The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-03

henceforth they will be harmonized under
the direction of the General Staff and will
all work together.
In time Of peace the General Staff will
prepare for war. 1t will arrange In adj
vance of war the mass of details having ref
erence to the transportation and mobiliza-
ton OF armies and the establishment OF
in men and material. Such work requires
time and consideration that cannot be
given by men burdened with the current of
fetal business of the department. Its value
Is obvious. inasmuch as experience has
shown that Previous preparation for war
thereby accomplishes immense economies OF
money and life.
WORK OF THE GENERAL STAFF.
The General STAFF will prepare all infor-
nation desirable for a military commander
undertaking a campaign, Its officers will
be assigned to serve with commanders OF
troops. TO furnish them with information.
to help in the preparation OF plans and or
| ders and to relieve them of as much labor
as possible, in order thu he Generals may
be enabled to devote tina attention exciu-
sively to matters OF the highest Importance.
The work of the General Staff will include
the preparation of maps. the drawing up OF
schemes for the organization and %concen.
tration Of troops and the formation OF
plans for national defense 1t will make q
study of military science. IN order to keep
the anss Army up to date In al all t respeets s- ane: IL
In short. it will put the American army
on a proper basis for the successful con-
DUCT o any war, SO IlaI IueIH may pt IIgiG
of the bunging which made SO much SCAN
dial in the Spanish War and the Civil War
There is to be no favoritisn whatever In
the selection of officers for the Genera!
STAFF. They will be chosen for ability. and
efficiency only. Furthermore. they will not
be permitted TO degenerate Into bureau ma
chimes, through long retention OF such du-
! ties as those here described. At the end of
four years they will go back to service
ousy will be avoided, and there can be no
danger of criticism in Congress directed
against a system which picks only the best
| men, and which is constantly onerlns va
cancies to capable candidates.
With the creation of the general stan the
office OF Commanding General OF the Army
There will still be a lieutenant general,
| who may or may not be chief OF stan. the
d dsSs' sSt he oe VIII S Set, a sird Tt Of an M entirely tIeG;
different feather. He may be placed in
command of a part of the army. The Pres.
chief and the other two general officers;
other vacancies in the stan Will be fiiled by
the staff itself.
LITTLE REAL AUTHORITY.
The position of Commanding General Of
| the Army has always been an anomalous
one. the incumbent having a Understanding
title and wearing a gorgeous uniform, but
| no control whatever over the funds. and it
| has been almost impossible for him to es-
cape friction with the Secretary of War.
when George Washington was appointed
to the place he came almost Immediately
into conflict with the War Secretary. Mr..
| McHenry. Every commanding General since
then has had the same sort of trouble. ana
General Sherman found his situation so ex-
asperating that he moved the headquarters
of the army to St. Louis. AS for General
Miles. he has hardly been on speaking
terms with either Alger or Root. and has
been practically ignored
The project for the General STAFF was We
hementlv onoosed in Congress by members
who claimed that it was an attempt to
Germanize our army. But the fact is that
German military methods are I'D to date.
while ours. SO FAR as administrative ar
rangements go, are not. In reality, the or
| ganfzatfon OF our General Staff will ha
quite different from that of the General
STAFF of the German Army. It signifies an
entirely new departure. but is likely to
bring most important and beneficial results.
| The system we have had hitherto did very
Well for the war of 1872, but military meth
| DDS have altered somewhat since then. and
it was high time that We did something to
wipe out an outworn and obsolete eondi-
! ton OF affairs.
FOREIGN WAR PLANS.
The General Staff will make complete
plans for wal with every foreign Power,
! and these will be slowed away IN pigeon
| holes SO as to be readily accessible at a
moments notice. Thus. in case of an out.
! break OF hostilities. no matter against
whom directed. there will be no delay in
the formulating OF methods and. projects.
j 1t will be a question simply OF going to the
1 props- pageonhole. kim therefrom q