The National tribune., 1899-07-20
MAJ-GEN. T.. 8. OTIS.

IL 1luSt DC reluctantly duIlttcu tiidt IL Stciiis
as if Mai Gen. Z. S. Otis is not the man for the
place he occupies His defects are those
which have always afflicted Regular Army
officers, and probably always will, especially
when they are called upon to enter war after
a long period of peace. 1t seems exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible, for man, after ne
has spent the bigger part of his life in sedulous
attention to the multitudinous little TECHNICAL
ties and red tape which occupy Regular
Army officers mind in time of peace, when he
is commanding his company his battalion,
or little post, to suddenly rise to grasp OF
ar-reaching movements, causes and effects.
That was the trouble with the great proportion
of the Regular Army officers who went into the
War of the Rebellion. They were excellent
men, and fine soldiers, and had made un-
surpassed Captains, Majors, and even Colonels.
But they had spent their lives in painstaking
study of an infinite number of little details
connected with the command of small bodies
of men, they wanted to personally see every
thing that was done, and even superintend its
doing, and they wanted it done according to
their peculiar IDEAS Consequently, when
they were suddenly called upon to command
brigadeS, divisions, corps and even armies
they were overwhelmed. The thing was en-
trely too big for them Every thinking vet
eran will remember numerous instances Of
this For example. Gen Mansfield was killed
while lining up regiment TO suit his faStidous
ideas. In the first place, it was not at all
essential that the regiment should have the
exact dress" on the battlefield that it had on
parade, and in the next, if it had the duty Of
securing it should have been left to its Colonel,
or some Lieutenant on the staff. Gems. Sum
ncr, Burnside, Granger, and hosts of others
could be mentioned who were incurably
afflicted in this way 1t was what led to Gen.
Warren's troubles. OF course there were
brilliant exceptions. Gems Thomas and
Sheridan were exceptionally good company
officers and patient students of detail, but they
had the capacity to expand, when the need
came, and manage things that they could not
personally overlook, by trusting 10 their sub
ordinates. 1t has always been claimed that
capacity for high command by leaving the
Regular Army while they were yet compara-
lively young men, and getting broader views
in civil life. z.
Gen. Otis entered the army as volunteer
Captain, and he made an exceptionally good
soldier The end of the rebellion found him
Lieutenant Colonel Of hi. regiment, with which
rank he entered the Regular Army. Like all
ambitious civilian appointees, he became more
regular than the regulars. He was promoted
to Colonel of the 20ll u S. in 1882, and a
Brigadier General in 1898, and has conscien-
tiously performed the routine duty OF those
positions. His rank gave him command OF
the forces sent to the Philippines, after the
retirement of Gen. Merritt The evidence is
to the effect that he has made very good
Military Governor of Manila, but has failed as
commander of forces in the field. He has
not taken the field himself, but remained in
Manila busying himself with an Industrious
dtitltiDu W IilllDI uCtdiLo anu titptinpuu W
direct the army from his Office. One of the
specific complaints against him is that he has
compelled the troops to wait for orders while
he was painstakingly going over press dis
patches, blue penciling such as he did not like,
and altering the wording to suit his views.
His censorship of the dispatches has led to a
round-robin protest by all the correspondents,
which has been published in all the papers, and
made matter for discussion at Cabinet meet
ing. To say the least, his military operations
have been unsatisfactory, and there is a pros
pect now that he will be relieved of command
of the troops engaged in active operations, and
have his duties confined TO the administration
OF the Government Of Manila, and such other
parts OF the archipelago as are not the field for
military operations.
Under him are Gems. John C. Bates, H. W
Lawton, and Arthur Macarthur, ranking in the
order named, all good soldiers, and who have
shown great capacity for the command of large
bodies of men in the field Gen Jos. Wheeler
has been sent thther. He outran!is them ALL
except Gen. Otis. and it is possible that the
active command may be given him.