Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-12-11


men Of mediocre capacity wno nave out q
short time to serve, No man should re-
gard It as his vested right TO rise to the
highest rank in the army any more than
In any other profession. II Is "A curious
and by no means GredilJble fact that there
should be SO often q failure on the part OF
the public and ITS representatives. to under
stand the great need, from the standpoint
OF the service and the nation. OF refusing
to promote respectable, elderly inCompe-
to the most deserving men without re-
gard TO seniority; at ic2-t seniority should
the stress Of modern Industrial compe
titlon no business firm could succeed II
those responsible for lis management
We're chosen simply on ia" ground that
they were the oldest people in It's employ
rnent; yet this Is the course advocated as
regards the army. and required by law
Cor all grades except thos, of general Of
:Cer. A. a matter Of fact, all of the best
officers in the highest RANKS Of the army
are those who have attn'utd their present
position wholly or in I',rj 10y a process
OF selection.
The scope of retiring boards should be
extended so that they v".I.d consider gen
eral unttuCsS to command for any cause.
IN order to secure a lar moro rigid en-
~foTce1nvnt than at prescott in The c%lirnina-
lion OF officers for mrNill, physical or
leuIpCramrntal diSabltdD# Hut this plan
Is Recommended only il Iau congress does
not see fit to proNiLr what in my juds-
m"Ht Is far better; that Is, for selection
IN promotion, and for elimination for age.
OIllCtiS no lItl ~ GtItIu IL Z am ain
by a certain age Should be retired FOR
Instance, If Il ma ShOU.'I not attain heId
rank by the lime he is - he should, of
course, be placed on III" retired list. Cen
eral Officer" should be selected as at pres
ent, and one-third of the other promo
tons should be mad" by selection, the
selection TO be made by the president or
the secretary of war from II list of at
least two candidates proposed for each
arm of the service from which the pro-
motion is to be made. y bin is now be
fore the congress having for its object TO
secure the promotion Of officers TO va
rious grades at reasonable ages through
. process OF selection, by boards of Of
hccrs, of the least efficient for retirement
with a percentage of their pay depending
upon !c&Sth Of servic" The hill, although
not accomplishing all that should be
done, is a long step in the right direction:
and | earnestly recommend its passage.
or that of a more completely effective
The cavalry arm should be rcorganized
upon modern lines. This is an arm in
which it is peculiarly necessary that the
field officers should not be old. The cav
airy Is much more difhCIlt to form than
infantry, and It should be kept up to ne
ma%imTm both IN %ttieihe lea and IN a
hurry. At present both infantry and ar
tlllory are too few in number, for our
needs. Especial attention should be paid
general service corps should be cstab-
Iished. AS things are now the average
soldier has far TOO much labor OF a non
military character to perform.
National Guard.
Now that the organized militia, the Ma
tional Guard, has been Incorporated with
the army as a part of the national forces,
Reasonable thing in It's power to perfect
It's efficiency. 1t should be assisted in its
Instruction and otherwise aided more lib
services of many well trained regular
officers will be essential in This connec-
ton. Such officers must be specially
trained ar service SHhoplS hest TO uIlllfV
them as instructors OF the National
Guard. But the detailing of officers for
duty with the National Guard entails de-
taching them from their reSiInents, which
are already greatly depleted by detach-
ment of officers for assignment to duties
prescribed by acts of the congress.
A bill is now pending before the CON
In the army. which if passed. as it ought
to be. will enable more officers to be
trained as instructors of National Guard
war it will be Of the utmost Importance
to have a large number of trained officers
to use for turning raw lcVies into good
There should be legislation to provide
a complete plan for organizing the great
body Of volunteers behind the regular
army and national guard when war has
come. Congressional assistance should be
given those who are cndeavoring to pro-
the services or out of them, may know
how to use the rifle. While teams repre-
ScftlEp the oHilSh Law "oh IN INC
and revolver championships of the world
against all corners in England this year,
It is unfortunately true that the great
as time goes on. To meet this, we should
encourage rife practice among school
boys, and indeed. among all classes, as
well as in the military services. by every
means In our powell Thus and not
o@therwtse, may We be able to assist tsit IN
Of the earth, our voice for peace will
pared, and therefore unfit, we must sit
dumb and helpless to defend purse YES,
protest sten others siie or I,r preferVe Ct P nrenara tihn
to avert war If possible, and to be fit for
war if 1t should comets to teach our
men how to shoot.
Tho Navy.
T approve the recommendations Of the
sailing especial attention to the need Of
additional destroyers and golfers, and
above all, of the four battleships. 1t is
a squadron of eight battleships Of the best
existing type. The North Dakota, Della
ware, Florida and Utah will form the first
division of this squadron. The four yes
sells proposed will form the second divi-
sion. 1t will be an Improvement on the
first, the ships being of the heavy, single
caliber, all big gun type. All the vessels
should have the same tactical qualities,
that Is, speed and turning circle, and as
near as possible these tactical qualities
should be the same as IS in the four YES
sells before named now being built.
most earnestly recomaosgd that the
eral staff. There is literally no excuse
whatever for. continuing the present bu-
reau organization of the navy. The navy
should be treated as a purely military or
ganization, and everything should be sub
ordinated to the one object Of securing
military efficiency. Such military eff
war If there is the most thorough previous
preparation in time of peace-a repar