Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-05-10
ARMY SNOBS AND DANDIES.

The Military Lobby at Washington
and How They Keep their Influence
-Arduous service in Leading
Fancy Dances.
Washington Special; The strongest,
most influential and audac;ous lobby
that exists at Washington is composed
of officers Of the army and navy on
duty at the capital. The duties of
many of these officers are merely NOM
inal, and their service here confers no
benefit upon the army, their labors
consisting chiefly in acting as escorts
for the female members of the families
of senators, repres sentatives and other
prominent officials of the government,
and in leading fancy daEces during the
social season. These social duties give
the military idlers peculiar opportuni-
ties to influence legislation, and all eff
forts to dislodge them and send them
to their respective regiments or to from
tier posts have been defeated through
the labors of the female butterflies that
constitute what is called Washington
society.
The army bill as passed by the house,
co ntained a clause that provided that
no officer should remain absent from
his regiment, on duty as AID de-camp,
for period longer than three years,
and the same clause also reduced the
aggregate number of aid de camps from
thirty-seven to twenty. The senate
com mittee on appropriations extended
this limitation by reporting the follow
ing clause as an amendment to that
of the house
Provided, That no officer shall remain absent
from his regiment on duty at Washington CITY.
or on the staff of major general or brigadier
general, for longer period than three years at
any one time; but this provision shall not apply
to officers on the staff of the general command
ing the army.
This provision, in addition to the ex-
ception named, excepted officers of the
several staff corps, but the military
lobby was sufficiently influential to
have the proposed amendment stricken
out in the senate, and thus the Co.
burgers of the army, as these Wash
ingten idlers are known among Off
GERS who perform real military duties,
are permitted to study the intricacies
of terpsichorean figures, and to parade
the broad avenues of the national cap
ital without performing any real pub.
lie duty whatever.
A noted instance of the influence of
these Ceburgers is furnished by an Off
Ger who was detailed for clerical service
IN the war department In 1855, and
who remained continuously here for
seventeen years. During this period
this officer was several times ordered
to join his regiment in the west, by
different secretaries of war, but in
every Instance he was able to have the
order countermanded, until last sum-
mer, when Secretary Lincoln resisted
all appeals to continue him in the per-
formance of duties that any ordinary
clerk could perform, ana sent him to
join his regiment. This case is not
singular. There are now in Washing
ton many officers who have been here
continuously, ranging from four to sew
enteen years. Before his promotion to
be surgeon general, Gen. Crane was
here for seventeen years, and Drs. Bax-
ter, Norris and Billings, of the medical
corps, have each been here without in
terruptien for period of seventeen
years and three months. In the quar-
termaster's department it appears that
Col: Perry has been here for five years,
Major Moore for six years and Col.
Rockwell for nine years. Major Carey,
OF the pay corps, has been in Wash
lngton for nine years.
The following engineers officers are
credited with long periods of service at
Washington: Col. Casey, fifteen years;
Col. Parke, seventeen years; Col. Poe,
thirteen years; Capt. Wheeler. twelve
years; Capt. Adams, four years; Can't.
Hoxes, eleven years, and Capt. Green,
SIX years. Lieut.. Caziare of the Sec
ond artillery has been dancing around
Washington for three years, and Lieut.
k1lbourne of the same regiment mas
been doing similar service for six years.
TheaFourth artillery has been fully re-
presented here by several young Of
ticers for many years. Lieut.. Story
has been here for nearly seven wears,
Lieut.. Dunwoedy ten years, Lieut..
Craig nearly twelve years, and Lieut..
Macomb six years. Dunwoody and
Craig left the military academy in
1866, each of them have been in the
army sixteen years, of which period
one has spent twelve years in Wash.
lngton and the other ten. .Macomb has
been in the army eight years, six of
which have been spent in Washington.
Capt. Davis, of the Fourteenth infant
ry, has been here nearly five years,
and Lieut. Backannon, of the same
regiment over six years. Lieut. Gree
ley, of the fifth cavalry, has been in
the army fifteen years, the list ten of
which, except when serving on an ex-
pedition to the Arctic ocean, have been
spent az Washington.
This list could be extended by reciting
other cases of favoritism, but those
given are sufficient to show that there
is urgent necessity for such legislation
as was proposed by the house and
senate committee on appropriations.
There is also large number of officers
Of the navy retained in Washington by
the same influences thst are SO poteu
In the cases of army officers.