The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-10-27
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.

IN Rank.
BY EDWARD q. CLARK.
WaShinGton.-The secretary Of war.
and with him the military officers of
his department are DESTROYS that meH-
bers Of National Guard organizations
should understand that il j. nothing
hut the necessities Of military case
which have compelled the authorities
to order consolidation of some of the
state regiments which thereby neceS-
sarily largely must lose their Identity.
TelegrumS and letters Of protest
against the consolidation OF different
state regiments into one still are pour
ing into the department, and the civil
ian officials and the army officers I'M
questionahly are perturbed because oil
the attitude of officers and men of
some OF the Guard organizations to-
ward consolidation.
II appears that rather than IN l"Se
it's identity rs the Fighting Fiftieth. or
the KeOkuk Blues. or the Kalamazoo
Cracks. some of the Guard regiments
would prefer that military wisdom he
fOregOne and that they be allowed TO
go into the fight against the Germans
in their old formations. which would
mean to enter the battle in Il manner
not approved by students of modern
warfare.
| have been asked personally by one
of the highest military officials in the
Inn. - m
of why those consultations of rrgi-
ments are necessary, and why IL is
that some officers temporarily nj least.
must lose their positions of first COIN
mand.
Pershine Urged the Change.
II was General Pershing who urged
on the American military authorities
the necessity of having the regimenIal
formations correspond to those of the
French and British now actually on the
fighting line. Three years of trench
. work and such open field work as there
has been have proved that complete
change in the regimental formations
:, must be made. The war department
wishing to do what it can To insure 50
far as is possible quick victory. has No
alternative hut to change the old or
ganization plan.
Under the new rule n regiment mus
contain about 5000 men. This make!
it absolutely necessary that som'
Guard regiments shall be combined Z
make new regiment. The whole sys
TEN Of organization has undergone
change. The necessity of machine gu
:, troops has made II imperative thu
= some regiments shall he split int
smaller units for "rattle fire" gun for
nations. The war department realize
= that in measure this splitting of re=i
ments Is to the men like the breakin
up of home ties. hut war is on and til
y war must he fought along modern line
!, and therefore the changes absolutel
are necessary.
There Is one colonel to a regimen
~ When two existing regiments are con
bined into one IL means that the juniu
- colonel must be displaced from con
~ mand. or IL ii shall be deemed wis
- from the military sense to put the jul
:" Tor in chief command. the senior feel
that he had been sighted.
o. No Officer to Lose His Rank.
a., II can be said. however, that no CO
=, onel, unless found unfit. will lose h
" rank. He will be attached to a reg
:. ment ready to take command In chs
the actual commander Is inca2acitate
or transferred. In other words. the a,
ditional colonel will In sense be
lieutenant colonel. although keepir
=. the coloners rank. The lieutenant GO
a onel Of an outfit always has been so
of n supernumerary.
Other officers than the colonies W,
be affected. but every man who is
for the service will stay in 1t at II
rank which he holds. II will he |
news probably to most of the office
Of the army. regulars or Nation
Guartlsmen. that II they prove the
unfitness to command men in the pre-
40 ent crisis-out they will go.
w. New Ane.thet'c Being Tested.
Washington officials. particular
ca those of the medical departmer
and presumably all persons W
have heard or read anything
the subject. are interested in an ar
- Gle written by Edgar Ansel Mowr
W. which appears in Golfers Weekly
September %. II gives in detail ;
founding accounts Of the pain-relievi
work which II is claimed an anesthe
called nikalgin. the discovery of a !;
man. Gordon Edwards. has accO
plished in the war hospitals Of FL
land and Francs.
If this discovery will do what II
claimed Il will do, there is reaS
enough for the interest in II which /
been aroused II has been my atten
70 find ont something about nikal: