National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-01-06

estrangement from all military duty by
reason of their more civil vocations,
which gradually but surely allure them
to other pursuits in the reasonable hope
of better fortune than can await them in
the army, should they return to it, may
probably be ascribed one of the causes of
many Of the designations rendered during
the present year, This was pending the
Florida war.1 y "But the policy of
oursystem, q y which separates him
" for years from the line of his profession,
and employs him on business which
teaches him to so rate the value of his
" commission as often to throw il up when
remanded TO his regiment under any re-
"quirement of the public service, must be
admitted to be greatly at variance with
" the true interests aud primary object for
which it is presumed that the army was
created and destined to subserve. And if
" this system of indiscriminate and onerous
detail Of so many officers for business
which estranges them from the line of
their professional duties be continued, the
army certainly must become less and less
efficient for active field service at any
crisis which may arise
Said General MACoMB, commanding the
army Up. 1871, referring to the details of of
6ccIs from the line for duty in the Engi-
neer, Typographical Engineer Ordnance
and Quartermaster Departments: The du-
ties required Of these several staff depart
"ments have been so extensive and multi
larOus that they have not been able to
perform them without the aid of great
"number of officers from the line of the
"army; and, consequently, it has measura-
"bly diminished the efficiency OF the regi-
"monts from which these officers have been
withdrawn. 1t would be better, in my
"opinion, to provide at once n sufficient
"number of officers for the several branches
"of the service and to organize them into
"distinct corps or departmen ents, so that, be-
"ing constantly employed on one duty they
"will be better acquainted with that duty,
and more competent to perform it,"
Said the Secretary of War Up. 100: The
present system seems to have been framed
upon the principle Of concentrating the
business Of those departments ut the seat
of Government, and Of employing therein
"a very small number of officers commits
stoned in the staff the deficiencies being
supplied by selections from the line. " u
TO make the line Of the army truly effect
i've officers should not be taken for staff
service, or other detached duties, in large
numbers, nor for long periods, from their
companies. And when, to relieve the
weakness OF the stall on n pressing contin-
"gency, officers are selected from the line,
the difficulty, instead Of being remedicd, is
only exchanged for new and possibly n
"greatcr one. The emb1rrlssmcnts occa-
STONED by these causes during the opera
tiOns Of the year the Florida warl have
been of constant recurrence and Of the
most serious character
These recommendations for increasing the
efficiency Of the staff departments were fa-
vorably commended TO the consideration of
Congress by the President, and resulted III
the passage Of the act of July 3, 1888, by
which the various staff departments were
increased by permanent transfers and ap'
pointments. This was the carrying out o.
the idea OF the maor-gencral commanding
the army at that time, and the system has
remained unaltcred to this day. The BURN
SIDE Commission is about TO progress back
ward in the matter Of reform it seems.