Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-21
ARMY GOSSIP IN WASHINGTON
Current Events Cleaned from the Army
and Navy Register.

and Navy Register.
The War department has received no.
apple alton in behalf of the son of Booker
T. Washington. The newspapers have
contained statements to the effect that
the Young man was graduate OF Il
appointment as paymaster in the United
States army. The report was interesting
on account of the prominence of the al
legged candidates father and possibly the
Booker Washington himself. furnishes a
denial Of the candidacy, which denial
seems to he quite conclusive on the
strength of the fact that his son is only
10y Is years of age.
Two of the army officers who have been
serving with the Russian army in the
field have been recalled by the War de-
partment. These officers are Captain Carl
Reichmann, Seventeenth infantry, and
Lieutenant Colonel Walter S Schuyler,
concentration of the Russian campaign
made it unnecessary to have more than
two military observers in addition to the
army surgeon who will shortly join the
Russian army in Manchuria. Practically
nothing of Importance has been received
from the officers with the Russian troops
the Japanese. Some reports have been
received from the latter together with
photographs. but nothing will be divulged
by the War depai tment until after the
i.oSIiitiSo navy Nt''s'N'
The chief signal officer of the army is in
receipt of some suggestions in the form
Of a report from Captain W. +. Mitchell
OF the signal corps as a result of the lat
ter's observations during TIE combined
mareuvers in Virginia. That officer says
into companies and kept together in or
der that the officers and men might have
systematic instruction and work together
as an organization. 1t is also stated that
q hIy2pr he a
visual signals can not he depended on to
connect the various parts of Il force while
in battle. 1t was also shown that after
the buzzer wire had been used twice it is
hard to recover and use il for a third
time. New wagons for the transportation
Of the equipment of the signal corps
Car.tain Mitchell that all of the men of
-, vUrrs should be we'll Instructed in
l,oi :, manship and in the use of their
arms.
general order has been prepared by
the general staff of the army prescribing
the examination which shall govern the
appointment of post non commissioned
STAFF officers. There has been a require
ment in the regulation that such an eX-
ANNA ton shall be preliminary to APP
pointment and that it shall be conducted
along such lines as are indicated by the
War department. Hitherto there has
been no stipulated examination and an
entire lack of uniformity in the eXamina-
Guartermaster general recommended that
certain instructions he issued which
would serve as a basis of examinations
all over the country and in the Philip
pines. This establishes an equality of
conditions which has not heretofore ex-
listed and insures an impartial require
naent throughout the service. The propo-
sition related TO the appointment Of post
uuartermaSter SerSeantS. but when the
Recommendation reached the chief of staff
ii was realized that the system might
profitably be extended to other post non
general order now issued this has been
done.
The president has under consideration a
list OF civilian candidates for appointment
as second lieutenant in the army. Upon
the designation of these candidates they
will be subjected to the usual physical and
from civil life. hitherto examined, both
physically and mentally have already
been Professionally appointed and will be
re-eXamined physically before they are
commissioned by the president. They are
Allan r Williams of Vermont, Richard
Garde of the medical department; Arts
tides Moreno. first lieutenant of the
Porto Rico regiment of infantry. and
Louis Chester Grieves Of Michigan. There
are twenty-five vacancies in the grade OF |
second lieutenant. of which position eight
designated for that corps will take but
one examination. a special one along the
lines indicated in the orders governing
admissions and transfers to the artillery |
branch. There is considerable interest in
observing to what extent the candidates
succeed in passing that examination. the
severity of which has already attained
reputation.