New-York tribune., 1902-12-01
SECRETARY ROOTS REPORT.

The report of the Secretary of war, which
is published this morning, shows that NJ hool
is still firmly convinced that general stah' Tue
orcanizatfon of which he has repeatedly aoTo-
Gated would strengthen the military establish
,nant and make il far mere effective The war
with Snain demonstrated the fact that our MILL
tarv system is defective at the top. anu Nh
Root forcibly reminds the country or the HIS
fortunes which resulted from lack Of harmony
in action on the part of the officers who directed
the invasion of Cuba in 1898 If a general stah
had existed at that time. body OF ofncers VINO
had studied and solved the problems of sup
plies. armament and transportation. errors OF
serious nature would almost certainly have been
avoided and much energy which was thrown
away because of its misdirection would nave
borne good fruit.
There have been arguments against the crea-
tion of a general staff on the part Of officers
who apprehend that their Importance might be
diminished if the measure suggested were car
ried out and Mr.. Root hints at the cause OF
their objection when he says: when an ollcer
''is appointed to the position of commanding
general of the army he naturally expects 10
command, himself, with high degree OF lnde-
''pendence following his own ideas rather than
''the ideas of others. We cannot ordinarily
expect an officer placed in such position, and
"thus endowed with what purports TO be the
right and title to command. not to stand up
"for his right 10 really command and not to
regard any attempt to control his action or
Nlimit his power as unjustiiable interference
According to the proposed plan the general
commanding would become the chief Of staff,
responsible to a superior officer: but a man
thoroughly qualified 10 fill the place would not
need to fear that as chief of staff be would
lose distinction. Mr. Root holds up as an
example of the independent chief OF staff
Count von MoItke, who despite his title was
really the commander in chief OF the Prussian
army when it won its greatest laurels. But
the man who would use the place for political
purposes, or who was Incompetent could not
as chief of staff do as much injury as he could
in the Office of commanding general The plan
TO make the senior officer the chief of staff TO
the President is not new one. Il was carried
out by General Scho6eld, who said that it was
practically impossible for an officer to do jus
tice TO the position of commanding general
But Mr.. Root aptly remarks that all officers do
not possess the qualities of self-restraint shown
by General Schofeld, and that "the best way to
secure from others the same kind of good
service that he rendered is to give the officer
from whom it is expected a designation which
indicates what he is really TO do"
Another notable feature Of Mr. Roots report
is his plea for the Hawley-Dick Militia bill,
which aims to make the National Guard an i'm
portant and trustworthy factor in the national
defence system by placing at the disposal of the
government a volunteer army which could be
depended upon for prompt and efficient service.
The Tribune has at various times urged the
passage of this measure, which was the result
of impartial and exhaustive Investigation If
it should be passed, as it ought TO be, the Ma
toDal Guard, which, in spite of its imperfec-
tons, is regarded with large measure of pride
and confidence by great majority of the Amer
ican people, would become thoroughly worthy
adjunct to the regular military establishment
Secretary Roots recommendations, embodying
the results of patient study by highly trained
mind, deserve TO command the approval of
Congress.