The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-12-08


in the army any more than in any 9TH
err profession. 1t is a curious and by
no means creditable fact that there
should be so often a failure on the part
of the public and its representatives to
understand the great need from the
standpoint of the service and the ma
ton of refusing to promote respectable
elderly incompetents. The higher
places should be given to the most de-
serving men without regard to senior
ity. At least seniority should be treat
ed as only one consideration. In the
stress of modern industrial competi-
ton no business firm could succeed if
those responsible for its management
were chosen simply on the ground that
they were the oldest people in its en-
ployment. Yet this is the course advo-
Gated as regards the army and re-
quired by law for all grades except
those of general officer AS a matter
of fact, all of the best officers in the
highest ranks of the army are those
who have attained their present posi-
ton wholly or in part by process of
selection.
The scope of retiring boards should
be extended so that they could con-
slider general unfitness to command for
any cause in order to secure a far
more rigid enforcement than at pres
ent in the elimination of officers for
mental, physical or temperamental
disabilities. But this plan is recon-
mended only If the congress does not
see fit to provide what in my judg-
ment is far better-that is, for selec-
ton in promotion and for elimination
for age. officers who fail to attain a
certain rank by a certain age should
be retired. For instance. If a man
should not attain field rank by the
time he is forty five he should of
course be placed on the retired list.
General officers should be selected as
at present, and one-third of the other
promotions should be made by selec-
ton, the selection to be made by the
president or the secretary of war from
a list of at least two candidates pro-
posed for each vacancy by board of
officers from the arm of the service
from which the promotion is to be
| made A bill is now before the con-
gress having for it's object to secure
the promotion of officers to various
grades at reasonable ages through a
process of selection, by boards of Off
GERS, of the least efficient for retire
ment with percentage Of their pay
depending upon length of service. The
bill, although not accomplishing all
that should be done, is a long step in
the right direction, and 1 earnestly
| recommend it's passage or that of a
more completely effective measure.
The cavalry arm should be reorgan-
| lied upon modern lines. This is an
arm in which it is peculiarly neces-
sary that the field officers should not
be old. The cavalry is much more
difficult to form than infantry, and it
should be kept up to the maximum
both in efficiency and in strength, for
it cannot be made in a hurry. AT
present both infantry and artillery are
| too few in number for our needs
Especial attention should be paid to
development Of the machine gun. A
general service corps should be estab
lished. AS things are now the aver
! age soldier has far too much labor OF
a nonmilitary character to perform.
National Guard.
Now that the organized militia. the
national guard, has been incorporated
with the army as part of the nation
al forces it behooves the government
to do every reasonable thing in its
power to perfect it's efficiency. Il
should be assisted in it's instruction
and otherwise aided more literally
than heretofore. The continuous serv
ices of many well trained regular Of
ficers will be essential in this connec
ton. Such officers must be specially
trained at service schools best to quail
fly them as instructors of the nationa
guard. But the detailing of officer:
for training at the service school.
and for duty with the national guar(
entails detaching them from their reg
iments which are already greatly de
pleted by detachment of officers fol
assignment to duties prescribed b,
acts of the congress.
a bill is now pending before the
congress creating a number Of extra
officers in the army, which, If passed
as it ought to be, will enable more of
i icers to be trained as instructors o
national guard and assigned to tina
duty. In case of war it will be of TIL
utmost importance to have a larg'
number of trained officers to use fol
turning raw levies into good troops
There should be legislation to pro
vide complete plan for organic
ing the great body of volunteers be
hind the regular army and nationa
guard when war has come. Congress
sional assistance should be given thos,
who are endeavoring to promote riff,
practice, so that our men, in the sery
ices or out Of them, may know how t,
use the rife. While teams represent
ing the United States won the riff,
and revolver championships of tn
world against all Corners in Englan,
this year, it is unfortunately tru,
that the great body Of our citizen
shoot less and less as time goes on.
To meet this we should encourag
rifle practice among schoolboys an,
indeed among all classes, as we'll a
in the military services, by ever
means in our power. Thus, an,
not otherwise, may we be able to as
sist in preserving the peace of tn
world. Fit to hold our own agains
the strong nations of the earth, on