Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-08-23


owing to lack of money and men. our
army is at a standstill as far as aviation
is concerned, owing to failure of congress
to appropriate money for developments in
aeronautioal work, and our signal corps Of
ficers look on with Impotence at the ad-
vancements that are being made by civili-
ians at home and by civilians and officers
of armies abroad both in aeroplanes and
dirigibles. They hope that the next congress
will be more liberal than the last, and that
money will be provided for aviation and for
additional officers and men for work in this
field and in other matters coming under the
signal corps.
The army is trying out its new emergency
ration and a quantity has been furnished
this summer to the troops at the summer
encampments for trial. The ration consists
Of three cakes made Of a material COM
posed Of milk, egg, chocolate and a little
sugar. 1t is palatable and nutritious; Il
possesses the keeping qualities which add
to its value in maintaing a reserve stock
OF any dimensions. 1t Is Of commercial
production and can be obtained in large
quantities In time OF trouble 1t possesses
sufficient nutritive value to sustain the
soldier for twenty-four hours and may be
eaten dry or reduced to q sort Of Cruel or
thick soup or mixed with more water and
uesd as a beverage. 1t is found palatable
when moistenedand mixed with hard bread
The reports OF the officers who have been
observing the effects of the emergency ration
are awaited with considerable interest
Some officers believe there is no need of
such ration and that there are other suf-
ficient means OF subsistence of the soldier
on the firing line when the garrison ration
cannot be delivered to him. Others take the
view that there will be times when the
emergency ration satisfies a hunger which
would otherwise go without relief.
The War department has several vAcan-
cies at military colleges available for de-
tail of suitably equipped. retired officers.
This detail carries with 1t active pay and al
lowances, but on account OF preference for
recruiting or militia duty, or the many OPP
portunites for remunerative employment
in business life, few retired officers who
are we'll suited for detail make formal
application. On the other hand, the War
department is disposed to carefully scru-
tinize the physical mental and moral
qualifications for college duty OF retired
officers applying for such details, as most
educational institutions now entrust the
naming Of a competent retired officer to
the War department There Is no duty
which, If the officer Is we'll equipped.
conscientious, and has the hearty support
Of the college authorities, can be made
more valuable 20 the government. On the
other hand, should the officer be physically
disqualified, lazy, mentally indolent, or
careless in his personal conduct, no duty
works more harm to the educational irsti-
tuition or to the army, producing In the
minds OF the people of locality a false
idea OF army standards, by which the en-
tire personnel is apt to be misjudged.
One of the important results Of the
maneuVers which are being held this sum-
mer is the test of the neW haversack ra-
ton Of the army. All the troops which have
participated in the exercises have been fur
nished with one days ration, with in
structions to have ii tested under field
conditions This has been possible dur
ing the program which requires that the
troops be separated from their camps for
a period that allows the ration to be prac-
tically tried out. No official comment has
yet been made, but from the preliminary
remarks which have come from the OBJ
servers, there 10 an indication OF general
satisfaction with the ration OF course II
is found that more or less unwillingness
prevails among the soldiers to subsist on
any ration, which is less than the garri-
son ration, and even when the object OF
the diminished substitution is for purposes
OF demonstration. Some OF them, perhaps,
think II is a good deal like submitting 10
q personal injury TO ascertain whether the
first-aid package would answer the de-
mands made upon 1t in real war. At the
same time the authorities feel that 1t Is
necessary to find out whether there are
real objections to the ration from any
point OF view and to correct the defects,
II any exist.
The court-martial trial of Colonel @. F.
Cooke, United States army retired, at
Seattle. has sufficiently progressed TO ex-
cite some curiosity, quite Independent Of
any result in the way OF the findings Of
that judicial body. II is OF interest to the
army TO know whether the War depart
ment or the president possessed any knowl-
edge. before that officers retirement, of the
circumstances attending Colonel Cooke 6
career in Alaska as lieutenant colonel OF
the Twenty-second infantry. That subject
may we'll become the occasion of con-
gresslonal investigation in the interest OF
good military administration which under
takes TO do justice to all officers without
prejudice and without favoritism. There
are not wanting instances Of army officers
OF splendid service ana fine personal rec
ords who, when retired upon their own re-
quest, have been afforded no opportunity
to have that transfer from the active list
delayed that they might gain the advan.
tage OF promotion to the next higher grade
1t has been stated, with considerable show
OF virtue, that this was not possible in the
interest OF discipline, and 30 on. In the
case OF Colonel Cooke, he applied for re-
tirement while lieutenant colonel AnC
final action upon that application was de-
ferred for several weeks to await q vacancy
in the grade OF colonel OF infantry which
was anticipated and which occurred in time
to promote Lieutenant Colonel Cooke to
colonelcy and then transfer him to the re-
tired list
Average Size of Farms.
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