The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-10
General Fex's Rebuke
to X. N. G. Members.
Wanted to Be Excused From
Attending Officers School.
TOOK WRONG METHOD.
Forgot Their Military Position
and Wrote to Head.
Much Pains Taken to Make the
School Success.

There are two officers in the Kansas
National Guard today who may be
wishing they had never learned to
write: at least they are sorry they ever
learned to read writing. One is a cap
tain and another is a lieutenant, and
both ought to know better.
They did it to themselves. They
wrote to Adjutant General S. NJ. Fox,
asking to be excused from attendance
upon the officers school which is to be
held here on the fair grounds next
week. The lieutenant really has a sut-
ficient excuse, as the care of big
business rests upon him in his employ
er's absence, but at this writing he has
not been relieved. Mr.. Captain just
says TT is impossible for me to at
tend"
Now the thing that has lain nearest
to Sim Fox's heart for the last month
has been this same officers school. 1t
has been with him by night and pS
day. 1t has filed nine of his ten once
hours by day and displaced ms reg
ular nightmare at night. He mas
worked on the programme, on the IN
structors, on his assistant, Jane
Smith to get out the hundred tents
that must be pitched and there IS no
evidence to the contrary but that he
has worked on the grounds with SPADE
pick and shovel, so that the camp sAAl,
be ideal and the SCEloo1 Y NeSAuaDAS sA'~
instructive one.
one who is not military could not
tell you all Fox IS going to have al the
school camp. There viii be IS tents FOR
the officers. There will be color line
brigade Headquarters VIII flank one
side of the entrance and the press tent
the other. There will be a parade
ground but no parades, no shaIn pat
ties nor fusillades- There VIII De d
c0u1TniSsarV q kitchen, a mess tent,
and a hospital Battery 3 viii have
the open neck of the quadrangle on the
east to i'll and fire the morning and
evening guns.
These are only some Of the prepara-
tons, and arranging for it all has peeh
a mess of work
Wherefore when the two young Off
GERS sent requests to be excused TO the
adjutant general, 1t is not to be Won
defed that they would get dressing
down. especially if they lacked military
precision This was just the trouble
and the result was that each OF these
officers holds in his hand today letter
that might have been boiled down to
this for this is the Interpretation:
Dear Sir. This school was arranged
for the instruction Of officers OF the r.
N O. You had better attend. Your let
ter to me shows you need it,
S NJ FOX, Adjutant General.
There is a formula for officers to fol-
low when they wish to be excused from
duty. The pair of culprits made their
mistake by cutting out the formula
The lieutenant IN question should
have presented his Written request 70
his captain: the captain o. KS and dis
patches to the colonel of the
regiment; the colonel O. ks ana dls-
patches it to the brigade headquarters
General Hughes): the latter Q. X
and passes it up to the adjutant gen
eral
There is reason for all ''red tape,
answers the military man to critics
His regimental officers are supposed to
know fhe local conditions that hedge
around each minor officer and whether
requests are reasonable OF not, whereas
the commanding general is far removed
from the local situation and has moth
ing to guide his action by except the
endorsements that come up to him
These particular guardsmen viii mo-
suffer greatly by their blunder further
| than the Dressing down" already ad-
| rninfstered The adjutant general, II
/ his replies, sent them explicit directions
! how to proceed with the assurance thai
their applications will be acted upof
without prejudice when they come up II
! proper form.