Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-07-26

| the question OF details TO the next CLASS
at the mounted service school at Fort
Riley, the students to report for duty Sep
TENDER 25 Recommendations for details
to this school have been received from the
commanding officers Of all regiments ex-
cept the First, Sixth and Twelfth regi-
ments OF cavalry, and the Fifth field ar
tilery. change will be made in the
title of the immediate heads OF the vari-
Gus schools at Fort Deavenworth, each OF
whom has been known as assistant com
mandant." Hereafter, there will be
commandant and assistant commandant at
Fort Leavenworth over all the schools,
and the immediate head OF each school will
be known as director" The special course
of instruction given a selected number of
field officers for ten and one-half weeks
at Fort Leavenworth this year was so sue
cessful that a similar class will be sent
there for instruction between January l
and April next.
Vacancies for the appointment Of quail
| fled enlisted men and civilian candidates
to be second lieutenants in the army after
all promotions due up to June 30, 1911.
shall have been made will be available as
follows: Cavalry, %; field artillery. "a;
coast artillery corps, Il; infantry, %; total,
designated up to July 20, 1871 for competi-
tive examination with view to their APP
pointment in the coast artillery corps, and
106 such candidates have been designated
with view to their appointment in the
mobile army. Enlisted men, graduates of
the Naval academy and honor graduates
OF institutions of learning, at which Off
GERS OF the army are serving, are to be
appointed in advance Of the successful
civilian competitors. Thirteen enlisted can
didates have appeared for their final ex-
animation, but the result OF the examina-
ton is not yet known.
n
The military authorities are not particu-
larly DESTROYS of adding to the spectacular
attribute of military tournaments, held
periodically in various parts of the coun-
try, by the assignment of the army to such
affairs. The administration has hitherto
found II difficult to resist the influences
which are at once exerted in behalf of
these military shows. favorite form of
request of late has been the participation
OF the army in a camp with the national
guard; or, when the president IL to attend
one of these functions, to have the army
literally represented as an escort to the
chief executive. AS a matter OF fact, as
army officers we'll know. there is no ben
eft derived by the army from an assign
ment to these tournaments. The separa-
ton of the troops from their regular du-
ties and their garrisons is a positive detri-
ment by reason of the interruption in the
drills and the legitimate military work. II
the War department could have its way
in the matter there would be very little Of
this sort of thing done for the benefit of
the spectators despite the theory that the
military establishment owes a duty to the
civilian taxpayer to show itself in a series
of stunts. Since the demand Of the army
for the mobilization In Texas II has been
possible to refuse to comply with some of
the requests for the presence of the army
at military tournaments.
An important supplemental test has lust
been concluded by a special board of army
officers at the Military academy. II has
to do with the invisibility and durability
of the olive-drab uniform as compared
with those qualities possessed by the cadet
gray uniform of the military personnel. In
asmuch as the War department has
adopted the olive drab and has purchased
the material at considerable expense, it is
considered desirable to settle the question
without the chance of having it reopened,
at least for several years. The expert |
ments conducted in the Philippines and the
conclusions derived by the experts there
have been fully sustained by the test at
West Point. The board at the Military |
academy has had the subject under discus |
sion since last December and it's observa- |
tons of the comparative invisbility and |
durability of the olive drab and cadet gray
were made under varying conditions of
weather and seasons, to the end that il |
might be ascertained what influence the |
surroundings had on the visibility of the
uniform. The conclusions are expected To
settle the question and put an end to the
agitation about change in the uniform.
General orders have been issued by the
War department amending the regulations
governing the discharges by purchase from
the army. The prices of discharge, which
range from s120 after one years service, to
$50 after eleven years service, remain I'M
changed. The limitation that a man who
by re-enlisting within a year and thus
becomes entitled to the bonus of three
months pay may not purchase his dis
| charge is removed, but 1t is provided that
the price Of purchase shall be increased
by such bonus. The new regulations also
provide that soldier who has once pur-
|
again by purchase until after completion
Of another years service, and in the event
Of his being so discharged again the pur-
chase price will be determined by the
length of time he has served since he was
last discharged by purchase. Service in
the army only will be considered in deter
mining soldiers eligibility for discharge
by purchase and the amount of purchase
price, and such service is not required TO
be continuous; but credit will not be given |
for any previous enlistment that was not
determined by an honorable discharge or
for any period of time required to be made
good under the provisions OF paragraphs
$50, 1sl, 1872. OF the army regulations. Dis
charge may be purchased by an enlisted |
man OF a staff department in Alaska or
the Philippines when he has completed the
prescribed tour of foreign service in such
staff department since the date OF his last
arrival In Alaska or the Philippine Islands. |