New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-12
MEGGING" IN THE ARMY.
AN EVIL WHICH CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE
REFORM.
,un "LEGGER" IS SUPPLEMENTARY
RuREAUCRAT WHO SECURES SOFT
BERTHS BY MEANS OF HIS
"PuLL"-A CRY OF DISTRESS
FROM CUBA
fBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.l

FROM CUBA.
Try TELEGRAPH To THE TRIBUNE.l
washington May 11.-An Associated Press
s,snatch of the 9th from Havana contained the
.,gn,fcant statement that Regular Army Of
1cers in Cuba are complaining on account Of
the insufficiency of commissioned officers avail
abe for service throughout the island. 1t was
said that more than half the officers of the Sth
Infantry are absent. throwing on the remainder
,abors far too great to be endured in that eli
mate.
This cry for help from overworked officers
.cnscentiously on duty with their commands in
,be field is one that should receive both public
and official attention. 1t is caused by an abuse
which has grown to serious proportions In the
last few years. 10 which The Tribune has re-
neatedly alluded from time to time. 1t is the
,dcous system of detaching favorte officers
,non special duties away from their proper
commands. These are largely civilian employ
rnents which could easily be handled without
-acourse to military officers. These special de-
tails up to the time of the Spanish war had LETT
roost of the regular regiments in the field in
the present condition Of the Sth Infantry IN
Cuba. Yet the Army Register showed that
.bsre was in the United States Army at the be-
Ginning Of 1898 an average of one commissioned
o4scer 10 about every dozen enlisted men.
Thus while the Government had issued com
missions enough and was paying officers sum
cent 10 fill up every company and regiment IN
the nermanent establishment to overhowing, IL
WAS unfortunately the truth that commands In
the field were almost uniformly found with the
minimum and oftentimes non-commissioned
, oaicers were called into requsiton for impor-
tant trusts The exigencies Of the war compeheo
the return to their regiments of many OF these
detailed officers. but the complaint from CUBA
proves that the relief was only temporary, ana
thai the old lax system of details has been
resumed.
NEED OF IMMEDIATE REFORM.
This has been an extraordinary development
IN the military system great evil which calls
for immediate reform. Although there Is
great redundancy OF officers, there Is always an
apparent shortage where they are really needed
which is made the ground for constant pressure
for increases in the official personnel. as here
tofore pointed out in The Tribune. for which
there is no necessity II is ndsputable that
there is a shortage of officers where there ought
10 be a plethora--that is. with the troops In the
field The redundancy disclosed by the Army
Register of 1898 found mainly in the stan
bureaus and their adjuncts in Washington and
elsewhere. It was not wholly composed Of
officers of the bureaus but included a consider
able number of line officers with pull de-
tached to their aid some ostensible plea OF
necessity Their absence. of course. puts an
extra burden upon the more conscientious Of
fcers remaining with the command.
The increase Of enlisted strength caused by
the Spanish war somewhat reduced the relative
d,sproportion Of officers but It is still far greater
than in European armies. The German Army
on a war footing averages one officer to every
forty-fve men, whereas our Army during the
war with Spain had one officer TO every twenty
six enlisted men. Here. then, is a strange para
dox. While there is cry for help from the
front, there yet appears to be too many officers
IN the Army. Where are they? Why. for in
stance, should half the officers Of the Sth In
fantry in this time of need be absent from that
regiment and the remainder Overworked?
TOO MANY DRONEs ON THE LIST.
There is a rapidly growing opinion IN well-in-
formed quarters that this redundancy of officers
is largely made up OF a class Of ineffcients who
should be weeded out or hereafter carefully
guarded against. Those who care to express an
opinion upon the subject say that there are too
many drones upon the Army list negligent off,
GERS who shirk their proper duties. leaving their
comrades in the lurch to do double duty There
has of recent years grown to be too much selfish
ness In some quarters in the Army, too much
looking after the main chance too much con-
centration OF attention upon promotion, as II
that were the main desderatum of the Army
mans existence. The more liberal the Govern
'nent the more greedy have become these mill
tary benefciaries OF its favors, and the more
aeglectful Of their duties.
A system OF details and transfers has grown
into an abuse which is destroying the efficiency
OF several branches Of the service, because the
officers who profit by il are not the real soldiers
OF the Army To avoid garrison duty or field
service they practise without scruple what is
contemptuously stigmatized by knowing ones as
Army politics TO secure details on some easy
special service at the capital or elsewhere. While
their command on the frontier is calously left
to rust itself out, they theoretically devote their
time TO the enjoyment Of society. With suhl-
Client influence. 1t is not uncommon for one to
have special service created for the occasion
that u.s. TO be detached practically no duty
at all These men are known as Army poll
ticians" or "leggers." Some Of them en-
lowed with extraordinary craft and go from
one easy job to another, year in and year out.
rLEGGERs" SPECIES OF BUREAUCRAT.
Now. the genuine line '1egger"-the supple
mentary bureaucrat-has no pride In his pro-
fession Of arms. His business is 10 look out
for the main chance. He is also a relentless
mileage hend," a term first made known to the
civilian public through The Tribune the other
day, but very significant to the initiated. Their
great administrative" ability with singular CO.
incidence, so times the Governments necessities
as 10 compel orders for journeys through the
cool Northern belts in the dog DAYS while in
winter their duty admOnishes them 10 a more
southerly flight The civilian Secretary or AS
sistant Secretary generally knows no more about
departmental details than the Army officers in
charge are willing TO impart which is lust as
little as possible. and only so much as NAV he
most useful to themselves. With some Of these
military "sharps" IL is a matter of no dificultv
to procure order" for journey every sea-
son which covers the theatre of the familv's
summer outing. This Is no exaggeration
II is a great card with one OF these men IN
achieve the renutation OF being an "ahla "a