The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-10-22
PROMOTION AND PAY.

Our war department has announced that
merit and merit only will win promotion IN our
army in this war. This is a rule betting a
republic and the realization that valor and ca
pacity are to earn their sure reward Will put
every soldier, officer or private, on his mettle
to do his best. The one thing more than all
others, probably, which has always made sol
diering attractive to red -blooded men is that 1T
opens field of endeavor in which manlness
without political or social influence may aspire
to success If nature has endowed a man with
dauntless natural leadership, fortitude, force
fulness, intellectual alertness, qualities that
any man in any walk of life may possess, he
may easily and quickly overpass the barriers OF
birth and position that hedge him round IN
civil life. Military service has thus IN all ages
been a competition open to citizens OF every
class in which merit might not always win but
had better chance to than In other walks OF
life
While on this subject few words concerning
the pay Of officers may be of interest. Not all
officers Of equal rank draw equal salaries, and
the system on which these vary is somewhat in
tricate. Length Of service or longevity" as
the army term is, automatically increases an Of
fcer's pay. Other increases are due to what
is known as communication Of quarters, de-
expense of housing himself and family and pay
ing for heat and light It is based on the theory
that second lieutenant is entitled to two
rooms, a captain to four, colonel to six and so
on, and may increase the pay of officers accord
ing to their rank from $24 to $120 a month.
Added to these is the increase of ten per cent.
an officer gets for service abroad; the $3.50 a
year extra mounted officer below the grade
of major receives if he provides one suitable
mount at his own expense, and the increase of
from twenty five to seventy-fve per cent. which
officers in the aviation service draw.
Exclusive of all these extra allowances the
base pay of second lieutenant is 81 700 year,
first lieutenant $4,000, captain s., AGO. major 49,
1000, lieutenant-colonel $4,000, colonel $4,000,
brigadier- general $4,000, majorgeneral $4,000
and lieutenant general $11 900.
Big movements call for undivided attention.
and so the president has asked the food ad-
ministrator to change the time of the food con-
servation pledge campaign in order to prevent
interference WITH work for the Liberty loan.
Mr.. Hoover sees the point, and the change will
be made in the interest of efficiency. The final
week of the loan campaign will be the period
of October twenty lone to October twenty ght.
The final work Of the food conservation cam
paign will be deferred until the week of Octo-
Der twenty eight to November four. Both these
matters are of prime Importance, and under
the plan adopted at the presidents suggestion
each will command the attention it deserves.
AS long as the Washington economists shout
that there is great waste of coal and that ten
per cent. can be saved by intelligent conserva-
ton they speak clearly and be heard dis
tinctly, but when they attempt to get down to
concrete directions for agitating the CRATE bars
and manipulating the hampers the needle Stops
off the record.
Don't be Last Minuter subscribe for your
Liberty bond early and avoid the confusion of
the closing hours; and perhaps you will be in q
position to absorb another one by that time.