The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-14

what the English denominate bureau
cracy," and ''bureaucracyn always has re-
suited in over-abundant "circumlocution"
if it is proper to call the multiplication of
Offices and of the several landings of
official papers "circumlocution."
Business increases, and the desire for
ofnce increases often more rapidly than
business; and so it occurs to some bright
intellect that this business could be little
better attended to, or, at any rate, managed
with more steadiness, system and complete
ness by well-established and well-regu-
lated bureau.
BUREAU IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT,
Of course, takes on special form. The
OF ganization consists in an officer of con-
siderable rank at the head with one or two
assistants, and an adequate amount OF
clerical and messenger help and attendance,
with the necessary ramifications from the
main trunk to cover the eXtremities of the
land.
The tendency to "bureaucracy'' in our
service has been SO great that, little by
little, the geographical department heads
have been relieved of responsibility. Now
the engineers, the ordinance, the quarter
master, the commissary, the Inspector
the medical and the justice bureau, to say
nothing of minor divisions, wheels within
wheels, have become measurably well
established and independent. Department
commanders raise some objections and fret
now and then over authority diminished in
the interest of the Washington bureau:
| but sJill the process goes on until wal
breaks out, then, of course, there is ar
instant return to the essential system
! essential to war, / mean, of authority anC
responsibility.
! The above comments l do not wish Il
write in the way of fault-inding, or ever
OF criticism, but to state the actual ten
dency and patent facts with view to the
further consideration Of the subject you
have at heart, namely, the chaplaincy.
l have of late noticed
A GROWING DISSATISFACTION
on the part of army chaplains and theil
friends, with the chaplaincy system which
has been in vogue so long. There is evi
IDENTIFY desire Of Christian people for
radical change.
Judging by the bill just introduced init
Congress, l should say that, on reading ,
brief OF it, | detected the same peace ten
] dency to which l have alluded, namely,
I tendency to the chaplaincy bureau, with
headquarters at Washington, and with thu
usual variation of rank from the senio
head OF the bureau, perhaps, at first will
the rank of colonel, through the severa
army grades, down to the assistant chap
lain named in the bill, with the rank 0
lieutenant And, indeed. there is nothin,
unreasonable, on the face of it. in the desir
of chaplain throughout the army to be on
par with other officers, and if there shout
be established chaplain corps, it would b
wise, in my Judgment, to make it SO muc
on par with other bureau corps that
proper self-respect and an adequate com
pensation should be given to the chaplain
officers from first to last commensurate
with the important service they are to rem
der
But before giving full Endorsement t
such a new order of things, may we nc
stop and inquire, first, what is the object c
the chaplaincy in the army2
We may state without fear of contradit
ton that the legitimate object of the chal
laincy is
TO SUPPLY THE RELIGIOUS WANTS
of the officers. the soldiers, employees an