The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-09-02

CRITICIZE THE
NEW PROMOTIONS
Duboce's Selections
Not Popular.
SAID TO BE DUE TO A PULL
COLONEL SMITH WARMLY De
TENDED BY HIS MEN.
They Declare Him to Be a True
Soldier and Say He Has Been
Slandered by His
Enemies.
SAID TO BE DUE TO A PULL
COLONEL SMITH WARMLY DE-
Tended BY HIS MEN.

AANS~@AA~S'
AS has been the case with every volun-
teer regiment that has thus far returned
from the Philippines, the First Califor-
MIA boys have a few kicks coming. There
is hardly a man or officer in the entire
organization. from the battalion COM
manders down. who is not indignant at
the injustice that they claim has been
done to General Jim Smith in the reports
that have been circulated here concern
ing his popularity in the regiment he
once commanded. They say that at all
times and under all circumstances he did
his duty and that if there ever was any
feeling against him it was when the boys
We're a long time in garrison and had to
growl against some one. Naturally they
growled against Smith, as all troops are
wont TO growl against a commander once
in a while. These little ebullitions of ner-
Vousness, they say, have been so magnl-
fled at home as to have resulted in con-
siderable undeserVed criticism of a com
mander whom they all respect ana than
whom no Drawer ever led troops TO battle.
The regiment is almost unanimous in re-
GREETING his severance from 1t, ana the
men say they have many a time wished
he was once more over them.
There have been many petty individual
differences engendered during the last
fifteen months, but these the men and
officers alike refuse to discuss for publ
cation. They say that now the war is
over, as far as they are concerned, and
the regiment is home once more, old
sores should be allowed to heal or at
least bandaged by esprit de corps; they
should be hidden from the sight OF the
public.
There are a few things, however, that
they are willing to talk about, not Tor
the sake Of causing scandal, but in order
that the people may not misconstTue
things and refuse to give honor where
/ honor is due. These matters are mostly
L tod = hE. nr11n 11r
which seem TO have given as much uni
versal dissatisfaction as anything could
possibly engender.
1t is not the promotions from the ranks
against which this criticism is leveled.
The verdict seems to be that they are
about right But it is the promotions
have set the ball of discOrd rolling. SO
general is this kick that there seems to
be but one officer who has escaped the
universal knocking which is now going
on. This isolated case is the one of Cap
3 tain CurZonS, the regimental adJutant,
/ who has just been promoted from the
position of first lieutenant. The men say
he is a good officer who deserved his ad-
Vancement for his courage as well as for
mis- other soldierly qualities. They say
that inasmuch as Slime was by far the
best volunteer officer in the Philippines,
and as his merit was recognized by the
regular officers there to such an extent
that they paid him the compliment of
making him the senior major OF a regu-
lar cavalry regiment, and that the date
OF MS COMMISSION makes MIN the senior
OF Colonel Duboce. should tnat gentle
man accept the commission procured for
him, the State of California should at
least have shown him an equal courtesy
by making him the lieutenant colonel of
the regiment he did so much to distin-
guish, even though the title should have
been merely an honorary one, his present
position not permitting Of his acceptance
of the active office.
Next to Slime the choice of the regiment
seems to favor Captain O. Neil command d.
based on the record for gallantry he has
made which, in the opinion OF the regl-
ment, is strong enough TO more than
affect the claims Of seniority which others
have possessed. O'Neill was recommend
ed for the rank of major, but learning
that his acceptance would place in COM
mand of his company man whose record
. under fire would make him ridiculous in
such a position, but who, notwithstand-
ing the fact that his reputation. was
had been recommended for promotion on
the ground of seniority, o. NELL refused
the advancement and decided TO remain
in command of Company NJ as plain
captain.
L is the fact that though every other
first sergeant in the regiment received the
shoulder straps, their senior enlisted man,
Frank Grundman, was overlooked like
white chip and Sergeant Major Badt was
made their second lieutenant when Adler
received his promotion The men say
they have no kick coming against Badt,
as he is good man and good soldier.
but they say Grundman is equally eX-
cellent as a man and soldier and as
game as they make them Therefore they
argue he should not have been over
looked. particularly as there are more
than enough vacancies to go around, as
is evinced by some OF the companies get
ting two promotions from the ranks. If
Duboce. they say, was so technical about
his recommendations for seniority alone,
he could not in fairness have overlooked
Grundman, who has good record to
back his seniority of non-commisson.
These are only a few of the kicks in
others. A sergeant summed the whole
situation up when he said: Record cuts
no figure. While some promotions are de-
served, there is not one based on merit
alone It's a case of pure simple pull,
and the fellow having the strongest drag
gets there. The men of the regiment are
all right, and so are many of the officers,
but until politics and faVOritiSm are elm
mated from it, ii will never show what it
is really capable of Jim Smith was the
man who knew how things should be
done.
Colonel Duboce, when seen regarding
the complaints, said that he could not dis
cuss the matter further than to say the
men he recommended for promotion were
seniority of their rank and because there
was nothing officially against them,
whatever their regulations might be
throughout the command
The enlisted men and many of the Off
GERS laugh at this. They say that while
many who received promotions deserved
them, yet there were others who have
got honors to which they are not en-
men, who know something about senior
ity and other red tape affairs. selected a
man on whom to confer distinction, they
chose Sine, who had neither seniority or
pull to back him up, but whose only rec
ommendation to favor was his gallant
record as a soldier