The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-09-29


ond Lieutenant in Quartermaster' s
Corps This Week
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2S.-The war
department has begun severe wedding
out process in the officers reserve corps.
1t is predicted that thousands of officers
will return to civil life before their com
radcs reach France.
! The department has found that there
| is such an unprecedented demand for
commissions that it is possible to pick
men of the highest type for virtually
every position in the reserve corps,
There are thousands of applications for
commissions unanswered from men Of
excellent technical training.
The pruning knife just at present is
being used on the men who had commits
sious in the officers, reserve corps be-
fore the United States became bel
Iligercnt. Under the National defence
act Of 1916 the department was instruct
ed to organize a reserve corps Of men Of
Ian professions and business training
who would he available to fit into the
lighting machine when the call came
Departmental commanders were or
dcrcd to get men for the corps. They
found that virtually no one desired TO
ioin The War Department blamed the
apathy ON the fact that no machinery
was created for the organization of the
corps. There was no advertising ex-
....4 IL I
news items from Washington. As re-
suit few men applied for commissions.
) When the department found that the
vacancies were not being filed the de-
: lTartmcntal commanders were prodded.
. Thercupon they began to accept men
. who could not have passed stiff exam
T. nations. Applicants could almost pick
the commissions they desired
When the United States entered the
: war all Of these men were ordered tc
d tho reese yyeF eapps for training. Many
s Iof them Immediately Showed that they
/ were incapable of being prepared for the
4 commissions which they were supposed
70 hold. Others showed that they coul(
{. hold commissions of no sort. Many Of
to them were allowed to return to civil
: life quietly. Others declined to accep
i the suggestion from the instructors tina
:. they were untitled for the service
q. An order issued by the adiutant gen
p eral S Office reduced twenty officers froI
= ranks ranging from colonel to captai
s. TO that of second lieutenant in the qual
nd tcmastcr 5 corps.
II This is one of the indications of tn
2y manner in which the weedingout pre-
IL cess is being carried on.
-c In the first reserve camps there wei
3 $4,000 candidates for commissions. Fl
- teen thousand Of this number WEI
we dropped before they completed the
q course. OF the $4,000 who were give
- provisional commissions more than .OC
II. were dropped last month. It is estima
= ed that this number will he trehlcd b
w fore the National armies reach Franc
an, The war department desires to imprc
m. upon reserve officers the fact that the
commissions are virtually provision
!, and that they may be relieved or I
duced at any time. In other words,
x man is sure of his position until he 90
Vi. aboard a transport for France.
The department has discovered til
many men believe that once they ha
- been granted commissions they are ;
sured of positions. As matter of fla,
and to use the words of any army oflic
''they are still in the grammar schc
aw and may be plucked at any time.