The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-21
THREATENS
 TO RESIGN Miles Talks Straight to
 Committee. HAwLEYSAR MEASURE Lieutenant General Will Not
 Serve Under the Law. Roosevelt and Root Hold Conference, But the Commanding osnsral's Testimony Before corhmittss Was Not Discussed.
HAwLEY'SA ARMY MEASURE

washington, March 20.--General Nielsen
 A. Miles today told the Senate Commit
 tee on Military Affairs that if the hili fn-
 troduced by Senator Hawiey at the in
 stance of the War Department for the
 organization of . general stan for the
 army should become { law. hs would de
 cline to longer hold his commission.
 The reason he gave for the statement
 is that the bill is utterly subveruive sf
 the military establishment. and he said that he would not be party to such .
 ing to hold his place.
 The printed report of the testimony of
 Secretary Root, before the Military Com
 mittee on this bill was made public today
 In his statement, the Secretary said that the general stan of the army, as 1t is proposed to organize 1t. under this bill.
 would be simply an advisory board, and that It's principal duty would be that of
 an advisory board. Tt proposes. he said, ito create by detail from tho officers of the army body of 0fficers who shall
 be charged. in the first place. with the duty of doing the military thinking The
 primary idea is not to gfye orders. It is
 to prepare plans for the men who give
 the orders. The commander-in-chief may
 accept the plans or not. as he may please.
 ''The plan of the bill is to have the chief
 of stan selected by the President as com
 mander-in-chief and to have it q detail
 so that he will come in with<the President
 and go out with the President" Senator Bate said: Do understand that there is a limit to their power so that they win not interere with the lien- tenant-general?"
 Secretary Root--.sThe proposition Is to
 have the iieutenant-general to decide. | As to the work of this character during the war with Spain. Secretary Root said: That work was done during the Span | ish war practically by the gentlemen in | the Adjutant-Generafs office But how | did they have to~deo it?. Each man was at his desk, having routine duties which were pressing upon him enough for two men to do, and it was only by working | day and night, with the halls thronsed with people who were pressing with f0.Vl9 | things, having nothing to do with the | really important duties they were per forming. that they were able to do these things which ought to have been put tn | the hands of men who had nothing else whatever to do. If we had not had an Adjutant- General with the strength of | ten men, with a wonderful physique and extraordinary executive capacity, the whole system would have been broken down absolutely"
 He also said that such 8 board would
 be of great assistance to the Secretary of War.
 'T want to say" he went on. that I believe that with the organization as t was at the outbreak of the war with Spain and Is now, the outbreak of any war. would irretrievably ruin any man who was Secretary of War. I think the organization is such that 1t is impossible that successful results shall be produced until they have been worked out by most painful and expensive experience"