CORRESPONDENCE FROM WASHINGTON TOW are moneys appropriated at Washington for the various Administration needs? HR First, the chiefs of the bureaus of the Administration departments prepare estimates of what they think ought to be spent during the ensuing year. Very often these estimates do not represent actual needs, but are based on the knowledge that a Congressman cannot be familiar with all the inside departmental workings, and will atone for this lack of information by enforcing economy; there fore, if you ask for more than you need, you will get what you need! The bureau estimate is sent to the Cabinet officer at the head of the particular department, and he transmits it, together with the estimates of the other bureaus in his department, to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury collects the estimates from all the executive departments and transmits them to Congress. This is the kind of system we have had. There is no central executive revision of the estimates to fit into a whole scheme of finance. These estimates now go to the House of Representatives. These diagrams show the increasing cost of the National Government to every man, woman, and child in the United States. Illinois stopped a similar increase in her own disbursements by adopting the executive budget. Why doesn't the Nation profit by the experience of Illinois? There they are considered by nine separate committees. Each acts independently of the other. Each is entirely ignorant of what bills another committee will report. When a bill has passed the committee stage, it has to pass the House, and, if it does, it goes to a Senate committee before it passes the Senate. Altogether some three hundred members of both houses, sitting on twenty-nine separate committees, consider financial legislation and report measures for which appropriations have to be made. Even after a bill has passed the Senate it must be considered by a conference committee of both houses. The bills, when reported out by the conferees, are usually voted by Congress. There has been increasing protest against this complicated system. Fortunately, Representative Medill McCormick, of Linois, has now introduced bills providing for a simplified procedure. We hope that these bills will pass and become law. 142 In the first place, if these bills were to pass, the financial policy of the United States would, on the executive side, be decided in Cabinet meeting, each Cabinet officer would draw up his estimates in conformity with the agreed policy, and the estimates would be subject to final revision by the Secretary of the Treasury. He would thus become in fact, what he is not to-day, the Financial Minister of the Nation. He would see that the estimates of the departments fitted into the whole Government programme. In order to leave him free for these new duties, the Treasury would be relieved of some of its extraneous bureaus, which would be transferred to other departments. Moreover, the President would be required to transmit the budget and to recommend its passage by Congress. As to the legislative side, the McCormick bills provide for a House Budget Committee to replace the nine committees which now report out bills authorizing expenditures. This committee could not revise any item in the budget except upon the request of the Executive or by a two-thirds vote of its members. The British Parliament does not have this power of revision; it must accept or reject an executive budget as a whole. But we must remember that the vote of rejection would mean either a new Ministry or a new election. Having in mind the fact that we cannot overthrow the Government by voting a lack of confidence, Mr. McCormick would give Congress the power to revise by the two-thirds vote. As under the new system budget estimates would more nearly represent actual rock-bottom needs. this power of revision would doubtless be used the more spar ingly. The bills provide for an Auditor-General, to be chosen by the Speaker of the House and the majority and minority leaders, this Auditor to hold office during good behavior. He would supplant the six auditors of the Executive Department, who are political appointees and change with Administrations. He would check the accounts of the departments, item by item, to see that they conformed with the budget authorization. He would report to the House Committee on Audits and Accounts, for which provision is made in the McCormick bills. The chairman of this Committee would be a member of the minority. This fact, together with the fact that its investigation would be based upon the Auditor-General's report, ought to insure a genuine investigation by the Committee. Who will not say that such a system is at once simpler and more democratic than is our present system? With it in operation we would seem to be getting back from a wearisome complicated text that no one can understand to words of one syllable that all can understand. Indeed, every one who has thought about it at all realizes that this simple system of a National bookkeeping or budget is bound to come. A clear indication of the drift in popular thought is the fact that the political parties are now adopting budget planks in their platforms. A more recent indication of the drift, however, may be noted in the address by Senator Overman, the other day in the Senate. concerning the measure, known by his name, to confer new powers on the President. Mr. Overman said: Within the last twelve months we have appropriated more than $23.000.000.000 without a financial policy. Estimates for departmental expenditures have literally poured into Congress day by day without any centralized scrutiny, revision, or control. The President has no power and no organization to sift them down to the rock-bottom needs of the