Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1917-11-28

| Nh"AttN are tidl every war ONCE VIII
present a plan and that the grand
scheme finally adopted will be one
which contains parts of the plans OF
the experts of all nations. 1t is pos
sible, of course, however, that some
| general plan, product in large part
of the brain of one military student,
may be the one finally adopted
Lack Of Team Work DepIered.
Washington for months has had
within its borders representatives of
the armed forces of all the allies. 1t
is held generally by the military ex-
| pertS that the plan of campaign OF
each individual war Office as it affects
its own front has been in the main
excellent. From tho first, however,
| there has been uneasinesS among the
students Of strategy because no grand
plan of co-ordinated campaign for
| the final crushing of Germany and
Austria has been evolved
1t is known TO be somewhat of a
disappointment to American military
authorities that at the allied confer
ence In Paris the war Offices are not
to be more fully represented To
considerable extent the conference on
the conduct of the war will be a civil
ian affair. but there will be a sufficient
military leaven in the meeting TO af-
feet its deliberations ;Sld finally prob
ably to produce the strategic result
desired
Something has been said concerning
the belief that the war is to be long
one. If plan of grand strategy in
which all the allied nations shall take
part is evolved, adopted and put into
operation, ii will mean probably that
for months the conflict seemingly will
be at a virtual standStill except at
parts of certain fronts where progress
even under preparation conditions is
possible. If the endorsement Of
comprehensive plan of "cOalesced war
fare" is secured from the war offices
of each of the allied countries, the
preparations for putting the grind
plan into operation must be adequate
and all embracing. Food, munitions,
men, supplies of ali kinds al the fronts
and at the bases back of the fronts
must be provided so that there may
be no excuse at any pout of the thou
sands of circling miles for the now
familiar plea that retreat nere or there
came because the necessaries in the
case were locking.
Retired OFFICERS Back in Harness.
Scenes in London during the early
part of the war are being duplicated In
Washington. The streets. OF course,
here are full of soldiers as they were
in the British capital in the fall of
1914, but one striking thing here. as
there, is the presence of many men,
erect and sturdy. but aged who are
wearing the uniform of their country
and doing active work at Il time Of life
when they had the right TO expect to
be resting on their laurels for the rest
of their existence.
There are old officers In this town
from the rank of lieutenant general
down 10 that Of second lieutenant in
full uniform, all of them working for
the government and the juniors,
many of them, ranking in age scores
of major generals and hrigadier gener-
ais still in the active service.
Lieut.. Gen. S. b. NJ. Young. aged
seventy-seven years. is in harness
again as commanding officer of the
Soldiers Home located on the heights
above Washington and in which are
many hundreds Of former regulars who
are lncapaCitated for service. The
placing of General Young in this po-
sition released for field service a
younger officer of the line.
The instant that war broke out Cen
eral Young. despite his age. offered his
services to the government His i'm
mediate ranking officer, also a lieu
tenant general, Nelson A. Miles, Of
fered his services at the same time.
Except in an advisory capacity Gen
eral Miles services have not yet been
required.
Many Retired officers Working.
There are In the war department to-
day retired army officers working
away for dear life whose shoulder
straps have the open field denoting
second lieutenant rank. or the bar of
the first lieutenant. or the double bar
of a captain Some OF these men n
they had stayed In the service would
be major generals today. and numbers
of them in fact already have reached
the age when retirement would have
been compulsory under the sixty-four
years clause.
Some of these officers were retired
because of wounds received in the
early Indian wars. Some Of them
so far recovered from the effects OF
their wounds that if the law had al
lowed they would have been able to
return to active service in days Of
pence, but the law makes no such pro-
vision. When war comes the services
of all men are needed. and these an
cient ones of the cavalry and infantry
who fought the Arapah0es the Kiowas,
the Apaches and the Sioux "a the
plains and In the r.ountains IN the
days long gone by are undergoing
training In what TO an old campaigner
are actually new duties, those cf desk
work at headquarters.
IT seems curious TO meet In full uni
form on the street q second lieutenant
who has reached the PsaImists al
lotted span Of life. three score 9ears
and ten. and yet there are several
such here. The younger men Of the
active service. even though they rank
the older ones, always salute them