Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-04-12
GEN. SCHOLFIElD
Heartily Approves Of General
Staff for the Army.
Thinks We Are Away Behind Times
in Military Organization.
Must Have Someone to Lead on Whom
President May Depend.

the testimony given before the senate
committee On military affairs by Gen.
| Schofield, formerly the commanding
| general of the army, on the bill to Gre
ate a general staff was made pub1c,
| today. He endorsed the bill, saying:
1.-The very exalted individual once,
so called, of commanding general OF
the army. must disappear. There Is no
room for it in this government, no mat
| ter who occupies it; 1t IS not Il ques-
| ton of personality at all, or the CHAR
acter of the individual, so far as TINS
great question is concerned. He must
be what other nations of the earth
have. a chief of staff, not a command
| ing general
| Referring to the German system,
Gen. Schofield said: I'VE would have
| to modify their system so as to make it
applicable. If we had at the head of
the army for years the same distin-
guished general, other things being
satisfactory, that would be very well !;
but what is the use of a great general
as the nominal head of the army if the
| President will not even talk to him eX-
cept to critcise him or if the secretary
of war and he do not even see each
other? What good is he?"
| Senator BurrOwS-"Why would not
the same condition of affairs exist be-
tween the chief of staff and the Presi-
dent? ~
| Gen. Schofield-'Because he would
remove him and get another. The per-
sonal relations between the President,
the secretary of war and the command
| ;,,c oil
tant than any law, and this is one of
the reasons why this bill is absolutely
Indispensable, or something like it. You
must give to the President discretion
to select that man."
| Senator Burrows-"Why cannot the
lieutenant general of the army and the
President confer as it is?"
| Gen. Schofield-"They are not on
speaking terms
Senator Burrows-"Not on speaking
terms?"
Gen. Schofield-'No, sir. You will
have to get rid of that intolerable con-
dition by which this man close to the
President. the only man who is avail
able to do these things, is man whom
the President does not talk to except
to criticise him. The result is bad,
very bad. The President feels the need
of such man, as did the Presidents
whom I have known. They would say:
| I cannot do these things; I must have
a military man to help me- Then in
that situation he perhaps sends for
colonel or major so and so and he
finds that he is bright young fellow
and he knows about these things, and
in a few days it gets to be known that
Tom SO and So is commanding the
army"
In reply to question by Senator
Scott, calling attention to Gen. Miles
statement that the effect of the pro-
posed legislation would be to German
ize and Russianize the American army.
Gen. Schofield said: Il am not afraid
of that. 1 think we might Germanize
Iother things a little with advantage.
possibly"
Remarking upon the provision of the
bill for a fOur-years term as chief of
staff. Gen. Schofield opposed it as COM
ing from that fountain of error the
Congress of the United States, which
lprovides for the retirement of the very
best men just when they come to be
of the age when Won MOltke won his
greatest triumphs. I am not super
animated yet" he continued, and still
l have been retired for long time"
Speaking of the rank of lieutenant
general. he said he would give the pro-
posed chief of staff even higher .ank,
adding:
Il would make one general at the
head of, the army and / would have
three lieutenant generals and then the
proper number of officers in the grades
under that. The Confederates, during
the Civil War. were a great deal wiser
than we were in that respect They
were better soldiers and better edu-
Gated, and knew more about it. They
Icarried off the greater proportion of the
best blood that we had, to tell the
truth. and they organized their army
scientifically"
He also urged that under the exist
ing law the commanding general has
no real authority. that excepting that
he is president of the board of ordnance
and Notifications there has never been
law defining what his position is. He
said that the United States and Great
Britain are the only important coun-
tries which have not a general staff.
OF the British he said:
They have not any system. What
we have is what they had 100 years
ago. and we have not improved on it,
and they have not, either. They have
had the same conflict between the
Horse Guards and the war office in
Great Britain as we have had here.
and that will continue until by some
chance King happens to be a soldier,
and then he will straighten it all out
quicker than lightning"