Government. The estimates for appropriation are being sent into Congress according to old statutory regulation, made to meet the needs of other days when the expense of the Government was less than a billion dollars a year. There has been no readjustment of our methods of finance since we entered the war. The public treasury bears a relationship to the conduct of the war in no less a degree than the Army and Navy. A strong financial policy, worked out and enforced with vigor and efficiency, is absolutely necessary for the proper carrying out of the military and naval programme. There ought certainly to be enough non-partisan spirit in Congress to adopt the budget system as a war measure. PETER MICHELSON. O THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN N June 8 of this year will occur the first total eclipse of the sun in eighteen years, or, to be more exact, in eighteen years eleven and three-quarter days, which is the length of the saros or interval between eclipses, as determined by scientists. It is interesting to note that this interval was actually determined by the ancient Chaldeans. The shadow of the coming eclipse will first appear at sunrise on June 9 (it will be June 8 in the United States) on the little island of Borodino off the coast of Japan. It will then sweep eastward, and, having by this time attained a speed of thirtythree miles a minute, will arrive at 2:55 P. M., Pacific time, at the mouth of the Columbia River, in the State of Washington. (The Daylight Saving Law will make this time, as well as that noted in the next paragraph but one, and in the almanacs generally for this year, one hour later by the clock.) During the next few hours people in every part of the United States-in those sections, of course, favored with clear skies-will be privileged to witness, in whole or in part, an eclipse more imposing than any that has been seen in this country in a great many years. From the Columbia River the path of the total eclipse will sweep southeast, leaving the coast of Florida at 6:43 P. M., Eastern time. The path of the total eclipse will be one hundred and sixty-seven miles wide. In other sections of the country the percentage of totality will range from ninety-nine to sixty-three per cent, the latter being in Massachusetts. The percentage of the eclipse for any place not shown on the accompanying map may be found by deducting one per cent for every thirty miles the place is from the middle line of the eclipse. In an eclipse of the sun the moon's shadow passes over part of the earth. At the equator it passes over the observer at the rate of eighteen miles a minute, but for higher latitudes the speed is much greater, and when the shadow falls very obliquely this speed may amount to eighty miles per minute. The length of the moon's shadow varies between 228,000 and 236,050 miles. The longest duration of a solar eclipse is seven minutes and fifty-eight seconds. In our latitude, however, the duration of a total solar eclipse can barely exceed six minutes. IN JUNE A total eclipse of the sun, while comparatively a rare phenomenon, is to us a purely natural one, and though to all beholders the spectacle is interesting in the extreme, it occasions no dreadful forebodings, as was always the case before a knowledge of astronomy became widespread. To the superstitious, indeed, the phenomenon is still regarded as filled with evil portent. The more ignorant Chinese until recently imagined eclipses to be caused by great dragons trying to devour the sun or moon, and they beat drums and brass kettles to terrify the monsters into liberating their prey. Chinese annals antedate even those of Chaldea in recording eclipses and these means of trying to prevent them. Records of the twenty-second century B.C. state that, on the occasion of a solar eclipse, the state astronomers, Hsi and Ho, became intoxicated and incapable of performing the prescribed rites, and were accordingly put to death. A Nineveh tablet preserved in the British Museum gives perhaps the earliest authentic record of a total eclipse of the sun-on June 15, 763 B.C. A famous eclipse of antiquity was that predicted by Thales of Miletus, May 28, 585 B.C., which so impressed the warring forces of the Medes and the Lydians that the Battle of the Halys was interrupted and peace declared. On the other hand, eclipses have sometimes been predicted and announced to armies by their leaders, so that the phenomenon might not be regarded as a bad omen and discourage the fighters. Odd names for the days when eclipses occurred have come down to us. "Mirk Monday" was long applied to the 8th of April, 1652, in Scotland, when a total eclipse occurred, and another eclipse was termed the "Black Hour." An old chronicle says that on May 3, 1715, "stars shone and birds roosted at noon." Photography has been of much assistance in increasing our knowledge of eclipses. The first photographs of a solar eclipse were obtained at the eclipse of 1851. In 1860 photographs were secured which established the existence of the chromosphere, or incandescent gas envelope, as a solar appendage. In 1868 the spectroscope was added to the instrumental resources of the eclipse observer, and in 1869 its use resulted in the discovery of an element unknown to terrestrial chemistry, to which the name "coronium" has been given. A FIRST-CLASS COLORED FIGHTING REGIMENT BY ONE OF ITS BATTALION STAFF OFFICERS, LIEUTENANT O. E. McKAINE WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ITS COMMANDER, COLONEL JAMES A. MOSS [Colonel Moss, who has provided the Introduction to this article on the 367th Infantry, of which he is commanding officer, is one of the best-known military authors in the world. He has written twenty-six military books, of which several have been for years regarded as