Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-12-05
THE ARM 7.
Wedding out Process Should Accom-
pany seniority Promotion,

We cannot consider the question OF
our foreign policy without at the same
time treating the army and navy We
now have a very small army--in-
deed one well-ngh inhnitesimal when
compared with the army Of any other
large nation. or course the army We
We do have should be as nearly perfect
Of it's kind and for its size as Is pos
slble. ! do not believe that any army
IN the world has better average of
enlisted man or a better type of junior
officer: but the army should be trained
TO act effectively in a mass, Provision
should be made by sufficient appropri-
atoms for naneuvers OF practical
kind SO that the troops may learn how
to take care of themselves under ac-
tual service conditions, every warch,
for instance, being made with the sol
der loaded exactly as he would be In
an active campaign The generals and
colonies would thereby have opportuni-
ty of handling regiments, brigades, and
divisions, and the commissary and med
ical departments would be tested in the
field. Provision should be made for
the exercise at least OF a brigade and
by preference of a division In marching
and embarking at some point on our
coast ana disembarking at some other
point and continuing its march, The
number OF posts In which the army Is
kept in time Of peace should be ma
terially diminished and the posts that
are left made COrrespondingly larger.
No local interests should be allowed to
stand IN the way of assembling the
greater part Of the troops which WoulC
at need form our field armies in sta
lions of such size as will permit the
a.. L., frt. 20. 10
mel of all grades, including the high Of
ficers and stai1 officers, To accomplish
this end we must have not company or
regimental garrisons, but brigade and
division garrisons Promotion by mere
seniority can never result In a thor
oughly efficient corps of officers in the
higher ranks unless there accompanies
II vigorous wcedng-out process. Such
weedlng-out prOCess--that is, such
process Of selecton--is n chief feature
of the four years course OF the young
officer at West Point. There Is no good
reason why It should stop Immediately
upon his graduation, While at West
Point he Is dropped unless he comes up
70 a certain standard Of excellence. and
when he graduates he takes rank IN
the army according to his rank OF
graduation. The results are good at
army itself something that viii achieve
the same end. After "a certain age has
bcen reached the average officer Is UNI
m TO do good work below certain
grade. Provision should be made for
the promotion Of exceptionally merit
curious men over the heads of their
comrades and FOR the retirement OF all
men who have reached given age
without getting beyond q piVen rank
this age of retirement of course chang
ing from rank to rank. In both the
army and the navy there should be
some principle OF selection, that is
of promotion for merit, and there
should be a resolute effort to eliminate
the aged officers Of reputable character
who possess no special efficiency.
There should be an Increase In the
coast artillery force so that our coast
Notifications can be IN some degree
adequately manned. There Is special
need for an increase and reorganization
Of the medical department of the army.
In both the army and navy there must
he the same thorough training for duty
I'm the staff corps as In the lighting
line Only by such training IN adj
vance can we be sure that I'm actual
war field operations and those at sea
win be carried on successfully. The
importance Of this was shown con-
clusively i'm the Spanish American and
the Russo-Japluese wars, The work
of the medical departments in the
Japanese army and navy Is especially
worthy Of study 1 renew my recom-
mendation of Jan. ., 1905, as to the
medical department Of the army and
call attention to the equal Importance
of the needs OF the stan corps OF the
navy. In the medical department OF