The Mena weekly star., 1913-01-09
CANTEEN FAVORED
 BY ARMY OFFICERS
Believe Would Tend to Improve Health, Intemperance and Moral ity General Wood Would
 Weed Out Unfit Officers.

Washington, Jan. 3.-Restoration of the army canteen and enactment of legislation for the elimination from the United States army of unfit officers, are among the principal recommendations of Major General Leonard Wood, chief of staff, in his annual report made public today. General Wood likewise recommends the concentration of the army on stra- tegic lines and in areas where it can be more economically main tained and would transfer all the personnel of the staff corps-ex- cepting engineers, medical officers and chaplains-to the line, increas- ing accordingly the number of gen. eral officers and line officers in the different grades.
 The transfer of the personnel of the staff corps to the line, in Gen. eral Woods opinion, will termi- nate the constant struggle between line and staff, struggle which is as old as the army, and one which promises to continue. There would be no interference with promotion, nor would the members of the pres ent staff corps lose any of their present advantages. There will be more cooperation and greater eff ficiency.
 
 Always Jealous.
 Discussing means for the elimi- nation of unfit officers, the general says:
 The full efficiency of an organ ization of men cannot be secured without system by which the merits of the individual shall have some effect upon their advance ment.
 "The army has long suffered from the lack of such system" the general continues. Up to the grade of colonel promotion is en- tirely by seniority in each branch, and there is no way under the law by which an officer, no matter what his merit, can be advanced single number except by making him a general officer. Conservative oppo- sition is most to be looked for in the army, where there is jealous fear of the effects of favoritism, but this would disappear under the influence of a proposition to place the selections where they belong, in the hands of the service itself, which surely is worthy of the trust, by lodging it with the boards of of flcers so chosen as not to be per sonally affected by their decisions and sworn to act in accordance with the best interests of the service.'
 "The great majority of the of ficers," says General Wood, discuss ing the canteen question, are of the opinion that the re-establishment Of the canteen under proper supervi- sion would tend to improve the health, discipline and efficiency of the service through diminishing in- temperance and immortality. l con- cur in this opinion"
 General Wood encounters an old difficulty in trying to solve the question in the fluctuation in the number of assertions from year to year. Last year the assertions num- bered 1901, an increase of S% over the preceding year.
 Tt is probable" he observed, that many young men enlisted last year with an expectation of field service, which was not gratifled."
 For the first time General Wood in this report is able to present to congress a detailed plan for the re- organization of the field artillery in connection with the general ar my reorganization. This plan pro- vides that the first of the skeleton field army shall be two regiments of infantry, six battalions of field artillery, one field company of sig nal troops, five field hospitals and five ambulance companies. By this stanadrd there is at present a vast shortage of field artillery, not only for the army, but for the militia. The proper proportion of field guns is 3.i6 per 1000 cavalry and infan- try, and on this basis there is at present deficiency of 2i3 guns in the regular army, while the militia is short 5i7 guns. Moreover, there is no provision for effective service of ammunition, and many of the guns would, in a single days fight ing, use all the ammunition which can now be carried for them.
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