New-York tribune., 1916-07-18
Guardsmen Speculate on
What Will Happen When
Conley Arrives.
HEADQUARTERS CAR
LOITERlNG ALONG
poc;ment To Be Sent TO Mission,
Instead of Pharr-Colonel
May Meet Successor.
By ROBERT II. ROHDE.

NeAllen. Tex. July II headquarters
s.h rield Division. L. S. A0.-The
,sssouarters car of the Goth Infantry,
,o,,erine along many hours behind the
regiment supply train which passed
.hroueh McAllen this morning. will not
hiring its bomb into camp. granted it
really is carrying one, until long after
aTaps" has sounded tonight.
60 the thousands of New York
snsrdsmen who have been on tiptoe
al day. speculating on what Colonel
Lewis n. Conley would say and what
Major General John F. O'Rysn would
say. and what would happen after they
had said it, will miss any possible fire.
works
n advance Of the lighting Irish" Of
,bs ssth has come the report that they
mt OILY have their rifles with them
bit their shillalahs as well, that they
are not disposed 10 see their colonel
snd lieutenant colonel shelved without
battle, and that they will "omit no
word or act" calculated to keep their
old home commanders with them in
the field.
General O'Ryan. who is by way of
being "hghting Irish" himself. is
standing pat on the only statement
be has made since news came of the
Conley-Phelan joint failure to pass the
Federal physical examination. that
brief expression Of regret that two
such worthy officers could not be with
him here. There is gossip he has Il
bomb Of his own TO explode, should
the rumored 69th petard be set off.
Conley May Meet Successor.
As the news comes to McAllen. Colo
mel Conley continued with the regi-
ment after conference with Major
General Funston in San Antonio. and
will be with 1t at least through the
first few days in camp. In that case it
is not unlikely he will have an op-
portunity to meet the officer chosen as
his successor.
Although General O'Ryan thus far
has shown a disposition TO keep clear
personally OF nny controversy, Off
GERS close to him are pointing out
wha, they refer 10 as the "absurdity"
Of the charge that politics played any
part in the retirement of Colonel Con-
lev and his second in command.
II / were an officer in the line"
said one this afternoon, "I'd go into
the field feeling a lot better if
knew that my regimental commander
was a regular, a professional soldier.
mind. I'm not criticising our Ma
tional Guard officers. Man for man,
think they grade higher than the regu-
lar officers. But they are business men,
who have 10 spend most of their time
earning a living in a civilian pursuit
Naturally, the man who hasn't any
thing else to do, year in and year out
but study soldering is bound to be q
better leader of troops.
That's the scheme, to replace militia
ofsicers with regulars wherever the op-
portunity arises, as in the case of the
18th Infantry. And it must be remem-
bered that for every regular officer
taken into the National Guard a militia
officer goes into the regular service"
Sixty-ninth Going to Mission.
The seth Regiment. which was to
have been brigaded with the 23d and
74th regiments at Pharr. under COM
mand of Brigadier General William
Wilson. Of Buffalo, is going, instead, to
Mission, General Wilson having eN-
pressed a preference TO have his Cd
command, the Sd Infantry, as his third
unit
Through one Of the minor slips which
have been noticeable almost daily, or
ders notifying the 69th Of the change
did not reach the supply train until
part Of its car had been unloaded at
Pharr.
The troops were so interested in
watching for the arrival of the 69th
that announcement that they will all
be rich on August (as riches go with
soldiers did not make nearly as much
impression as il would have ordinarily
Most Of the men, except those with big
incomes at home, have been down to