The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-11-09
ALL MEN WHO
QUALIFY GET
COM MM|SS|ON
About One-Half, However,
Will Not Be Needed for
Present, It Is Said.
NO PAY UNTIL
ON ACTIVE DUTY
Assignment to Active Duty,
However, May Come
Within a Month.

Washington, D.. c., Nov. S-An the
men at the various Reserve Officers
Training Camps who qualify as On
GERS win be given commissions il
some branch Of the army, but about
half Of them VIII not be needed for
active service at once and will not re-
ceive pay until they get active assign
ments.
The intention of the War Depart
ment in this regard was made clear
today by Secretary Of War Baker in
a statement issued to clear up the
misunderstanding and general dis
satisfaction Of the men and their fam
lilies over the announcement made tc
the men at the training camps last
Saturday that only about half OF
them would receive commissions
whether qualified or not, because the
army had over-stocked with officers
About half Of the men who qualify
for commissions at the Officers Train
ing camps which will come to q close
November 9th viii be assigned to the
National Army, and the others will
receive commissions IN the Reserve
Corps, without aktive assignment
and what iss of greater Importance
to large number Of them, win re-
ceive no pay until they receive active
duty.
The assignment to active duty may
come In few weeks or in one or two
months at the most, it is expected.
Secretary Bakers statement clari-
flying the situation which arose since
Il l. -
Department at the close of the pres
ent training course at the officers
camps will have more men than j
needs, reads as follows:
Every student officer in the train
ing camps who passes the tests will
be given a commission at the close
Of the camps this month.
"All the officers receiving commits
sions for whom places can be i'm
provided will be called into
active service with pay at the close
Of the camps. Others for whom there
is no present vacancy will be given
and placed on a non-pa.
inactive list until places can be found
for them"
The wave Of criticism which was
heared on the department since the
announcement was made at the camps
last Saturday that only half of them
would get commissions has to all ap-
pearances caused the Department te
change its attitude as the Secretarv's 8
statement of today shows an entiH
different purpose than that announced
at the camps.
Secretary Baker said that the men
commissioned at the second training
camps, now in progress, will not be
against in favor of the
enlisted men who will receive a course
of training at the third series of
camps. There will ultimately be need
for every available officer, he said, in
the army plan to put two million men
in France.
A large number Of the men conf
missioned at the present caSps will
be sent to the National Army camps
to train the drafted men, taking the
places of officers who will be sent to
join General Pershing's forces in
France as soon as they can be re-
lieved
AS the succeeding drafts are made
and the regiments after regiments
are sent to France there will unit
mately be need for all the officers who
are commissioned and they will not
a long time on the inactive and
list, he said.