New-York tribune., 1918-08-04

~ new kind of officer according
to Arthur F. Cosby, who
writes on Leaders of Our New Armies"
in the current issue of "Collier's" Off
GERS schools are to be held continuously
1t seems, to meet the serious problem of
leadership for the vast armies America
is sending overseas. And the new policy
of the War Department is marked
chiefly by the fact that it recognizes the
potential military value of civilians as
officers. Mr.. Cosby says:
THE old volunteer system of commission
ing officers is dead to-day because of the
success Of the training camps. While these
men, the very best red -blooded young man
hood we have, were going through the grim
business of training, the War Department
was besieged with applications for commits
siops. Civilians at large, and especially
politicians high in rank, urged the appoint
ment of some favorite to commission
volunteer officer. For long time the ques-
ton whether or not volunteer commissions
were to be issued was in the balance. The
United States statutes expressly allowed the
President to appoint volunteer officers, and
there was ample precedent for it.
Throughout all of our wars, whether the
Revolution, the War of 1912, the Mexican
War, the Civil War or the Spanish-Ameri-
can War, owing to our American system of
unpreparedness, when the crisis came and
war was declared commissions were handed
out freely. In the emergency it was the
only way, even if bad way. Under the
volunteer system all manner of pulls were
exerted, social, political, financial or busi-
ness, but in every case it was pull of some
sort, which meant favoritism. Scandals un-
der this system were notorious. The coun-
try has not yet forgotten the conditions of
the Spanish American War, when men who
had never trained soldier were appointed
to grades as high lieutenant colonel and
colonel. Nor did they have an examination
of any sort-not even physical one.
ssTHE demands of this war against Ger
many are such that there is no
room for graft, corruption, favoritism or
inefficiency. The wastage of life is enor
nous at best, without increasing it through
inefficient officers. The pressure upon the
War Department, however, was onerous.
While it was necessary to issue commissions
as reserve officers in many of the staff
corps, the bulk of these were for men of
special qualifications, such physicians,
engineers, technical men and specialists in
the Ordnance Corps and the aviation section
of the Signal Corps These appointments
would not permit OF delay, nor was military
training essential for them. But it was felt
that for the line officers, the men who would
actually lead our soldiers in the fighting
lines where the health and lives of the men
were under the direct control of the officers,
men should be selected only after due OBJ
servation and training. The passage of the
selective service law, or draft act made it
apparent that there would be steady succes
sive increments, each of half million men.
These new armies would require thousands
of new officers. SO the War Department
planned for the organization of second
officers training camp, to open after the
completion of the first, with others to fol-
low. 1t announced definite policy that
hereafter commissions for line officers
would only be issued after observation and
training in an officers training camp. This
step was really revolutionary in character.
1t committed the country to the new prin
ciple of training and did away with the evils
and scandals of the volunteer system, for
line officers at least, for all time. This
policy has been rigidly adhered to. The
creation of continuous officers schools
establishes it more firmly than ever.
lGvTHE real test of the officers training
camps came when the newly f1edged
officers took hold of the National Army
cruits. Their task was indeed a hard one.
This mass of material the cap
tain had to train from the ground up. First
he had to fill out all the necessary papers
and red tape to enroll the men, then see
that their equipment was properly issued,
and then start on the job of training them
He had to select his non-commissioned off,
GERS as time went on, as best he could from
the most promising material. The Off
GERS met the test superbly. 1t Won
derful sight to see them, fresh from the
training camps, handling these huge squads
OF men. The confidence in the officers and
spirit of self-reiance developed early"