The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-06
WHAT'S WRONG wTrR THE ARMY

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To TEE EDrroR on THH SuN-Sir: There's
somsthing wrong with tho srmyf Sursl
What is it7 Favoritism! It began during
tho Spanish-American war and a o
tinued ever since.
The public policy Of the nation vas early
determined and has sinoeo continued In 90 far
a. u laws are concerned, that an efioient
military man can DO produced only by
training and education. So at an expense
Of many millions OF dollars We established
military schools for the purpose OF provid-
ing our army with trained and efficient
military officers. And yet what has been
our practioef II 10 well known that young
mel who were society favortes and other
civilians with a pull could and did get COM
missions In the army during and s~ubsequeut
to the war with Spain without any regard
TO qualifications for military command, and
were placed above those whom the nation
had educated and trained for those COM
mands; blu the most fragrant and democrat
ixing instance of all was h appointment OF
Q doctor who was young In years 10 q high
military oommandAoutrsnking mon who had
not only received West Point training but
were veterans OF Indian wars as we'll a Of
our war with Spain.
I6u Y6HIb ago LIT. WOOu was n DT&CtIH1nK
physician without military training other
than as a doctor Of sick soldiers. To-day as
the result Of gross favoritism which honey
combs our War Department he In . ranking
Major-General in our regular army. and is
slated ultimately to command the army OF
the United States.
Social pull and political pull can and do
secure assignments as so-called military or
naval attaches to our respective embassies
and legations In Europe. What real mill
tary or laval service they perform has never
been made clear. II In clear that military
skill or achievement Ii not the sine qua NON
for these appointments. But when one ex-
amines the appointments In the army from
civil life during tho last ten years and notes
tho preferment OF those civilians over our
trained military men and veterans. is It any
wonder that there il something wrong with
the army"2
The late General MacFeeley. who was
Commissary-Genera of Subsistence under
General Ulysses Grant whenh he commanded
the army of the United States. told the
writer that tho enlisted men looked upon
their officers as children look upon their
fathers. until they earn that they are In
competent; then they have only contempt
for them. In illustration Of his meaning
he told me an incident OF his own career
when he was a Second Lieutenant and a
graduate of about q yea or two from West
Point. Stationed In the far Northwest. he
was ordered to take a file Of troops and
explore a route for a railroad through the
mountains. a part Of which Ia now trav-
ersed by the Northern Pacific. To guide
them they had rumors that there was an
available pass somewhere. After being
out several weeks In a snowstorm MacFee-
ley lost his way. The men did not realize
this. They knew he was educated at West
Point, which to them seemed TO embody all
that an officer need know and although he
was in years the youngest man in the party.
yet they all believed he would bring them
through. Provisions were getting short.
and but for that belief, MacFeeley said, he
would probably ave lost control of his mon
and they would ave been lost. He said
no army can endure IL the men lack con-
fdenoe In their officers.
In your editorial in TIE SUN you point
out some OF the causes for non-enlistmen
in our army. Would IL not be a wholesome
thing to publish the names and rank at date
| Of appointment Of those who nave been
commissioned in our army during the last
ten years from civil life? II hat Is done
the public may learn In part at least what
is wrong with the army.
When General Bell made his now much
discussed remark he was addressing officers
Of the army. W.
NEW YORK, July 4.