standard. His "Manual of Military Training" has been called the "Encyclopædia Britannica of the Army." His "Officers' Manual,” a guide in official and social matters, is used by practically every young officer entering the Army. His "Privates' Manual" was adopted several years ago by the United States Marine Corps, and a copy is placed in the hands of every recruit. Other books of his, such as "NonCommissioned Officers' Manual," "Army Paperwork," "Infantry Drill Regulations Simplified," "Field Service," "Riot Duty," " Company Training," and "Applied Minor Tactics," are also regarded as standards among all military men. Since his graduation from West Point in 1894 Colonel Moss's service has been distinguished. It includes a record of two campaigns. In addition, he was aide-de-camp for three years to Lieutenant-General Henry C. Corbin, during which time, although only a captain in the Regular Army, he had the rank, pay, and allowances of lieutenant-colonel. For three years he was instructor at the Army Service Schools, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1911 and 1912 he was on special duty in the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Leonard Wood, by whom he had been specially selected to reduce and simplify the administrative work of the Army. Not only is he the father of the present system of Army correspondence, but he also gave to the service the new, simplified pay and muster rolls, and several other labor-saving blank forms that have done much to reduce military administrative work. Lieutenant McKaine, the author of the article, rose from the ranks of a colored regiment, the 24th Infantry. In response to what he calls the nomadic spirit of hundreds of his migratory ancestors, he started his wanderings from his birthplace in South Carolina when he was sixteen years old, then studied in Washington and Boston, became a free lance for the colored newspapers, and later one of the editors of a colored newspaper belonging to the group that advocated the policy of Booker Washington. Later, in response to the conversation of a trooper who, he says, would have been a marvel as a recruiting sergeant or as aide-de-camp to Richard Harding Davis, he enlisted in the Army. His service took him to the Philippines. The colored regiment to which he belonged, which, by the way, received a golden loving-cup at a dinner given by the Governor-General and the Mayor of Manila and other persons for being "the best regiment that has ever been to the island," was ordered to Columbus, New Mexico. In a personal letter Lieutenant McKaine has written: "The Metropolitan Opera Company, the Boston Opera Company, the Chicago Opera Company, the Hampton Quartette, the Fisk Jubilee Singers-you think some of these groups can sing. You're wrong. They can't. You have never heard any singing unless you marched with the 24th across the border after Villa in the spring of 1916." Incidentally it may be said that this regiment was the personal guard of General Pershing. After a bloodless victory, the soldiers withdrew; and the 24th was the only regiment that marched out of Mexico without having a man fall out. It was while the 24th was stationed at Columbus after the withdrawal that a number of non-commissioned officers from this and three other colored regiments were selected for training as officers for the National Army. It was thus that Lieutenant McKaine received his shoulder-straps.— THE EDITORS.] INTRODUCTION Having been born and reared in the State of Louisiana, whose confines I did not leave until I went to West Point at the age of eighteen, and having served eighteen years with colored troops, including two campaigns, what I say about the colored man as a soldier is therefore based on many years' experience with him in civil life and in the Army-in peace and in war, in garrison and in the field. If properly trained and instructed, the colored man makes as good a soldier as the world has ever seen. The history of the Negro in all of our wars, including our Indian campaigns, shows this. He is by nature of a happy disposition; he is responsive and tractable; he is very amenable to discipline; he takes pride in his uniform; he has faith and confidence in his leader; he possesses physical courage-all of which are valuable military assets. The secret of making an efficient soldier out of the colored man lies in knowing the qualities he possesses that are military assets, and which I have named, and then appealing to and developing them—that is, utilizing them to the greatest extent possible. Make the colored man feel that you have faith in him, and then, by sympathetic and conscientious training and instruction, help him to fit himself in a military way to vindicate that faith, W WITH the assistance of their civilian friends, both white and colored, the officers and men of the 367th Regiment of Infantry, known as "the Buffaloes," have erected a mammoth auditorium at Camp Upton, New York. The other night at the auditorium I went to see a show, and several white and colored soldiers were sitting just behind me, "talkin' it talkin' it over," and waiting for the next act. I began "listening in," and heard a conversation that went something like this between one of the white soldiers and some of the Buffaloes: "Does this building belong to you fellows?" the white soldier asked. "We built and paid for it, so it must." "But I thought I saw some white fellows in here using it the other day." "You may have," the Buffalo replied; "but it's only because we let 'em. See this bench we're sitting on? Well, I paid for this bench with my own money; but I don't mind you to "make good." Be strict with him, but treat him fairly and justly, making him realize that in your dealings with him he will always be given a square deal. Commend