New-York tribune., 1912-01-11
THE,DA WASHINGTON

mCnt with the General stan no" IL Nda INV !
lacl, Of such a purely military body tree |
from the demands of executive detail, w"'ch /
hampeTed the army AT the time OF the span (
ISL war. and how the General sta" wa"
created 10 nh this need how the abandon
mont Of the detail system for the comp'-
sition OF tine General stan is subycrsiNe oi
its ugefulness: how tho abolition OF IN"
chief Of artillery will initiate against the
usefulness Of that arm Of the military o.
ts biiyhment how revolutionary Is the
proposiron 10 abolish the chief OF the militia
division, rejecting all the valuable work
which has been done in the past to bring
the regular army and tho militia nearer to-
gcthcr. and. finally how the proposition to
consolidate the Quarterm5stoT'y. pay and
subsistence departments while in itself I'M
objectionable if accompanied by 4 :Cdur
ton of the number " officers. must mill
tate against tho efficiency Of the army
CASTING UP ACCOUNTS.-Ccrtsin Of
the Presidents political friends have hccn
casting up accounts. and they declare that
any unprejudiced examination of the pO-
litical situation must convince the exam
iucr that como what may, President Taft
will have some eight hundred delegates in
struCtcd for him when the national conyon-
ton meets I'm Chicago. next June, and this
out Of total of 100. II Is asserted that
those who have been more or loss misod
regarding the proba bility OF Mr.. Tatts
nomination. the chances Of this. that or the
other candidate, etc, can satisfy them
selves Il they will merely 60 over the list
End set oowr the delegates who, thoy must
realize. will he instructed fcy tho President
There is 2 disposition on the part Of t''
more loyal and enthusiastic friends OF In"
President TO favor early conventions, ODD
order that tho faint hearted may have an
opportunity TO sec tor themselves no" it'll"
chance any ther candidate will have M
the convention It is of course. harH''
rossible that there may he some cont@stinE
DELEGATIONS. precisely a. there werc four
Years ago. hut such 4rc ~ little likely Z"
ho seated in the convention as they were
then. Nor is there any reason to nehcFe
that any candidate against Mr. TAFT can
muster any such numoer Of contestants as
was rounded up ny the use Of abundant
funds expended By the reactionaries IN l"S
TAFT psY.-Thc dsr after New
yo,r'e President Taft remained shut M
.
was said that probably ne was working
On some Of his beIated messages to Con
eress, while opposition newspapers de-
cIared that he was concoctnS some
scheme to mend his political fences. Now
however. the truth has come out. the
President was working on tho pardon ap-
plication of two frendless negroes, Ar
thur Adams and Robert sawyer. hoth
British subjects both once condemned 10
death for murder. their sentences COM
nuted 10 life imprisonment by President
Roosevelt and the order for new trial
once granted by the Supreme Court.
Friendless and penniless. these men, who
had been sailors and were convicted on
the evidence Of 4 shipmate who later con
fessed on the scaffold that he had borne
false witness. were unable to obtain
new trial An Englishman. stranger n
them. became interested in their case,