Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-03-25
OFFICERS BADLY IN NEED IN ARMY Many Commands Lacking in Wearers of Shoulder
 Ribbons REGULATIONS ARE HELD RESPONSIBLE.
Severity of Examinations at West Point Keeps Out
 Applicants

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, March 24.- Although the war department has for some time been cognizant of the fact that the scarcity of officers in the Unit ed States army is beginning to have its effect upon the efficiency of that body, little is being done to remedy this condition. What is more, for the last two years things have been going from bad to worse. As a typical ex- ample, the garrison at Fort Sam Hous ton may be cited.
 For the last three years the Thilx Regiment of Field Artillery, stationed at that and other points in the depart ment of Texas, has been short over one-third of it's complement of officers. The regiment is supposed to have forty nine officers, but at present it has only twenty-nine. Three of its batteries at Fort Sam Houston have only sixteen officers together, instead of twenty four, the deficiency being due to as sgnments to special duty and vacan- cies.
 The Third Cavalry is even in worse plight, practically 50 per cent of its quota of officers being absent. The entire regiment has at this time only seventeen officers, or little more than one-third the number it should have.
 While the Ninth Infantry, which is going to the Philippine islands in a few days, has for the past three years been rather fortunate, it, too, has at times been severely handicapped in this respect. Throughout it's station at Fort Sam Houston from 9 to 35 per cent of its quota of officers has been lacking, and in order to put the or ganization in shape for a transfer to the Philippines, number of officers from other regiments had to be trans ferred to it.
 There are several causes that are re- sponsible for this state of affairs. In the first place the output of West Point has been dwindling in an alarming de- gree, owing to the severity of the final examinations the cadets have to pass. The same circumstance is responsible for a decided reduction in the number of enlisted men who formerly got the shoulder, straps by dint of hard work and study.
 
 the issuance of commission to an enlisted man, are such as to require eX- traordinary intelligence and almost her orc application. A further tletriment in this has been the age limit of twenty five years. The opinion prevails that few years added to this would make it possible for greater number of men from the ranks to try for com mission.
 That not more young men go to West Point is claimed to be due to hte fac that the series of reforms and counter reforms which have of recent years kept the army on the jump, have made the officers profession an undesirable field, for the reason that he never knows when he will get his discharge. Under the regulations now in force the man may be dismissed from the ser vice at any time for causes beyond his control and then flrt himself in a DO, i sitiOn where lack of business training will make him misit in Efe. AnotlFr cause for the lack of officers s the ten dency of She war department to assign large number of them to all kinds of work not connected with the organiza- | tiOps to which they are credited The practice of sending military at taches to foreign countries and details to state military organizations and pri- vate educational institutions of a mili- | tary character, not to mention the number of men who are working on the compilation of the United States mil itary map, are making large inroads on hte number of officers win their reg iments. The retirement voluntary or l obligatory, of large number of men still able to perform hteir duies, is also an important factor in this ease. A short time ago the officers them selves started an agitation which was to remedy this grave defect. The var l ious branches of the service-infantry, artillery and cavalry-toOk the matter up, but, not being supposed to take a l hand in politics, their efforts came to naught. Colonel Charles J. Crane of the Ninth Infantry, has for years worked in this movement, as have also mum Der of other regimentaI commanders.