The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-05-02
MILES AND OTHERS.

MILES AND OTHERS.
General Miles Il not the FIRST COM
handing officer CT the army 10 fail ous
with the administration The C.vii
War was not four months old b-fore
McCIeiian and Lincoln were At odds.
although Lincoln showed an exiraor-
binary DatieEce with his critical leu
tenant successGrs OF THE young Ma
pOieou' often complained both OF LIN
cola ard the War Department and but
for the Presidents wit and tact might
have got themselves into difficulties
more unpleasant than some in which
the enemy involved them BY the time
Of Grants advent the machinery OF the
war was running better and Grant.
Lincoln and Stanton kept on good
terms. After the war Grant and Stan
tor's successor. Lorenzo Thomas. had
some trouble. which President Johnson
ended by putting Grant. temporarily.
In Thomas place.
Ten years or more thereafter Sher-
man. the general commanding the
army. fell out with Hayes Secretary of
War and IN high dudgeon removed his
headquarters to ST. Louis. Sheridan
afterwards kept his at Chicago. though
not all the time.
General Miles has never been a tract
able officer. During Cleveland's last
he was at cross-purpos-
es with the War Department and that
has been his status ever since. His
quarrel with Secretary Alger was vio-
lent; that with Secretary Root Is
scarcely less so. We may doubt that
things would be different under Secre-
tary Any-one-Else. for the trouble has
its origin. not in personages. but in
human nature. and in natural con-
nict OF jurisdictions.
a commanding officer of the army
wants his. position to mean something.
He does not like to be the adtutant Of
a civilian who. before his Induction to
the Office OF Secretary of War, may
nave been a member Of the Massachu-
setts Peace Society or. at least. a man
devoid OF military knowledge or in
stinct. Nor does he like to be peremp-
ing at the request OF the civilian head
Of the War Department. 1t is. OF
course. vital to the principles OF the
republic 20 keep the military power In
civilian hands: and at West Point this
need is plainly taught. Nevertheless
any commanding general chafes when
he finds that somebody else commands
for him. II vas AIser. not Miles. who
managed the Spanish war and Miles
could neither assign general officers
nor. without express direction OF the |
President. take an active part in the |
himself. Root. not Miles. Is |
the Philippine war. and the |
general is snubbed for |
suggestions as to n change OF |
plan. Naturally there Is a row.
However. the system cannot be fun
changed. The American /
people Will not abide an army which /
an be used without reference to the
,ivil power. They want no Praetorian
guard. What the occasion seems to- re-
Iuire Is the wiping out OF the rank OF
officer. which. after all. Is
IN anomaly where the President Is the
commander n-chief: and
he placing In his stead OF a chief OF
he general stan. who VIII be the Pres
dents military arm. Won Moltke bore
uch relation to the Emperor William
. Then the head general would know
lis place and suffer no illusions as to
lis power. As for the Secretary of
Var. he would be an assistant to the
resident and to the general stan. not
II army commander by proxy. There
re many qualified men who think that
ur military establishment will be weak
ntil some such plan has been adopted. |