Evening journal., 1910-09-14
ARMY UNPREPARED.
FOR FIELD SERVICE.
Inspector General Bell Says it
is Lacking in Marching
Ability
OFFICERS ARE
TOO OFTEN ABSENT

WASHINGTON, Sept 14--If fear
less criticism is calculated to benefit
the Army, then Uncle Sans soldiers
should profit much from the comment
upon their condition and abilities con-
tanned in the annual report of Inspec-
tor General Darlington, just made
public. One inspector points out a
whole battalion of artillery starting
for the Philippine service without a
single field officer and one of the bat
teries commanded by second lieu
tenant of less than two years SER
vice. An inspector general says that
this absence Of captains from their
commands is "the most fruitful source
Of professional disease in the line of
the Army to-day"
In one department almost a third
Of the line officers we're absent from
duty with their commands under de-
tail, and altogether the situation, the
Inspector General says, warrants the
prediction that results of a disastrous
kind must sooner or later be realized.
The obvious remedy. he says, il the
provision of a sufficient number of
supernumerary officers to replace
those on detail.
The time for specialization in the
Army has arrived, in the opinion OF
another inspector general. He says:
1--WE try to crowd too much upon the
officer and enlisted man of the line.
That is we try TO teach all of them
everything. instead of specializing and
only teaching each as much as he can
learn we'll with ordinary application
which, however much we may expect
1 is all we can ever obtain" He uses
the signal corps as an illustration
urging that only the small percentage
/ of men in the line who show ability
/ in that direction should be taught
signaling.
People who think the United States
Army stands at the top of the profes-
sion would be rudely Jared to learn
from Inspector General Bell that the
field army is wholly unprepared for
field service. He says the new regu-
lations are almost entirely theoreu-
cal or dependent upon the experience
of European armies. Our transporta-
tion is the same as at the beginning
of the civil war; for our army has so
far failed to make use of automo-
biles, traction engines and other mod
4
weaknesses could be quickly develop
ed If the present annual manoeuvres
could be replaced at least once by
the march of complete Army corps.
Very few Of our officers have ever
marched with more than a regiment.
Major Bell says: while our in
fantry is composed Of the best ma
terial i'm the world, and is probably
as well If not better trained i'm the
use of rife than that of any other
army, itseharching capacity is below
mediocrity, and yet IL is admitted to-
day that the fate of the battles of
the future depends, as II has in the
past, upon the marching capacity of
the infantry
To remedy these conditions, Major
General Wood, chief of staff, to-day is
sued orders which will change ma
terially the training of the Army
The inspectors general will be re-
quired to submit the troops to an an
nual inspection in the field. in addi-
tion to the present inspection. which
is described in some quarters as be-
ing little less than an inquiry into
the accounts and garrison work of the
troops The new inspector will be
designed 10 show the efficiency of the
troops in the theoretical work taught
army officers in the various schools
and provided for in the various drill
reVulations