Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-02
FLAYS STAFF CHIEF
Gen. Wood and Secretary
Stimson Under Criticism.
HOUSE COMMITTEES VIEWS
Head of Army Classed as Man of
Small Experience-0pposition
to Reserve Corps.

Military circles are discussing with in
terest the highly caustic arraignment of
Secretary Stimson and Maj Leonard
Wood, chief Of staff, contained in the re-
port Of the House committee on military
| affairs in explanation of the new provi-
sions Of the army appropriation bill.
Interest mainly centers on the probable
course to be followed by those officials
in the matter. The fact that the bill as
submitted embodes the principal sugges-
tons made to the committee by Adjt.
Gen. Ainsworth and rejects as unworthy
of serious consideration those Of the Sec
rotary of War and the chief Of staff is
generally regarded as accentuating the
strained relations already existing be-
tween the officials mentioned. Many Of
| f1cers Of the army regard the committees
action as great personal triumph for
the adjutant general. Some Of them even
assert that he and not Representative
Hay is the real author Of the provisions
increasing the term of enlistment to five
years and consolidating the adjutant
generals and inspector generals depart
ments with the general staff corps and
making the adjutsnt general and in
spector general permanent members of
Personalities INDUCED.
The Hay report admittedly is based on
data supplied by the adjutant general
| Office, and the military critics Of Gen.
Ainsworth broadly intimate that he in
spfred, if he actually did not write, those
portions of the report attacking the yari-
GUS statements made by Secretary Slim
son and Gen.. Wood, in their hearings
before tho military committee. Person
alities Of the most uncompiimentary
character abound in the report. Seldom
has a high official been subjected to a
more severe criticism than is contained
in the following extract from the report
In Its argument in favor of the five-year
term Of enlistment:
'T'his committee has no hesitation in
adopting the safe and sane views Of the
overwhelming majority of\this great num-
Der of officers OF ripe judgment and long
officers Of the line, as against the theoret-
ical and revolutionary views championed
by. an officer who has had no experience
whatever as company officer, and whose
limited to the few days in 1898 when he
commanded a volunteer regiment that
had been hastily raised and organized for
service during the war with Spain.
Surely rely. the opinions Of an 1, officer Of
be echoed by small following Of both
superiors and subordinates whom his
present high position has enabled him to
attract or to influence. are entitled to but
little weight in this particular matter, as
against the Independent and expert judg-
ment Of q, multitude Of other officers
whose opinions are based upon long and
practical experience, that he has not
had. in immediate touch with and in
command Of enlisted men Of the line of
the army"
Extravagant Statements Alleged.
Again referring to the arguments Of
Secretary Stimson and Gen. Wood in
favor Of the creation of a reserve mill
tary force through shorter terms of en-
listment, the report says: "The futility
of any attempt to create a reserve
through any use that can be made of
our little army and the grossly mislead-
Ing character OF the loose and extrava-
CANT statements that have been made as
| to the number OF men available for q re-
serve who Will return to civil life from
| the army each year will become appar-
ent when q true statement OF the facts
In the case is made
On the same subject the report says:
1T is astonishing that the chief of staff
should have made such a statement as
that which he published in the hopeless
effort to show that his scheme would be
less expensive than the five-year term Of
| enlistments proposed by the pending bill.
And it is still more astonishing that the
Secretary Of War should have forwarded
the statement in question to a commit
tee Of Congress with approving comment.
as he did IN a letter dated January 4,
| 1872.
Of any such reserve as that hereinbefore
outlined. or any such reserve as it is
possible to create with our small army
| as the source Of its supply of men, is not
worth its cost in money alone, to say
nothing Of the grave injury that it would
| inevitably infiict upon the standing army.
No one who gives the matter careful
| thought can fail to see what the extent
and nature Of that injury would be, or
can be misled or confused by the unsup-
ported assertions and arguments of few
theorists, who. deriving all their ideas
from the enormous armies of continental
Europe, where compulsory and universal
| military service prevails, would have us
believe that improvement rather than in
| jury would be brought to our army by
depriv1ng 1t Of most IL not all Of its sea-
soned. disciplined and highly trained
private soldiers. and by filling up the
| all Of, whom would be relegated to civil
life by the time that, in the ordinary
course, any Of them could become fairly
efficient soldiers.
Impossible to Utilize Army.
1t Is safe to say that until we have a
very much larger standing army than
| we now have, or. until our people are
ready to submit to compulsory military
| service, 1t will be impossible for us to
| utilize our army. without impairing it's
efficiency. so as to create and maintain
reserve that will be Of any respectable
size. or OF any appreciate value either
in time of peace or in the emergency OF
| war;
| reference is made in the. report to
| the transfer of certain administrative
work from the adjutant generals office
to the general staff corps, notably in the
matter Of recruiting, causing, it is de-
clared, much duplication Of work, confu-
sion and delay in the transaction Of pub
lie business.
1T seems certain says the report
that II the President and the Secretary
of War knew the extent to which the
propensity of the general staff to grasp
administrative work has impaired the
spirit and usefulness of bureau chiefs and
their subordinates and has injured the
service generally. this evil which appears
to have been growing rapidly of late
would be corrected without legislation
| the enactment Of which sooner OF later