The times., 1898-12-14
Army characterization.

If the influence of the Administration
is strong enough to prevent Congress
sional investigation into the conduct of
the war-a sincere and serious inquiry
that will bring home to the civilian
usurpers in the War Office the RESPONSE
bility for the needless death of soldiers
and the avoidable sufferings of troops
in Cuba and in the American camEs-
then it will be strong enough to defeat
proper reorganization of the army. The
two things belong together Secretary
Alger and Adiutant General Cortin both
severely civilian, but without the mod
esty of the ordinary citizen in mi itary
matters, are rapidly maturing their
plans by which the latter will be made
virtually the commanding general. Dur
ing the next seven years. when our new
army particularly needs the educational
influence of n trained soldier at its head,
this man without military knowledge will
be able to prevent that development
which is necessary TO produce proper
army. The first step has been taken. as
pointed out by General Breckenridge, IN
the disintegration of the inspector gem
erals department and the transfer of its
vital duties to specially assigned officers,
responsible to the adjutant general alone.
With the thorough investigation that
is so obviously required by justice and
the future welfare of the army. and so
strongly demanded by the people, all the
schemes of the civilian blunderers must
fail. When it is made matter of a Con-
gressionai report that the first results of
these very schemes have been the se,ec-
tion of an incompetent commander of
Cuban expedition, the narrow csc ape from
retreat and disaster. the needless staiva-
ton and exposure of men who We're en-
gagged in continual fighting and the epi-
demic disease that was allowed to rage
among the soldiers through the absence
of all system then their measure cannot
receive half a dozen favorable votes in
Congress- Everybody understands the
facts. If anybody was ignorant of the
chief source of all the Affections of the
armies in the fields and in the camps he
must have received light when Cen
eral Schofield replied to some of the
questions of the House Military Commit
tee. General Miles himself had intimated
that he was suspended from the command
of the army through the Vaccinations Of
the two civilians mentioned. and he as
serted that civilians could not do the
work of army officers In connection with
this, the statement of General Schofield
completes the history of the blunders Of
the Spanish war. Under the present
system" he said, the commanding Off
Ger of the army is such only in name
He has no real power as a commander
and often very little influence. 1t is a
mere humbug and fraud, by which the
public has long been deluded to consider
the head of the army as having any real
authority. When the Secretary of War
persistently ignores the commanding gen.
eral the necessary result is that tht. ad-
jutant general becomes more important
| officer than the head of the army
| This is. exactly what caused all the
| trouble in the recent war. The lives of
our soldiers were placed in the hands of
| a Secretary of War and an adjutant gen.
eral, neither of whom had any knowledge
| of military science. They were worse
than ignorant because they scorned
military conventionalities.' Every hour
| of hunger, every hour of needless danger
| and of exposure, every unnecessary pain
| suffered by the wounded. every prevent
| able death in our army, can be traced TO
| this very cause. With the awful lesson
| before us. the tears of bereaved women
| still flowing. it is proposed to perpetuate
the unmilitary and vicious system to
| crafty the personal enmity of one of the
| offenders and the unwarranted ambition
| of the other. 1t is full time for Congress
to act. An investigation will be the most
| effective method of prevention. but in any
case, the army bill that has the approval
| of the War Office and which violates
| every principle of army organization most
| strongly insisted upon by the experienced
| generals Of the world should be defeated
| There is no reason for party division on
the subject of army reorganization. Since
it is necessary that we should maintain
a considerable military establishment II
| is important that it should be modern
| rather than Chinese in its structure. Tn,
| Military Committees, especially, may be
expected to place the welfare of the arm,
above all party considerations.