him when he does well and punish him when he is refractory-that is to say, let him know that he will always get what is coming_to him, whether it be reward or whether it be punishment. In other words, treat and handle the colored man as you would any other human being out of whom you would make a good soldier, out of whom you would get the best there is in him, and you will have as good a soldier as history has ever known-a man who will drill well, shoot well, march well, obey well, fight well—in short, a man who will give a good account of himself in battle, and who will conduct and behave himself properly in camp, in garrison, and in other places. I commanded colored troops in the Cuban campaign and in the Philippine campaign, and I have had some of them killed and wounded by my very side. At no time did they ever falter at the command to advance nor hesitate at the order to charge. I am glad that I am to command colored soldiers in this, my third campaign-the greatest war the world has ever known. JAS. A. Moss, Colonel 367th Infantry. "Look back there now. Do you see many? Well, it's just like that all the time-just as many white fellows as colored." "Looks like you fellows would want this all to yourselves." "Well," said the Buffalo, "it's like this. Lots of white folks helped us out on this building; and then I've got a lot of white friends in camp, and wherever I go they can go; and, further, we won't draw the line here as long as you fellows don't draw it. Now next week we've got two white fellows on the bill, and we pay 'em just like we pay everybody else-and, boy, listen to that band." And the lights went out and the show was on. The Buffalo auditorium is the great democratizing institution of Camp Upton. White soldiers and white officers attend as regularly as colored soldiers and officers. The building is not a colored auditorium, but an auditorium for soldiers built by the 367th Regiment with the assistance of their friends. Eventually it will become the property of the Government. It was designed primarily for drill during severe and inclement weather. All of the preliminary bayonet instruction for the regiment, as well as some of the white regiments, has been given in this building. Classes in boxing by Bennie Leonard, regimental lectures and lectures of special classes, chorus singing, and many other activities and instructions that cannot be held outdoors with any degree of satisfaction and success have been held in the auditorium. In the evenings, and afternoons and evenings of Saturdays, and Sundays and holidays, the auditorium is devoted to religious services, motion pictures, vaudeville, and other forms of recreation. The officers and men of the regiment subscribed over fourteen thousand dollars toward the building and spent more than five hundred dollars additional in expenses incurred incident to the campaign for the remaining twenty-six thousand dollars. As the founders of the auditorium intended that a small sum should be charged for the entertainments and shows, bonds were issued to cover cost of erection in denominations of ten, fifty, one hundred, and five hundred dollars, which were to be redeemed as soon as possible, and in the event that the regiment was ordered abroad before full redemption such funds as had been accumulated were to be prorated among the bondholders, the unredeemed portion being considered a contribution. When Colonel James A. Moss, in command of the regiment, first proposed to build the auditorium and issue bonds, he received a very lukewarm reception from the men; but when the cold winds of Long Island searched every crack and crevice, every tear and rip, the men viewed the project with increasing favor, and finally voted to back it to the limit. "The Colonel must think we're going to be here for a thousand years," I overheard a Buffalo say one day between breathing spells from picking. "Well, I'd just as leave be here as out there drilling, for out there I just can't seem to git my feet to move till everybody else is gone. It mus' be 'cause I git so cold. Man, I never seen snow befo' in ma life! Down there in Texas there ain't no snow, and if the Colonel says that the auditorium kin be used for drills and such things, I'm wid 'im." If the auditorium served no other purpose than as an ideal place for indoor instruction in winter and recreation during the evenings, thereby increasing the efficiency of the men and adding to their chances for whipping the Hun and returning home alive, it would be well worth the time and money spent in its erection; but its greatest purpose and value lie in the wonderful esprit de corps it tends to develop in the regiment. 66 Napoleon said, according to General Jomini," Battles cannot be won by troops possessing no esprit de corps." Colonel Moss, the commander of the regiment, who has perhaps written more books than any other American army officer living, in writing of esprit de corps in his manual for officers, says: Esprit de corps is that feeling of LOYALTY, PRIDE, AND ENTHUSIASM OF THE OFFICER AND SOLDIER, first and especially, FOR HIS OWN PARTICULAR REGIMENT OR CORPS; second and generally, for the army to which he belongsfounded in each case on the glorious traditions of the past, on the patriotism and efficiency of the present, and on the determined resolve in future war and peace to uphold the prestige, the honor, the tradition of the army, the regiment, or corpsnay, go further, AND INCREASE THE PRESTIGE, THE HONOR, THE TRADITION, BY ADDING SOMETHING THERETO BY INDIVIDUAL ACTS OF HIS OWN." "Whatever means tend to create, uphold, and increase prestige and honor MUST of necessity preserve and strengthen esprit de corps, for these are the living spring that give it its life, and it has need of all of them." The traditions of the