The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-12-04

for the present staff and supply depart
ments, they should be filled by details
from the line, the men so detailed re-
turning after while to their line duties
1t is very undesirable to have the senior
grades of the army composed of men who
have come to fill the positions by the
mere fact of seniority A system should
be adopted by which there shall be an
elimination grade by grade of those who
seem unfit to render the best service in
the next grade. Justice to the veterans
of the Civil War who are still in the
army would seem to require that in the
matter of retirements they be given By
law the same privileges accorded to their
comrades in the navy.
The process of elimination of the least
fit should be conducted in a manner that
would render 1t practically impossible
to apply political or social pressure on
behalf of any candidate, so that each
man may be judged purely his own
merits Pressure for the promotion of
civil officials for political reasons is bad
enough but it is tenfold worse where APP
piled on behalf of officers of the army
or navy. Every promotion and every de-
tail under the War Department must BE-
made solely with regard to the good of
the service and to the capacity and
merit of the man himself No pressure,
political social or personal, of any kind.
will be permitted to exercise the least
effect in any question of promotion or
detail and If there is reason to believe
that such pressure is exercised at the
instigation of the officer concerned, it
will be held to initiate against him. In
wards or duties distributed save on The
simple ground that those who by their
own merits are entitled to the rewards
get them. and that those who are pc
culiarly fit to do the duties arc chosen
to perform them.
Every effort should be made to bring
the army to a constantly increasing
state of efficiency. When on actual SER
vice no work save that directly in the
line of such service should be required.
The paper work in the army, as in the
navy, should be greatly reduced What
is needed is proved power OF command
and capacity to work we'll in the field.
Constant care is necessary to prevent
dry rot in the transportation and COM
missary departments.
| Our army is so small and so much scat
higher officers Gas we'll as the lower
officers and the enlisted mem a chance
to practice manoeuvres in mass and on
comparatively large scale. In time OF
need no amount of individual excellence
would avail against the paralysis which
would follow inability to work as a CO.
herent whole, under skillful and daring
leadership. The Congress should pro-
vide means whereby it will be possible
to have field exercises by at least q d
vision of regulars, and if possible also
a division of national guardsmen, once
a year. These exercises might take the
form of field manoeuvres; or, ii Oh the
Gulf coast or the Pacific or Atlantic sea-
! board, or in the region of the Great
Lakes, the army corps when assembled
could be marched from some inland point
| to some point on the water, there em-
barked, disembarked after a couple Of
DAYS Journey at some other point and
again marched inland. Only by actual
handling and providing for men in masses
while they are marching, camping en-
barking and disembarking, will it be pos
sible to train the higher officers to per-
form their duties we'll and smoothly
A great debt is owing from the public
to the men of the army and navy They
! should be so treated as to enable them
| to reach the highest point of efficiency,
so that they may be able to, respond in
| stantly to any demand made upon them
| to sustain the interests of the nation and
the honor of the flag. The individual
American enlisted man is probably on
the whole more formidable fighting
man than the regular of any other army
Every consideration should be shown him
usefulness should be exacted from him.
1t isewell worth while for the Congress
to consider whether the pay of enlisted
men upon second and subsequent enlist
ments should not be increased to corre-
spond with the increased value of the
veteran soldier. ss
Much good has already come from the
in the present year. The three prime re-
forms all of them of literally inestima-
bic value, are, first, the substitution OF
fCur-year details from the line for per-
manent appointments in the so-called
staff divisions; second, the establish
ment of corps of artillery with chief
at the head; third, the establishment OF
a maximum and minimum limit for the
army. it would be difficult to overestimate
the Improvement in the efficiency of our
army which these three reforms are maxi
ing, and have in part already effected.
The reorganization provided for by the
CONTINUED on Page Six.)