The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-25
DIFFERING THE ARMY.

When the war began the whole coun-
try gave to the administration its
united and hearty support and had the
utmost confidence in it. The country
is still standing by the administration
and viii till the end of the war, but
the country is having its confidence in
the administration more or less shaken.
The reason for this is that in the mat
ter of military nominations the rule of
selection seems to have been favoritism
and not military training or ability
The keynote to this situation was
sounded when General Miles, in reply
TO General Mosby's application for an
appointment under him, said: See
your senator" Literally translated,
that means, Get a pull They have
got the plums who had political pulls
or social standing. Almost every list of
nominations sent in contains the names
of some whose only fitness for the
places to which they are named is the
fact that they are the sons of their
fathers. Sons of ex-presidents and
cabinet officers are given positions for
their fathers sakes and not for any
merit of their own. The thing is
scandalous now and cannot fail to be
disastrous hereafter. These appoint
ments would be all well enough had the
available supply of trained military
men been exhausted, but it has not
been All know how inefficient the pub
lie civil service is when filled through
political influence with no regard to
when military appointments, in war
time, are made through political in
fiuence. 1t would be quite as reason
able to officer the navy in the same
way, but if the attempt were made the
whole cOdntry would rise up and de-
clare it to be nothing but suicidal. 1t
is 70 less suicidal to officer the army
in that manner; in the case of the navy
the danger is more patent; that is all
the difference. The efficiency of an
army depends chiefly upon the eff
cheney of the officers by whom it is led,
and yet favoritism, to large extent,
and not capacity and experience, deter
mines the selection of officers. To W hat
extremes this. has gone is shown by a
Washington dispatch to the New York
Herald:
when one of the men given a staff
appointment by President Mckinley
has to sober up before he can &c TO the
White House to thank the president
for it, it is about time to give up any
further discussion of the subject"
Thus spoke today a very prominent
represf ntative, touching the pell-mell
lists of nominations now being sent in
to the senate for military preferment.
A Well-informed official in the capital
today stated to me that the appoint
mentS thus far made had covered the
request of about half Cf the senators.
Another remark was made, empha-
sizing the contrast between we'll
equipped, daring and worthy men doing
camp chores as priVateS among Teddy
Terrors and persons with no person
ality to speak of, unless it be for some
scandalOus distinction, being lifted in
rank over men in line of promotion and
some of whom had even won medals
OF honor
Such are some of the specific criti-
cisms. The performance of the presi-
.iert seems 10 have come almost to the
point Of the ludicrous, when the famil-
lar names of distinguished men appear
day by day, only to be discarded for
some inexperienced nephew, some pro-
tege or client of a senator or other
prominent personage.
~ ti7-1 \ halt was called. The
business of war is too serious a matter
10 be treated in anything but the most
serious manner