The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-02
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT


be placed in position of responsibility
| and authority. Fourth, there should be
ample experience and training of the
general movements Of large bodies APP
| proSimating war conditions.
Army War College.
1t is recommended that an army col
lege be established including the ma
jor general commanding and composed
of the heads of staff departments
| and a number of the ablest high rank
ing officers in the army, and to this
college should be entrusted the eXecu-
ton of the plans laid out under the
above four heads. Every officer below
the field officers. not graduate OF
the service schools should receive in
struction at this college. All staff APP
pointments should thereafter be made
from the line of the army for only "a
fixed period of say four or five years,
the older to return to the line at the
end of that period, and these staff APP
pcintments should be made on the war
college records of efficiency and fitness,
making allowance for gallant conduct
in the field and excepting only the
technical branches of engineers, ord
nance and signal service.
The present system OF promotion by
seniority should be extended to Off
GERS below field rank by dividing the
promotions between those based on
seniority and those based on efficiency
and gallantry. Staff appointments and
line promotions other than these for
seniority should be made by board
Of officers based on efficiency and rec
ords. There should be active cooper
alton between the army and navy in
the matter of their respective war col
leges to provide for joint defense and
action. The artillery branch of the
chn n hoS haT-
of the war college and on the staff of
the major general commanding, and
the inspection corps should be increas-
ca.
Turning to the volunteer element,
who must be relied upon to supple
ment the regular army in case of war,
the secretary lays stress on the choice
of preserving the same forms of dis
cipline, using the same arms and gem
orally insuring that the united body
shall be Homogeneous when assembled.
/. This matter should receive the eSpe-
cial consideration of the war college,
which should invite the confidence and
cooperation CT state and military au-
thoritiss and open its courses of in
strncti0n to national guard officers In
this way the secretary foresees an elias
tic machinery will be provided, SO that
when war threatens and long before
it Is declared the multitude of men
who are to do the work of organiZa-
ton may know without waiting for an
act of congress what will be required
of them when the hour strikes, and
may be engaged in the quiet and DELHI
crate preparation for necessity in adj
vance Of action to prevent confusion
and mistakes.
The secretary declares that the faith
full and efficient services of the West
Point graduates since the declaration
OF war with Spain have more than
repaid the cost of the military acad-
envy since its foundation, and he asks
for a considerable increase of capac-
ity of the institution and the number
of it's graduates The report draws
to a conclusion with a splendid tribute
to the army as shown during it's oper-
alton during the past two years, and
also credit to the officers Of the vol
unteer force for a large share in this
! achievement.