Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-08

duty.
The vacancies in c~adetships at West
Point are becoming something of a prob
lem for the military authorities. The
house military committee, which will
shortly take up the bill for the increase
of the corps of cadets, which has been
reported from the senate military commit
tee, will look into the question. There are
rooms for 672 cadets at West Point and
mess facilities for IA, and there are now
1888 cadets besides five foreigners at the
institution. The vacancies are due to fail
ure of nominees to report for examina-
ton. For instance, in the examination
which was held on January II, thirty-slx
principals and slxty-nine alternates, q total
Of 1O6, failed to report. Last year ZIG men
failed to report for examination. Colonel II.
L. Sect, the superintendent OF the Military
academy, has just made a recommendation
to the War department for examination
on February % to fill $50 vacancies which
exist after the examination Of January IL.
Some consideration is given to the plan Of
allowing the president to fill vacancies to
which appointments are not made by rep
resentatives and senators.
A clause in the army appropriation bill
as 1t passed the senate will, IL 1t is adopted
by the house, have the effect of retiring
as major generals five brigadier generals
when they are, by operation of law, trans
ferred from the active list. This clause is
an iamplification of a bill originally intro
duced in behalf of Brigadier General will
liam l.. Marshall. chief Of engineers of the
army. 1t was so worded as to extend the
proviso In the army act Of March 2, 1907,
to include ANY officer or veteran of the
civil war now serving as a brigadier gem
eral on the active list Of the army, who
has been a ~brigadier general for a period
Of not less than one year, and who has
rendered to the government distinguished
service of a civil character" The clause
in the army bill, now to be submitted to
conference, extends this provision so as
to include any officer who served credit
ably, either as an officer or enlisted man,
in the regular Sot ~oluntee forces Of the
United States during the civil war, and who
is now and has been for a period Of not
less than one year serving as a bngadier
general on the active list of the army and
who, at date of retirement, will have served
in the army more than forty years" This
applies, Of course, to General Marshall
and, as well, TO Brigadier Generals Earl
d. Thomas, Charles Morton, Charles L.
Hodges and Daniel H. Brush.
The urgent necessity Of recalling officers
Of the army from detached duty continues
to be the subject of special consideration
on the part of the secretary Of war. AS
has already been stAed in these col
umns, General Bell has made a report con-
corning the possibility of relief in the
direction Of the military colleges where are
on duty some 100 officers of the active list
whom it is proposed to detach from that
duty at the close of the present gchool
year and order them back to their respec-
tive commands. This will be the more
necessary In view OF the prospect that
there win be no remedial legislation adding
to the number Of commissioned officers of
the army. There is no encouraging sign Of
the enactment of the extra officers meas
ure. In addition to withdrawing officers
from college duty some inquiry has been
instituted at West Point to see whether
officers there on duty might be relieved.
For this purpose the War department sent
Brigadier Genera j. q. D.. Knight to the
Military academy and that officer has re-
ported to the War department that every
officer there is absolutely needed, There
is work to do for every one of the eighty
min Officers, either as instructors or in
military duties. This list Of eighty-nine
officers does not include the eight pro-
fessoTs and one acting professor. The sub
ject OF the employment OF these officers at
West Point came up in the hearing Of
the superintendent of the Military academy
before the house military committee, where
there was evidently the impression that
some Of the officers on duty at West Point
might be spared. General knights report,
however, settles that question so far as
the military authorities are concerned.