Arizona republican., 1907-12-04

| IOnRTeSS IO puL lnt H1culCdl SoiP where it should be put disaster in thu | next war is inevitable. and the res possibility will not lie with those ther | in charge of the War Department but with those who now decline to make the necessary provision Al well or ganized medical corps, thoroughly | trained before the advent of war in al the important administrative duties ol a military sanitary corps, is essentia to the efficiency of any large army and especially of a large volunteer army. Such knowledge of medicine and surgery as is possessed by the medical profession generally will not alone suffice to make an efficient mili- tary surgeon. He must have. in ad- dition, knowledge of the administration and sanitation of large field hospital. and camps, in order to safeguard the health and lives of men intrusted in great numbers to his care. A bill has long been pending before Congress fol the reorganization of the Medical Corps: its passage is urgently needed But the Medical Department is not the only department for which increas- ed provision should be made. The rate of pay for the officers should be great ly increased: there is no higher type of citizen than the American regular army officer, and he should have a fair re- ward for his admirable work. There should be a relatively even greater in- An especial should be made for es- tablishing grades equivalent to those of warrant officers in the Navy which should be open to the enlisted men who serve sufficiently long and who dc their work well. Inducements should be offered sufficient to encour- age really. good men to make the Army a life occupation. The prime needs of our present Army is to secure and re- tain competent oh-commissloned of- ficers. This difficulty rests funda- mentally on the question of pay. The non- commissioned officer dose not correspond with an unskilled laborer: he corresponds to the best type of skilled workman or to the subordinate official in civil institutions. Wages have greatly increased in outside oc- equations in the last forty years and the pay of the soldier. like the pay of the officers, should be approximately increased. The first sergeant of a company. if a good man, must be one of such executive and administrative ability. and such knowledge of his trade. as to be worth far more than We at present pay him. The same is true of the regimental sergeant major. These men should be men who had fully resolved to make the Army life occupation and they should be able to look forward to ample reward; while only men properly qualified should be given a chance to secure these final rewards. The increase over the pres ent pay need not be great in the lower grades for the first oneNor two enlist ments. but the increase should be marked for the on-commissioned of ficers of the upper grades who serve long enough to make it evident that they intend to stay permanently in the Army. while additional pay should be given for high qualifications m target practice. The position of warrant of ficer should be established and there should be not only an increase of pay. but an increase of privileges and all lowances and dignity, so as to make the grade open to on-commissioned NdBdDlC bA lItln ably from every standpoint. The rate of desertion in our Army now in time of peace is alarming. The deserter should be treated by public opinion as man guilty of the greatest crime: while on the other hand the man who serves steadily in the Army should be treated as what he is. that is. as pre- eminently one of the best citizens of this republic. After twelve years service in the Army my own belief is that the man should be given a pre- ference according to his ability for certain types of office over all civilian applicants without examination. This should also apply, of course, to the men, who have served twelve years in the Navy. A special corps should be provided to do the manual labor now necessarily demanded of the privates themselves.
 Needing Out the Unfit.
 Among the officers there should be severe examinations to weed out the unfit up to the grade of major From that position on appointments should be solely by selection and it should be
 
 craze capacity could never get beyond the position of major, while every man who serves in any grade a certain length of time prior to promotion to the next grade without getting the pro- motion to the next grade should be forthwith retired. The practice marches and field maneuvers of the last two or three years have been in valuable to the Army. They should be continued and extended. A rigid and not a perfunctory examination of physical capacity has been provided for the higher grade officers. This will work well. Unless an officer has a good physique, unless he can stand hardship. ride well. and walk fairly. he is not fit for any position. even after he has become a colonel. Before he las become a colonel the need for physical fitness in the officer Is all most as great as in the enlisted man. hope speedily to see introduced into the Army a far more rigid and thor ough-going test of horsemanship for all field officers than at present. There should be Chief of Cavalry just as there is a Chief of Artillery.
 Perhaps the most important of all legislation needed for the benefit of the Army is a law to eQualize and in- crease the pay of officers and enlisted men of the Army. Navy. Marine Corps, and Revenue-Cutter Service. Such a bill has been prepared, which it is n-u-