new Negro may be traced in the history of the great Chaka in the Valley of the Nile, thousands of years ago; Hannibal, "greatest of tacticians," in the war between Carthage and Rome; L'Ouverture in the Haitian rebellion against the mighty Napoleon; Attucks, as the first casualty in America's first battle against the tyranny of George III on Boston Common; black sailors with Perry on Lake Erie; Black Samson at Brandywine; Peter Salem at Bunker Hill; Carney at Fort Wagner; the 24th and 25th Regiments of Infantry and the 9th and 10th Cavalry at El Caney and San Juan in Cuba and during the insurrection in the Philippines; and the feat of the 10th Cavalry at Carrizal while with the Punitive Expedition in Mexico. The place of honor held by the Negro in the profession of arms is predicated upon the enviable and cherished facts that he has never had a traitor within his ranks and has never had the blot of cowardice upon his spotless escutcheon. His prestige is based upon the high regard as a fighting man in which he is held by all fighters whom he has opposed, whether they be white men, black men, or brown men. It may be rather far-fetched to the uninitiated to connect the building of an auditorium on bleak Long Island in the year of our Lord 1918 with a recital of the Negro's prowess as a fighter, and with a compendium of his traditions, honor, and prestige; but beyond and above every other consideration the object of building the costliest, largest, and finest building in any cantonment in the country was to create anew, revive, stimulate, foster, and perpetuate these very things. Without these things the Negro would be as helpless against the wily Hun as if the Government had sent him into battle unarmed. He needs these things worse than most white soldiers do. THE AUDITORIUM AT CAMP UPTON An epitome of the reasons why America entered the war has been tersely set forth in the slogan "To make the world safe for Democracy." In his mind he confuses principles of democratic government with the Democratic party, and his bellicose enthusiasm suffers in consequence of his confusion. He knows but one thing, and that is blind, unswerving, and undivided loyalty to the flag for which his fathers have bled and died. That is not enough. He must either accept the democratic principles for which his country wages war or a cause must be created for him. He must have something to fight for, something that he understands and is in accord with. What has the auditorium to do with principles, causes, dreams, and morale? It has inestimable value as a creator of morale. There is a breaking-point in the collective nerves of any command when, after the fearful scenes of battle, the will of the organization is no longer able to drive its legs forward. By training the moral qualities we seek to raise this breaking-point. Study of the moral factors that ani-. mate men is therefore of the greatest importance. From association with them you must learn how best to appeal to their higher qualities. You must know what are the principles, rights, or possessions, intimately, personally, and unmistakably theirs, which the enemy jeopardizes and for which they will fight till they conquer or themselves are hopelessly defeated. To-day there is not time for commanding officers to study men in detail and elaboration. Colonel Moss, our commanding officer, knew this full well. Our allies are fighting defensively, waiting for a force which, aroused by the brutality and ruthlessness of the Hun, is the incarnate spirit of the offensive. If we would win, we must go now. We cannot delay. But we cannot go if our men are not trained, if they have not become imbued with the enthusiasm necessary for success in war. To obtain this spirit the morale of troops must be very high indeed. To create this morale their officers must understand their psychology and must know them intimately through contact. To obtain this contact they must have a common meeting-ground where they can become mutually acquainted without detriment to discipline. The officers must divine just what expression brings forth the greatest sincere response. In the 367th Regiment the commanding officer accomplishes this by frequent talks on widely varied subjects to the entire regiment in the auditorium. He weighs the response given to each subject. It can be stated with confidence that to-day he knows just how to appeal to them and what appeal arouses the fighting spirit of the Buffaloes; and he himself has stated on numerous occasions that he knows that when they go over the top Wilhelmstrasse will know it. This vitally important knowledge could never have been acquired in the short time allotted excepting for this common meeting-place. Has this morale been created in the regiment? This is my answer: General Bell, former Chief of Staff and second ranking Major-General in the Army, and twenty-eight years a soldier, said, among other things, in an address delivered to the Buffa loes: "This is the best-disciplined, the best-drilled, and the best-spirited regiment that has been under my command at this cantonment. I predicted last fall that Colonel Moss would have the best regiment at Camp Upton, and you men have made my prediction come true. I would lead you in battle against any army in the world with every confidence in the outcome. I know that you would acquit yourselves with the same bravery and loyalty that has attracted the attention of the world to the Negro regiments in the Regular Army. .. . I say again, I would lead Negro troops in battle against the greatest fighters of the world with confidence in my success. I have served a good many years with colored soldiers, and I know them. Properly led, they haven't a superior in the world." It should be remembered that this high degree of proficiency |