Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-12
FAvORS CHIEF OF STAFF PLAN
General soho6eld Declares that Dual Head
of Army is Wrong,
WOULD MAKE PRESIDENT COMMANDER
Veteran Military Leader DepIOres the
Strained Relations Existing Be
tween Roosevelt, Miles and
Secretary Root.

secretary Root.
WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE report of
the testimony given before the senate COM
mittee on military affairs by General
Schoield, formerly the commanding gen.
eral of the army, on the bill to create a
general stan was made public today. He
endorsed the bill, saying that he had long
since come to the conclusion that there
is no room under our constitution for two
commanders and that the president. whom
the constitution makes the supreme COM
mander, must act through the secretary OF
war. He added:
The very exalted individual office. So
must disappear. There is no room for il in
TINS government, no matter who occupies
IL 4 Is not a question of personality at al.
as this great question is concerned. He
must be what other nations of the earth
general
Referring to the German system, Cen
eral Schoheld said:
We would have to modify their system
so as to make 1t applicable. If We had at
distinguished general, other things being
satisfactory, that would be very well, but
nominal head Of the army II the president
will not even talk 20 him except to criti-
CHE him, or II the secretary Of war and he
do not even speak to each other? What
good is he?
Senators. Burrows: why would lot the
same condition Of affairs exist between the
chief Of staff, and the PRESIDENT"
Says Bill IL indispensable.
General Schoaeld: Because he would
relieve him and get another. The personal
relations between the president, the secre-
tary Of war and the commanding general
are, OF all, more important than any law,
and that is one of the reasons why this
bill is absolutely Indispensable, or some
thing like IT. You must give to the presi-
dent discretion TO select that man."
Senator Burrows: why cannot the lieu
tenant general of the army and the presi-
dent confer as 1t is?"
General schoheld: They are not on
speaking terms"
Senator Burrows: mo on speaking
terms?"
General schoHeld: mo. sir. You will
have to get rid of that intolerable condition
by which this man, close to the president,
the only mar who is available to do these
things, is a man whom the president does
talk to except to c~riticise him. The re-
suit is bad; very bad. The president feels
the need of such a man, as did the presi-
dents whom l have known. They would
say: II cannot do these things; l 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 there is
a bright young fellow and he knows about
these things and a few days 1t gets to be
known that Tom so and So is commanding
the army"
Not Afraid of Germnnizing.
In reply to a question by Senator
Scott, calling attention to General Miles
statement that the effect of the proposed
legislation would be to Germanize and Rus
sianize the American army, General Scho-
field said: lam not afraid Of that. l
think we might Germanize other things a
little with advantage. possibly"
Remarking upon the provision OF the bill
for a four years term as chief of stan,
General Schoheld opposed 1t as coming from
that fountain Of error, the congress Of the
United States, which provides for the re-
tirement of the very best men just when
they come to be Of the age when Won
Moltke won his greatest triumphs. l all
not supperanuated yet" he continued,
and still l have been retired for a long
time"
General schoheld expressed the opinion
that during the war of the rebellion the
southern system OF selecting high officers
"NS ~ Nhah tAoN VI NhC " Nhs
Speaking of the rank of lieutenant general,
he said he would give the proposed chief
Of stan even higher rank, adding:
81 would make one general at the head
of the army and / would have three lieu
tenant generals and then the proper num-
Der Of officers in the grades under that.
The confederates during the civil war were
a great deal wiser than we in that respect.
They we're better soldiers and better edu-
Gated and knew more about 1t. They car
ried off the greater proportion Of the best
blood that we had, to tell the truth, and
they organized their army scientifically"
Function of Chief of stan.
He also expressed the opinion that under
the secretary Of war the chief of STAFF
should have charge Of the departments Of
supply and transportation and the signal
corps, which the commanding general does
not now control, He also urged that under
existing law the commanding general has
no real authority, that except that he Is
president OF the Board of Ordnance and
Fertilization there had never been a law
defining what his position is. He held
that the United States and Great Britain
are the only present countries 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 i'm
have had the same conflict between the
Horse guards and the War Office in Great
Britain as we have had here, and that will