The sun., 1902-02-11
ARM REORGANIZATION ACT.
Biii hcmedyinE Defects IN sections Reist.
tnB 10 Detailed star system.

WAsHINoToN, Feb. i0.-A bill reported
to the Senate to-day from the Committee
on Military Affairs. according to the re-
port which accompanied Il. has for it's OBJ
ject the remedying Of defects in the sections
OF the Army Reorganization act which
relate to the detailed stan system and 10
make plain the purpose OF the committee
and OF Congress in passing IL.
With reference 10 the provision making
the Chief Of Engineers ubject to detail for
four years instead Of permanently, the
report says II was the intention in framing
the act to put all the heads of stan de!
partinents under the detail system, and
the Chief Of Engineers by inadvertence
were overlooked
The provision restricting the appoint
ment Of chiefs Of the Adjutant Generals
InspectorGenerars Quartermaster- -Gener-
ais, Subsistence, Pay and Ordnance de-
partments and Signal Corps 70 officers
In those depar tments holding permanent
appointment therein the report says, II
ali unwise and unjust one. and liable 20 be
q constant source of friction, The COM
mittee recommends the repeal OF this re-
striction, for the reason that the oppor-
tunity OF the President for appointment
TO those positions would in time be limited
10 one officer.
The bill provides that all these chiefs
may be selected from officers Of the army
at large not below the grade Of Lieutenant
Colonel The chiefs Of the Corps Of Engi-
neers, the Medical Department and Judge
Advocate-Generafs Department, however,
being specialties. are to he filed from
those corps respectively.
The bill also makes pro visions for return
TO his corps Of an officer after the expiration
Of his detail, 40 that no further promotions
shall be made until he resumes his proper
place in the corps.
Secretary Root will send to Congress
within few days a new army bill, pro-
viding for several changes in the Reorgan-
ization bill passed at the last Congress
and authorizing the establishment of a
bill will also provide for general army
staff of which il Is intended to have the
War College Board form a part
Secretary Root believes the General
and field officers Of the army have been
too exclusively occupied in details OF adj
Of a body OF competent military experts
TO provide for the study OF great military
questions. He has therefore included IN
his bill n provision for the organization
OF general stan. He also includes pro-
vision for the consolidation into one de-
partment OF the work Of the Quartermas-
ter's, Commissary and Pay departments.
Secretary Root believes Il advisable
to make some change In the existing law
regulating the detail staff system. and
provides Tor an amendment TO the present
bill which will make certain the detail
of the Chief of Engineers for a period Of
four years. instead Of making the selec-
tion Of that official permanent. II was
intended when the bill passed Congress
that all the heads OF departments should
he detailed for four years, but recently
when Col. Gillespie was selected TO he
Chief az EppinaprS IN Was discovered that
through a technically in the law his ap-
pointment must be permanent For that
reason the Mlit tary Committee has not
yet reported his nomination.