that a state of war had existed since April 21 between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain.2

The organization of the army and navy for actual service began at once. The President, in consultation with the Secretaries of War and the Navy and other military experts, completed the selection of the commanding officers.3 Troops were concentrated at southern ports, preparatory to their transportation to Cuba, and the commissary-general, acting through his agents in the great cities, began to purchase supplies and rush them to the points where the troops were being mobilized. Of course, some of this work had been done in advance; the regular army had been concentrated in southern camps and overhauled in anticipation of the war and provision had been made in the War Department for the selection of officers.

There were, however, great confusion, waste, and mismanagement in the preparation for the war and in equipping and transporting the soldiers. Indeed, the loss during the Spanish War was not on the field of battle, but in the camps, where the soldiers were poorly cared for and badly fed. Our experience on this occasion was, in fact, the chief cause of the reform which followed this war.

While the troops were being organized and prepared for war, Congress was busy with revenue measures to meet the new charges. It at once appropriated $50,000,000 and empowered the President, without restriction, to use the entire amount for national defence. Later on, June 13, an issue of $200,000,000 worth of three per cent bonds was authorized. The tax on tobacco and fermented liquors was greatly increased; "special taxes were laid upon banks, brokers, proprietors of theatres, bowling alleys, billiard and pool rooms, and amusement places in general. Stamp taxes were imposed upon a great variety of commercial transactions involving the use of documents, as the issue or sale of incorporation securities; upon bank checks, bills of exchange, drafts, etc.; upon express and freight receipts; telephone and telegraph messages, insurance policies, and many other business operations in daily use. Duties collected through the 2 Ibid., p. 310.

1 Readings, p. 310.

3 Senators Hanna and Jones, as chairmen of the national committees of the two great political parties, exercised great weight in the selection of officers.