Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-05
MARCH TO HEAD
AR NJ s STAFF
At WASHINGTON
Change Is Expected To Has
ten Needed CO-Or-
dinatiOn.
SLATED APPOINTEE
IS WITH PERSHING

| "ooA1H6IOA, -. ", rcU. I.~uANJOl
General Peyton c. March is slated tt
become acting chief of staff of the
army, if General Pershing can spare
him from his present duties as chief
Of the artillery of the expeditionary
forces. No reply has been received
as yet from General Pershing.
The selection of General March
means that Major General Bliss, chief
OF staff, is to remain permanently in
Europe as the American military rep.
resentattve at the supreme war coun'
Gil now sitting in France.
CHANGE EXPECTED SOON.
No official statement was available
as to the action contemplated but 1t
is expected that General March will
undertake his new duties in the near
future.
The permanent assignment Of Gen.
eral Bliss to the war council may re,
suit in request to congress for au-
thority to appoint an additional gen.
eral. As General March will be in
fact head Of the army. it is regarded
as probable that he will be given both
the rank and title of chief of staff
later, General Bliss being continued
in similar rank but relieved as chief
of staff to permit him to devote him.
self exclusively to his work abroad.
NATIVE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
General March is So years old and
was born in Pennsylvania. from which
state he went to the military academy.
He has been attached to the artillery
branch continuously with the excep-
ton of duty as major and later as
Ha1ytan ~ IN
| fantry in 1S99-19O1 for Philippine SER
! vice. General March commanded the
Astor Battery in the Spanish-Ameri-
can war. He graduated from the artil-
lery school with high marks in 1898
and served on the general staff from
1903 to 1904 During the Russo-Jap-
anese war he was military observer
for the United States army with the
Japanese troops.
is WELL Qualified.
The qualifications of General March
for duties have been higher spoken
of by officers of General Pershing's
staff Secretary Baker is known to
have had under consideration for
some time the urgent necessity of put
ting young and vigorous man at the
head Of the staff to coordinate all the
military branches of the army. Sew
eral Of the general officers have been
discussed for the post but the decision
to name General March was reached
only within the last few days.
Army officers see in the appoint
ment Of General March promise of a
more thorough uniting Of all war de-
partment agencies than has been pos
sible heretofore owing to the peculiar
situation in which the general staff
has found itself ever since the en-
trance of the United States into the
war.
WILL AID COORDINATION.
When the war began, Major Cen
eral Scott, chief of staff, was promptly
detached for duty in Russia with the
Root commission. General Bliss as
his assistant took over the work, but
did not succeed to the title of chief of
staff until General SCOTS retirement.
Almost Immediately after his eleva
ton to that post he was in turn de-
tached to go to Europe and has not
since functioned as chief Of staff 1t is
an open secret at the war department
that there has been a lack of care
fully organized staff work due to this
situation.