The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-02


no man who went out as a member Of
any Massachusetts regiment stands a;
poorly with the people as Col. Wood
ward Even in his own town of Wake
field. from which he has been sent tt
the Massachusetts Legislature and sen,
ate, he is given the cold shoulder ant
in military circles he is received with
frigidity. In the face of his record and
the poor name he has cast upon Massa.
chusetts and its troops, Col. Woodward
has had the nerve to make application
within thirty days after his discharge
for his old position as colonel of the 6tI
regiment
There is hardly man throughout the
state who believes he should be rein
stated at the reorganization of the
militia. His appointment to the colonel.
cy wpuld be slur upon the militia
records, an insult to the brave boys he
started out with and an insult to the
people Of the state. Col. Woodward
should have no place in the new militia
and as he fulfills all qualifications under
the law, the act Of May 10 will have tt
be amended or repealed so that he may
be disposed of. The time and cost for
changing the law will be well spent II
it will prevent his re-entrance into the
militia.
The record of the volunteers in the
campaigns they have been engaged in
has also, shown many instances where
| there is opportunity for Improvement
over the system in vogue in the vol
unteer militia These records furnish
abundant food for study and should be
we'll considered before the lines of re-
organization are fully determined. In
speaking of the records Of the troops,
no reflection Is made upon their brave
ry or fighting qualities, but more par
tieularly to the record of sickness and
/ death and some Of the causes 1t is a
notorious fact that there was consider
able more serious sickness and a heavi-
er death rate among the volunteer com
panies than among the regulars, and,
unpleasant as 1t is, truth demands that
! this cause be set down as lack of dis
cipline. 1t was not expected when the
! volunteers went away that they would
! be held as closely to army regulations
as the regulars, and this might have
been all right if not carried too far, but
some Of the officers, in the belief that
they were friendly and on a plane Of
| comradeship with their men, were
really the mems enemies,
! AS is we'll known, the commissions in
the militia were elective, and the com
panies went into the United States
service with officers of their own
choice. This was pleasant to the men,
but it was the direct cause for the lack
of discipline afterward shown In Cuba
and elsewhere. Many of the COM
missioned officers owed the possession
Of their shoulder straps to some man
in the ranks How often 1t has been
that when a vacancy in the second lieu
tenancy occurred, the first sergeant,
who was next in line of promotion, has
! refused to stand as candidate, and in
| consequence the second sergeant or
some other non-commissioned officer
went over his head and secured the
commission. Naturally, the new officer
felt grateful to the man who permitted
him to secure the straps, and to show
his gratitude he would make duties as
| light as possible for him.
In many instances, too, the captain
Of company won the double bars by
| jumping some other officer and many
times through a political deal worked
with the assistance of some man in the
ranks, for 1t was the enlisted men who
made the commander, and many a deal
has been put up in the interests of an
other man. This captain, if he was
at the head Of q company in Cuba, was
not going to make work any harder
than he could help for the man to
whom he owed everything. And, If he
issued an order displeasing to his bene-
factor and that man made objection,
the order was allowed to slip. This set
| a bad example for the men in the
ranks, and when this same non-com-
missioned officer gave an order, If the
work was unpleasant, it was not done.
The number of deaths due to this
condition of affairs is innumerable. In
Cuba, in many of the volunteer com
panies when men were detailed for
hospital work, they did not perform
| their duties, and allowed the boys with
whom they left home, and who were
suffering, to lie on a fever-stricken cot,
with no friendly hand extended to them.
Without care they very naturally died.
and to the shame of many aIreturned
hero" it is charged that he, on many
| occasion. failed to succor some dying
comrade. When this lack of discipline,
which in the home armory would be Of
little moment, is responsible for loss
of life, 1t should become necessary to
alter conditions 50 that even the re-
hottest chance for its recurrence would
be made nil.
To do this it would be necessary to
change the method of selecting the Off
men who held commissions have had
their fill of army life as well as the
enlisted men, 1t is likely that there
will be many vacancies in the heads of
companies when reorganization comes
/ around. 1t has been suggested that the
best way to prevent the existence of
another such condition of affairs, Is that
all officers win their places by merit
and that qualifications for an officer be
| physical and mental fitness for the
office, rather than good fellowship. The
good fellow is all right at the head of
a social organization, but in the mill
| tia, which is closely copied from the
take his chances with the less popular
man.
In the cases of the commissioned off,
GERS who wish to get back their old
| places, they should stand examination
as well as new aspirants for the Shout
der straps. This should not be dis
| pleasing to them, as none of them will
admit lacking in qualifications for the
positions, and appointment under the
new rules would make them independ-
ent. 1t would be necessary to constitute
board of examination for the purpose
| of conducting the examinations of can
| didates for commissions, but this could
easily be made up of regular army men
within the borders of the state. When
a vacancy in any of the commissioned
berths of q company existed, the exami-
nation could be open to any man Of the
| company and the man who won the
place would owe his elevation only to
/ his own efforts. and could demand the
| discipline and respect that belonged to
| the position.
| A study of the militia question in it's
present form is highly interesting, but
even the closest application will not de-
| termine the position of the officers or
men who did not enter the United
| States service. Some of these were
prevented from enlisting by physical
| deficiency, while others did not enter
the service for business reasons. The
men who held commissions in the mill
| tia and did not go to the front were
relieved from duty. Nothing in the
militia laws of last year applies to
them, and as the company to which
they were attached went of existence
with its enlistment into the United
! States service, they may be lilxened to
rudders without ships. The position of
/ these men has been much discussed