The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-02-28
THE "GENERAL STAFF. :"
IMPORTANT DUTIES BY THE
 NEW VAR DEPARTMENT
Organization and wao wiu Perform
 Them.

Although the new law authorizing the creation of general staff for the army does not go into effect until August l5, 1903, Secretary Root does not propose to wait until that date to put the new scheme into operation.
 The provision that the new law should not go into effect until August 10 was inserted in the bill out of def erence to Lieutenant General Miles The latter has been the most consistent opponent of the general staff that Sec retary Root has had to contend against, and in order not to affront the lieuten- ant-general it was decided that the new scheme should not become operative until after his retirement This sug- gestion was magnanimously put for ward by Secretary Root himself. Gene raI Miles retires August '. so that he will not be in the service when the or ders are issued establishing a condition of things which he bitterly opposes as long as his influence lasted. One of the reasons why Secretary Root wants to get the general staff plan in working order at once is that he is anxious to retire before August. It is barely pos sible that he may remain at the head of the war department until that time, but it is very generally thought that he will go back to the practice of law in New York in the early summer. But as he was solely responsible for the engraft- ing of the general staff feature on to the army system, he has a personal in- terest in seeing that it is properly de- veloped. Consequently, he will begin the work at once.
 There are certain big projects pending at the war department which will be turned ovar to officers who will later be appointed on the general staff, but who, in the meantime, will carry on work as though the staff were already organized.
 It is 8 foregone conclusion that the chief of staff will be Major-G General Samuel B. M. Young, who is on the slate to succeed General Miles as the next lieutenant-general. General Young is now at the head of the war college. which is one of the pet hobbies of Sec- retary Root. He is the coming man of the army, and will remain at the top until his retirement, when he will be succeeded in command by Major Gene raI Adna R. Chaffee. The balance of the general staff corps is to be made up of two other general officers, not below the grade of brigadier-general; four col onels, six lieutenant-colonels and twelve majors and twenty captains.
 There is no end of speculation as to who will be picked for these choice as- signments, for although they will last but four years they will undoubtedly be the plums of the service. The men on the general staff will outline the gene ral policies for the army; they will have charge of the annual drills and practice work, draw plans for the man. euvers and war games, and act as gene ral referees on all subjects affecting more than one branch of the service. At the present time the following men are on the list of major-g generals, and with one or two exceptions will be elig- ible for appointment on the general staff: Chaffee, MacArthur, Hughes, Bates and Davis; brigadier-g generals, Wade, Sumner, Wood, Randall, Kobbe, Grant, Bell, Funston, Baldwin, Wint, Lee, Garter. Bliss and Sanger. Several of these, including Major-Genera1 Hughes, are to be retired before Au- gust, and therefore cannot be consid- cred as candidates for the two positions on the general staff that are to go to general officers. There is considerable gossip about the war department that General Carter is to go on the staff, not withstanding the announcement that he is soon to be sent to the Phil ippines. General Carter was Secretary Roots right hand in the drafting of the bill and in getting it through congress. He is now on duty at the war college, and probably knows Secretary Roots ideas regarding the execution of the law better than any other officer.
 One of the first things to be intrust- ed to the general staff will be the or ganization of plan for field maneu- vers for the army during the coming summer. It is the intention to repeat the work done at Fort Riley last fall on a, much larger scale. Every branch of the service will be represented on the general staff corps, so that there will be complete harmony among the vari- ous supply departments in furnishing the troops in the field, as well as intel ligent cooperation on the part of the officers in command of the men.
 The second big project which the gen. eral staff will be called on to consider will be reorganization and maderni- zing of the Endicott boards scheme of coast defense for the country. It was thought some weeks ago that provision for this would be made in the fortifica- tion appropriation bill, but when it be- came apparent that the staff bill would become a law at this session it was de- cided to put this important work in the hands of the general staff. It has been about fifteen years since the plan for the protection of the sea coast was per- fected and there has been no board to suggest changes since the original re- port was made in 1887. There have been great developments in every de- partment of the army since then, as well as in gun construction. yet the de- partment is following out the recon- mendations for the defense of the vari- ous ports that were made in the ad- mi1fstration of Secretary Endcott. Some of the pieces or ordinance that were highly spoken of in that report are now ogsolete, So it is high time that the whole question were gone over again. There has never been board