New-York tribune., 1917-05-05
Officers from the Guard
By Accepting Enlisted Men Right
Material Can Be Found
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

i o lne EOllOr oi lHt liluuH''
Sir: Will you permit me to call to your at
tention a serious situation which has deYcl-
oped in connection with the efforts now being
made TO obtain eligible men for the ofhcerS
training camps. The so-callcd Plattsburg
camps Of the last two years have done inval-
liable service in creating public sentiment
in favor Of universal training and in dispel-
ling the idea that soldier may be made over
night. OF the men who attended the camps,
however, many fitted by education, experience
and maturity TO become officers. are past the
age limits. are married or have other respon-
sibilities which make them unavailable. Apart
from the old Plattsburg men, it appears that
tho bulk OF those who have applied for the
officers training camps are not qualihed ny
education maturity to become officers
Those in charge must. therefore. now recog-
nze that large majority Of the twenty-five
thousand officers required by the War De
partmcnt for the new army must be sought
elsewhere.
A field up TO now hardly touched when
will, those who arc familiar with the sItua-
tion believe, furnish at least fifteen thousand
of the new officers demanded, Is the enlisted
personnel of the National Guard. The regl-
ments of this and other states contain large
numbers of enlisted men. who are college
graduates or have an equivalent educatoh'
and whose civil experience and maturity
make them ideal officer material. In addition'
the Guardsmen have had the benefit during
the last year Of several months OF heid ser
vice on the Mexican border, service when
by reason of the primitive conditions WIN
which they had to contend Il was there
myself as an officer of the 18th New YORK
Infantry, has given them an exceptionally
valuable experience. Many of these men, IN
deed, are already quite competent, without
much, if any, further training, TO take charge
Of the drilling of recruits for the new army
Unfortunately, the plans as yet announced
Of the new War Department do not begin 10
utilize to its full extent the National Guard
AS "A source for officers. On Wednesday the
department announced that twenty-five en-
listed men Of each National Guard regiment
would be permitted to enter the training
camps While this is step in advance, 1t
fails 10 recognize that in some of the Ma
tional Guard organizations, such as squadron
A. the 1st Cavalry and the 7th, among others,
in this state, there are many times that num-
her of men fitted by education and training
Guard Of this state who want to try for com
missions tell me that at the present time they
are faced by what is practically vicious CIR
cle-the regular officers in charge OF the OIL
GERS training camps will not let them in with
out discharges or furloughs from the Ma
tional Guard, and these almost impossi-
Bile TO obtain
There exists, moreover. upon the part OF
some National Guard officers an attitude
toward the seeking OF commissions by their
men which, however honest II may be. Is, tc
my mind, utterly mistaken. These officers
mus. of course, have keen regrets when they
see organizations which they have labored
for so many years to bring TO their present
high standard depleted and disintegratcd.
Nevertheless the higher good Of the country
as a whole demands that every enlisted man
in the National Guard who is qualified to
become an officer. should try for a commits
sion, and it is the imperative duty of every
officer Of the National Guard to urge such
men so 10 do.
The War Department would do well TO
direct that a census be taken at once Of the
enlisted men in the National Guard who by
education, civil training and maturity are
fitted to try for commissions. Officers of the
regular army could readily eliminate such as
were for any reason disqualified, and the re-
mainder could be given the opportunity of
Immediately entering the officers training
camps. As temporary measure the Ma
tional Guard authorities OF this state should
issue an order that every enlisted man who
is accepted by the training camp authorities
shall at once receive the necessary furlough.
1t is only by cOmbing the enlisted per-
sonnel of the National Guard for commits
stoned and non-commissoned officer material
that the Guard can be utilized to the fullest
extent in the present emergency. This may
mean that many Of the organizations will be
greatly reduced in numbers, and some Of
them will practically go out Of existence. II
such be the case, work can be found else
where for their present officers. 1t is time
when the officers Of the National Guard must
subordinate their own interests TO those of
the country and follow the example of Colo
mel Fisk of the 9TH Regiment, who, in urg-
ing universal training under exclusive Federal
control, declared that if in order to further
the military interests of the country it
should prove necessary he for one was will
ing to see his own regiment with its hundred
years of honorable history go into the scrap
heap. WILLIAM NJ CHADBOURNE.
New York, May 4, 1917