The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-10-08
WOULD IMPROVE
ARMY AND NAVY
President Will Give Congress Gen.
eraI Plan To Make Both
Attractive.
EFFICIENCY IS WATChWORD
Will Recommend Increased Pay and
More Officers for the
Service.
EFFICIENCY IS WATCHWORD
SALT LAKE, Oct. IA special to

the Herald from Washington says:
Though President Roosevelt has
been awarded the Nobel peace prize,
and is hailed by The Hague confer
ence as one of the foremost advo-
Gates of the peace movement, he ad-
heres to the old belief that the best
way to insure peace is to be eter-
nally ready for war. Proceeding on
that theory, the administration will
lay before congress next winter a
program that will, If carried out,
American army and navy, and make
this country better prepared to meet
any hostile nation in the event that
future differences can not be amica-
bly, adjusted.
To begin with, the president will
recommend the construction of two
new battleships, instead of one, as
originally intended. He will recon-
mend the construction of two ships
to be the equal of any in existence
today, of course leaving the plans
to naval experts.
Reports of commanding officers in
the army show that there is dire need
of greater pay, not only for officers,
but for enlisted men, in order that
the army may be kept up to it's au-
thorized size, and more particularly
that its personnel may be improved.
The only way the army can be main
tained on a high standard, and keep
its ranks filled is by increasing the
pay of enlisted men, and it is the
unanimous opinion of commanding
officers that this item should be ma
terially increased. The president,
who manifests the deepest interest
in the army and navy, has taken
pains to look into this question, and
1t is his opinion that there should be
an increase. He will so state in his
message to congress, and if need be,
will make this the subject of a spe-
cial communication.
The pay of officers, particularly
those of the lower grades, is inapprO-
pirate. The demands upon them are
heavier than the demands upon men
of similar pay in the business world,
and their salaries are not commensu-
rate with their work and their re-
sponsibilities.
What is true of the army is equal
ly true of the navy, except as to the
matter of transportation.
AS the army Is now conducted,
there is scarcity of officers on active
duty. Many regiments are sorely in
need of commanders. This is due to
the detail system, which appears to
be necessary. In the navy there are
enough officers to command all the
ships, and to carry on detailed work,
as we'll, for naval officers serve a
time at sea, and then have an equal
period of shore duty, during which
time they can attend to departmental
or other detail work. In the army
there is no such rotation. There are
only enough officers to fill out the
various regiments and staff positions.
When any officer goes on detail duty
he leaves a vacancy in his regiment
or on the staff. Yet this detail duty
must be done by army men. The
consequence is that troops are not
given that attention they should have,
and many officers do notget that
training which they need to prepare
them for command duty in time of
war. Under this system the army
is crippled and it's efficiency impaired.
The president has given attention
to the problem and has decided to
recommend to congress that the num-
ber of army officers be increased by
from 800 to 900. These extra Off
GERS will not only provide enough
men for detailed duty, but will en-
able every regiment to have its full
complement of officers of all grades.
If congress deems proper to provide
for 600 additional officers, the presi-
dent will then be able to carry out
another idea which has his approval
that of providing skeleton compa-
nies, which can be quickly recruited
to their full strength in time of war.
This skeleton company idea is favor
ably regarded by army officers, and
is believed to be almost a necessity
in this day and age.
There is one other advantage that
would result from increasing the
number of army officers. 1t would
then be possible to adopt the rotation
plan that is pursued in the navy
keeping an officer in the field for
three years, then detailing him to
the war department or some other
special duty for like period. This
would enable all officers to get prac-
tical experience in command OF
troops, and would at the same time
make them proficient in other lines
of army work.