Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-15
SYSTEM BROKE down |
Spanish War Demonstrated
Need of q General Staff.
VIEWS OF AN OFFICER
MISTAKES OF THE SUMNER OF
'es WILL NOT BE REPEATED.
Perfect Cooperation Among War De-
partment Bureaus Will Be Made Pos
sible by New Organization.

sible by New Organization.
An officer of the general staff has pre-
pared statement in regard to the general
staff system as now applied to the United
! States army. In which he says:
Lessons of Spanish War.
'The demand for a general staff grows
out. of the lessons learned by the govern
ment in the war with Spain. as did most of
| the other recent changes made and pro-
posed in the management Of our army and
its organization. The country remembers
| the troubles that developed at Tampa when
the expedition was being organized to in
wade Cuba and commence the assault by
| land against the entrenched army of Spain
| in Santiago.
Rep.Gtion Of Blunders Impossible.
THE country rang with severe criticism
| Of the War Department and the officers who
administered army affairs. Even men who
had sworn to support the constitution and
| uphold the flag and who wore the blue of
| the army were so sorely tried that they
cursed the lack of system and the neglect
| which had grown up in the military arm of
! the government. Supplies were slow and
| not furnished at the right time and in the
| Horses and pack animals could not be Sc
cured. Arm and ammunition were not
| Forthcoming as they should be. insufficient
information as to the extent of the task
| that confronted our army in the island
| made 1t necessary to delay until our secret
| agents could make reconnoiters in the coun-
| try of the enemy.
THE general staff will meet just such
| condition and render impossible repetition
| OF the mistakes of that campaign. The COM
mission which. under the direction of the
! President. Investigated the conduct of the
| war with Spain reported that for many
years the divided authority and RESPONSE
| binty in the War Department has produced
! friction, for which, in the interest of the
service, remedy, if possible, should be ap-
Piled Now the general staff is proposed as
| the remedy needed.
There is no disposition on the part Of the
| Secretary and those who champion the gen.
eral staff system to criticise and belittle the
| existing bureaus of the War Department.
| Their aim is simply to increase their eff
| cheney by directing them along single line
of effectiveness. While each bureau now
does its work well. and is perhaps intelli
| gently and efficiently Differed. when task
| Is presented which requires the cooperation
| of number Of bureau the lack Of the pres
ent system is painfully apparent.
| A Striking Instance.
"A recent example can be given to show
| the cumbersomeness and impotency Of the
present system. A culvert was to be built
| on a military reservation. The formal re-
| quest was made that the work be done and
| the necessity for immediate action was
made apparent. The request passed for
| four weeks from one bureau to another, re-
| ceiving Endorsement after Endorsement and
suggestion after suggestion as to just how
| the work should be done, and shifting from
one bureau to another the responsibility of
authorizing its Inauguration. A single
member of the general staff could have
L toll oY, hi ry0vlr IL,
| thority vested in him ordered the bureaus
| which had divisions Of the responsibility to
contribute each its share. Through the
| staff this division Of responsibility could be
assembled instanter, and the work have
been accomplished in a few days. and at
| less labor than was expended in clerical
work and Endorsements.
Found Invaluable Abroad.
Foreign armies have found a staff sys-
| tenn invaluable. Because this Is so a cry
has gone up in some quarters that it is
proposed to introduce in this country a
| foreign system. This is not true The
Secretary Of War has said. over his sig
nature. that the foreign staff systems are
not adapted to our institutions and form
OF government. But, even If it was So
because the system has been tested abroad
and found to be the best for the increasing
of the efficiency Of the army, this does
| not condemn it. Only the most narrow
| minded will reject the proposed system.
We get our laws and the foundation for
nearly everything We have that is best
in this country from the older countries
We have taken the foreign systems and
stamped them with our individuality by i'm
proving them. This is just what is propos-
ed now in the establishment Of the general
staff.
Long continued staff duty gets the men
out of touch with conditions in the field
and out Of touch with the duties Of COM
handing officers in charge of troops This
was one OF the evils reached by the present
Secretary of War in the permanent staff
He found that men who had been for years
on staff duty had become entirely ignorant
OF conditions in actual field service. He
found, too, that there was disposition TO
form cliques among the officers and to unite
against movements which, though they
might be designed for the improvement of
the service, affected their assignments.
This condition has already been corrected
by legislation which makes impossible the
rotation of officers at staff duty.
Functions in Time of Peace.
"Under the general staff system in time
of peace there will be a rigid investiga ton
Of all branches of the service. Information
will be gathered by the members of the
general staff concerning the resources Of
all world powers. Imaginary campaigns
will be planned against them
THE roads and bridges, the climate and
the possibility or sustaining an army on
the soil of foreign countries will be care
fully considered. With the information
collated by the members of the general
staff the head of the army will have at
Immediate command every detail needed l
for the direction of an army of offense or
defense. AS has been repeatedly asserted,
the departure does not mean the building
up Of a military system which shall en-
danger even remotely existing Institutions
1t does not mean that the nation proposes
to engage in war or that the authorities
fear a world struggle. On the contrary
the theory behind the movement for the
new and better army is that a state Of |
preparedness is the best insurance against |
war. World powers who keep a sleepless
eye on our movements will know the mo-
ment the general staff system is put into |
operation They will be restrained by the |
knowledge that we. too, have taken to the !