Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-28
LIVELY SHAKE UP
Secretary LamOnt's New Regulations
For War Department.
MANY VERY RADICAL CHANGES
Curtailing the Assistants Will Lop
Off Many Officers.
HUNDREDS OF DISCHARGES

Secretary Lamont's plan for the reorgani-
zation of the War Department has been an
nounced at last. and he has gone away
from the city until the storm blows over. 1t
is modelled after the system adopted by Col
Ainswcrth in the record and pension office,
and will result in a heavy reduction of
clerical force and a corresponding saving
in salaries. The subject has engaged the
attention Of Secretary Lamont ever since he
entered the department. almost to the ex-
clusion of other business.
The new system will go into operation
July l. the beginning Of the next fiscal year,
and will entail shaking up" such as
never before occurred in the department
Thereafter chiefs of bureaus will he AL
SoWed but two assistants, unless otherwise
ordered by the Secretary of War in special
cases. The chief clerk of each bureau shall
twice each day personally supervise the
work going on in each room of the bureau.
Inc confederate archives division and such
records OF the returns division and the ap-
pointment division and personal branch as
pertain to the volunteer force of the army
are transferred from the adjutant generals
once 10 the record and pension office.
Speelal and general orders relating to
soiuhteer 1orces of any war, and all records
mes, books. manuscripts, returns or cor
responoence In any bureau that pertain ex-
eeluslveiy or principally to the volunteer
record and pension office Military records
OF discontinued commands pertaining ex-
Siusively TO the regular army are trans
terreu ts from the record and pension office to
the adJutant generals office, as are all rec
0rds pertaining to the Military Academy at
West Point
The card index record system now In sue
cessful operation in the record and pension
office, the quartermaster generals office
office of the chief Of engineers and adjutant
senerars office Is applied to all the other
bureaus or the department, except in cases
where books are kept in connection with ac-
counts with the Treasury Department, or
such as deal with appropria tions or the ac-
counts of disbursing officers. or as may be
otherwise prescribed by law. No more than
one set of books shall be kept in any bureau
and the same shall cover the entire business
OF such bureau for which books are re-
qured.
Provision Is made for a card index of all
precedents and decisions now contained in
book or other form In any bureau, and for
keeping the same up from day to day.
Annual reports of chiefs of bureaus are
restricted, except as otherwise provided by
law. to a succinct general statement in
narrative form.
Army regulations shall hereafter be
amended by a specific amendment Of the
whole of the paragraph or paragraphs af-
fected, and no revision Of the regulation
shall be made without written authority of
the Secretary of War. defining the scope
thereof.
One of the provisions of Secretary Car
isles order that ca uses more concern to The
army than probably all the others COM
bined is that which prescribes that no chief
of bureau shall have more than two as
sistants, except by special permission of the
Secretary. This provision bears specially
hard on the adjutant general, the quarter
master general, the surgeon and the chief
of ordnance. each of whom has assistants
In excess Of the new limit. According to the
rpptSfar
has eleven assistants, as follows: Lieut.
Col. Corbin, Lieut.. Col. Barber Lieut. Col.
Volkmar, Maj Gilmore. Maj. Hall, Maj
Babcock, Capt. Rodgers, fourth cavalry: !:
Lieut.. Blunt, fifth cavalry; Lieut.. Rowan
nineteenth infantry; Lieut.. Williams third
artillery. and Lieut.. Edwards twenty third
infantry. The six officers last named, be-
ginning with Maj Babcock are on duty in
the division of military intelligence A
strict enforcement of the Secretary's order
will entail the relief of nine of the total
number from further duty in this city. The
two to remain have not yet been selected
but Col. Corbin. it is thought will be one
inspector General Breckenridge has but
TWO assistants in Washington, viz, Lieut.
Col e. H. Burton and Maj. J. p. Sanger
one OF these will undoubtedly be assigned
to other duty. There will be no change in
the office of the judge advocate general. as
Col G. n. Lieber, in charge. has but one as
sistant. Lieut.. Col. Winthrop. Quartermas-
ter General Batchelder has five assistants
In his office, as follows: Lieut.. Col. Luding-
ton, Maj. kimball, and Capts. Patten Mil
Ter and Long. Some of these must CO.
Commissary General Hawkins has the as
sistance of Col. Morgan and Capts Aleyan-
der and Nye. at least one above the limit.
Surgeon General Sternberg has three assist
ants, more than the Secretary considers
necessary. There are five officers of
the medical department on duty in his Of
nee at present. as follows Col. Alden, Mais
Blllings, Smart and Reed and Capt Merrill
Paymaster General Smith has but one as
II AIrnbl lAY.lN
Eumber cannot well be reduced Gen Casey.
chief or engineers. has three engineer Off
GERS In his office. viz, Majs. Adams and
Iurtie and Capt. Knight. Gen. Flagler,
cnlef or ordnance has the assistance of five
oincers, viz, Capts. Shaler, Smith, McNally.
nipple and Birney. Their duties, like
those or the engineer officers, are entirely
technical and cannot possibly be performed
by the regular clerical force of the office. "a
Is proposed In the Secretarys plan
Gen. Greely. chief signal officer, has one
assistant assistant, Capt Robert Craig, and Maj.
records Office. has three assistants. viz !.
Capts Cowles. twenty-third infantry; Full
ier second cavalry, and Lieut.. Macomb,
hfth cavalry. These line officers will ali
propapiy De sent back to their regiments.
The Reduction.
As has been already stated in The Star
there will be reduction of about 300 In the
clerical force of the War Department on
the lst of July, about $50 of the number
being in the office of records and pension.
over 100 clerks have already been dropped
from the rolls of that office. Many of the
clerks to be dismissed July 1 will be noti-
fled on Thursday. and the remainder will
receive notice on the 18th proximo. Both
classes will be granted leave of absence
until July 1.
A provision of the new order is as fol-
lows:
mo information, written or oral. shall
be directly or indirectly communicated re-
specting the business of the department or
any of the records pertaining directly or
indirectly thereto to any person whatso-
ever not on duty in one of the bureaus of
the department without the express author
fty of the chief of bureau concerned"
1t will puzzle any person, who has had
business with the War Department, es-
pecially newspaper men, to understand how
the sources of information in that depart
ment can possibly be sealed tighter than
they are at present. The State Department
is a glass house compared to the War De-
partment.
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