The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-09

sition ail that it should be made. The American commissioners have visited Japan and the postponement will mere ica to be represented at the exposition. Not since the irst international expo sition has there been one of greater im- as if does the fiftieth anniversary of the ascension to the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The extraordinary leap to q foremost place among the during. this half century Is something ThRsssf This saposition n viii viii 4tiy cOmmsmOrate has been achieved. It Is the first ex- position of it's kind that has ever been held in Asia. The United States, be- cause Of the ancient snn,s frhiendsaip henssp sn Se of us fronts on the Pacific, and because of the growing commercial relations between this country and Asia, takes sifion made a success in every way.
 l take this opportunity publicly To state my appreciation of the way in which In Jspan P Anssraiis' o, in sontr MsR America. the battle fleet has been re- ceived on it's practice voyage around the world. The American Government ciation of the aboundlng and generous hospitality shown our ships in every port they visited.
 ne AEAnIs
 As regards the army. I call atten- ton to the fact that while our junior officers and enlisted men stand very high, the present system of promotion tSye Sy ih hisher grades many ny men of msdi. ocre capacity when have but short time to serve. No man should regard 1t as his vested right to rise to the than in any other profession. It Is a curious and by no means credltable saurs sna tas to the great need, from the stand point of the service and the nation. of refusing to promote respectable. sld- should be given to the most deserving men without regard to seniority; at least seniority should be treated as only one consideration. In the stress business firm could succeed if those re- sponsible for its management were chosen simply on the ground that they were the oldest people In it's employ: as regards the army, and required by law for all grades except those of gen: erel officer. As a matter of fact. all of the best officers In the highest ranks tained their present position wholly or in part oy q process of selection.
 The scope of retiring boards should be extended so that they could con. sider general unhtness to command l for any cause. in order to secure a far more rigid enforcement than at pres ent fin the elimination of officers for mental, physical or temperamentai dis. ed only if the congfess does not see it l to provide what in my Judgment Is far better; that Is, tor selection in pro- motion, and for elimination for age. l Officers who fail to attain certain rank by a certain age should be re- | tired-for instance if man should not attain field rank by the time he Is l5 he should of course be placed on the selected as at present, and one-third | of the other promotions should be made by selection. the selection to he made | by the President or the Secretary of dates proposed for each vacancy by a board of officers from the arm of the l service from which the promotion ts to be made. A bill Is now before the Congress having for It's object to ae- cure the promotion of officers to vari- ous grades at reasonable ages through a process of selection, by boards of of- | heers, of the least efficient for retire. ment ,wits q percentage. of their pay | bill, although not accomplishing all | that should be done. is q long step in the right direction; and earnestly more completely effective measure. | The cavalry arm should be reorgan- ized upon modern lines. This is an arm in which 1t Is peculiarly. necessary old. The cavalry Is much more difi- cult to form than infantry, and it should be kept up to the maximum both in efficiency and In strength. for present both infantry and artillery are too few In number for our needs. Es- peeial attention should be paid to dee l velopment of the machine gun. A gen- cd. As things are now the average soldier has far too much labor of a non-military character to perform.
 National GuaEd.
 Now that the organized militia, the National Guard. has been Incorporated 1 with the army as a part of the nae tional forces. 1t behooyes the Govern ment to do every reasonable thing in should be assisted in its instruction and | otherwise aided more nberalIy than heretofore. The continuous services of | many well-trained regular officers will tbs essential in this eonneetion; Such service schools best to qualify them as instFuetors of the Natioral Guard. But the detailing of officers for train with the National Guard entails de- ! tachinG them from their regiments | which are already greatly depleted by | detaehment of officers for assignment to duties prescribed by acts of the
 A bill Is now pending before the Con- gress cresting a number of extra ofii- cers h the army, which if passed. as It ought to be, will enable more officers 70 be trained as instructors of Ma tional Guard and assigned to that duty In case of war it will be of the ut most importance to have a large num- Der of trained officers to use for turn ing raw laVies into good tFooHR
 There should be legislation to pro- vide a complete plan for organizing the great body of volunteers behind the regular army and national guard assistance should be given those who are endeavoring to promote rife prac- tfce so that our men, in the services or out of them, may know how to use the United states won the Tiae and re- re- Yolver championships of the world against all comers in England this year. It Is unfortunately true that the great body of our citizens shoot less and less as time goes on. To meet this we should encourage rifle practice among sehoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as In the military services, by every means in our power Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving the peace of the world. Fit to hold our own against the strong nations of the to the ends of the earth. Unprepared, and therefore unfit. we must sit dumb and helpless to defend ourselves. pFo- tect others, or preserve peace. The tion. to avert war If possible, and to be At for war if 1t should come--is to teach our men to shoot.
 The Navy.
 I approve the recommendations of the General Board for the increase of the navy, calling especial attention to