Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1912-12-22

It is now said To Sc ths purpose OF
his friends in Congress to use the
first opportunity 20 nress through the
MOUSE D. Iii. .or us restoration to ac
tive duty and he rope is strong that
| sympathy for him viii be sufficient to
get a majority in the senate and thus
put the matter up to the President.
What the Chief Executive will do
if the matter is laid before him is a
question to be answered only by
conjecture. If he support the bill he
will be going back on his decision of
last winter when he ordered that
Gen. Ainsworth be court-marti aled,
and he will likewise be opposing one
of the most Influential members of
the cabinet - Secretary Stimson.
Should he veto the bill he will show
his disregard for congress. and lose
some of the very slight support he
has ION the hill' and which he needs
for the promotion of the measure
VIII en- he hopes to get through before
March next. -
The Ainsworth campaign in Con-
gress, according to the military
weekly l referred to- before, is to be
commenced through the publication,
in London, OF book supposedly
written by Major Chaille-Long,
formerly Of the Egyptian army but
now residing near this city. The
object of publishing the book in
London is to give it the appearance
of being a criticism of the Secretary
of War and the army from a foreign
source for forcing General Ainsworth
into retirement. At the pyschologi-
cal moment every member of Congress
will be furnished with copy OF this
work, fresh from the press.
An attempt will then be made, it is
alleged, to convince the public that
General Ainsworth was 4Dreyfuss-
ed'' out of the army and it will be
urged in support of this theory that
the injustice done him has attracted
the attention of even the foreign
military authorities.
This will be the second time that
an officer has used a book, to make
an attack upon the army. Major J.
A. Armes did it openly just after the
close of the Spanish American war,
assuming authorship of his book, "The
Trials of an Army Officer" which was
protusely illustrated and was intended
by its author to point out the most
: glaring of the abuses in the army.
The only end it served, however, was
to cause no end of amusement in mill
tary circles and to threaten the court
martial of it's author. Major Armes
retracted his statements in print
however, at the same time apologizins
! for hts action in uttering them and
! the court martial was averted.
! Perhaps the most interesting cir
) cumstance in connection with the
\ whole matter is the effort to revive for
: General Ainsworth the rank of Lieu
: tenant General, in order to prevent
! Major General Wood, the former ad-
/ jutant generals enemy, from attaining
! it. In the bill for the reorganization
of the army, introduced last session
by Congressman Hay, of Virginia, 1t
was provided that General Ainsworth
should retire with the rank of Lieu
tenant General. After good deal OF
discussion that provision was aband-
oned by Mr.. Hay
. The resumption of the Ainsworth
case in Congress, however, will reop-
en- this question. While General
Ainsworth has at no time exercised
military command, he has by his rare
! ability as an administrative officer
won for himself great distinction.
Like Lieutenant General Corbin, who
preceded him in the office of adult
ant general, General Ainsworth desir-
ed to be, placed in the line and as
signed to a command, his preference
being for the division of the Phillip
pines. 1t is believed in military cir
Giles that he has not relinQuished his
ambition and as he will not reach the
age of compulsory retirement, Ga, UNI
til September, 1916, it would appear
that he has a fair chance of realizing
his hope.