The National tribune., 1902-03-27
THE WAR DEPARTMENT IMBRoaL1o.

The chronic dispute between the War
Department and the General Commanding
the Armies of the United States has
broken out afresh. This conflict between
the two has always existed. and seems in
evitable from the form of our Government.
The Constitution makes the President
! the Commander-in-C Chief of the Army and
Navy, and the Secretary of War assumes
to be his immediate agent in commanding
the army. Therefore, he takes direct con-
! troll of all the staff bureaus, leaving the
| Commanding General little more than a
! figurc-head.
The insidedness of this. is that the Ad-
iutant General Quartermaster General,
CommissaryGener etc, recognize that
the Secretary Of War is the superior pow
er, and usually more tractable to their de-
signs than the Commanding General, and
play the former off against the latter, to
/ the Commanding Generals discontinue
and humiliation.
! Gen. Winfield Scott was in a constant
turmoil with the Secretary of War,
especially willie JEFF. Davis held that posi-
/ ton. Davis frequently and Outrageously
/ insuIted the General, who removed his
headquarters from Washington.
| Even Gen. Sherman would not stand the
position he was made to assume by his
personal friends. President Grant and Sec
rotary Belknap. and removed his head
quarters to st. Louis.
Gen. Sheridan tared up at times, but
Gen. Schofield was more diplomatic, and
the public heard of no friction. Gen.
Miles has been in constant collision with
the Department almost ever since his
designation as Commanding General, and
the dispute reached an acute stage last
Thursday, when he went before the Senate
Committee on Military Affairs. to speak
in regard to the following oill, which had
been introduced 10y Senator Hawley, ut
the instance of the War Department:
"That from and after the passage of
thiSact the senior genera. officer of the army
shall be assigned to command such por-
tiOn of the army rs the President may
direct, or be detailed to duty in the general
staff corps. All duties prescribed by law
for the Commanding General of the Army
shall be performed by the Chief of Gen
eral Staff. or other general officer deSig-
mated by the Secretary of War, provided,
that so long as the present Lieutenant
General of the Army continues on the ac-
tive list he shall be the Chief of the Gen
eral Staff, and upon the separation from
active service of the said Lieutenant-Gen-
eral of the Army said office, except as
herein provided, shall cease and deter
mine
Gen. Miles characterized this provision
as absolute foolishness. 1t was, he said.
completely subversive of military disci-
pline and would destroy the unity of the
army. He insists that the military estab-
lishment should have one head and quoted
Wellington, Napoleon, Washington, Grant,
and other great commanders TO sustain his
position. He recalled the time during the
Spanish war when he ordered Shafter to
Santiago Immediately after learning that
Cervera's feet was in Santiago harbor, and
said that prompt action would have been
impossible If he had been compelled to
summon and consult the Majors, Colonels,
and Generals who might have constituted
the general staff.
He charged that the bill had been
framed so as to allow the Secretary of
War and the Adjutant- General TO promote
the interests OF their personal favorites.
Gen. Miles went further. He declared
that he would resign his commission II
the proposed bill, which proposes the Or
ganization of a general staff for the army,
should become a law. He spoke with
great emphasis, and at times with bitter
ness, not concealing his belief that the leg
islation was directed personally mt him.
This, of course. created an immense hub
bub. and demands that the General should
be disciplined. The most obvious way of
doing this would be to have the President
put him Oh the retired list, on the ground
that he is now G2 years Of age. This
would cut down his pay % per cent.