The Washington herald., 1918-06-03

war overseas is considered neces-
| sary by the people of the nation.
This may be stated without re-
| serve. The widespread indignation
| at what some consider to be an at
tempt to discard him when we are
| badly in need of generals means
only one thing-that the people
\ think the general should be where
the fighting is and that any attempt
| to keep him here is founded on
| ephemeral reasons.
Quite aside from the fact that
| the people consider the general an
| officer of more than ordinary abil-
| ity is the fact that this is a war to
| the hilt. and that no politics should
be played in it. nor petty grievances
aired in it to the detriment of
Americas cause. And yet, while
this is an aside" there is no ques-
ton but what the assignment of
| Gen. Wood to the war zone would
strengthen American morale and
not only among officers but also
| among the enlisted men, would give
most pronounced encouragement.
We need everything to win-the
best generals, and virtually all of
them who are capable of filling such
| thing we have in men and in re-
| sources. The need is too impera-
| tive to listen to extraneous affairs.
| If there are petty affairs to be
fought out let them wait until af
ter the war. The Kaiser is not
keeping his good generals in the
background. He knows the place
where they should be, and he is
putting them there. We should
show ourselves quite as resolute and
| as sagacious as he, in this respect
| Secretary Lansing's assurances to
] the Czech-Slovaks and the Jugo-
slavs are merely the assurances of
| the country. as he says in his note.
Belated, though they may be, the
majority of the leaders of these
| two movements over there have at
no time felt that America was not
with them in their crisis. In fact.
| there has been a harmony between
| our own people and those strug-
| Cling peoples from the first. The
| latter are seeking RELIEF from OPP
preston just as We sought relief
once upon a time and we cannot
\ fail to liken their own distress to
| ours. then.
| In Congress there is the belief
| that passage of resolutions similar
, in tone to the letter of the Secre-
tary of State would strengthen the
| bond between the two peoples and
| this nation, and simultaneously
would increase the respect of the
Czech Slovaks and the Jugolavs for
our nation as a whole. 1t would
| indicate the democracy of our WELL
| wishes and would be an illustra-
| tion of what we are contending for
at the present time-the undisput-
ed and unqualified participation of
! the people in all our diplomatic af-
fairs. The assurance of the State
| Department, of course, is regarded
| as commehdable to the utmost, but
| those in Congress who favor the
passage of proper resolutions be-
| lieve that the step would be eX-
! tremely wise at this time.
The retention of Gen. Gorgas at
| the head of the surgeon generals
| branch of the army is being made
the subject of much discussion over
| the country. The general has many
| friends. so we note from the rather
wide press comment. He seems to
| have impressed many who have
kept track of affairs with his
| thorough knowledge of the func-
tions of his office, and with the gen.
| eral principles of army hygiene and
| sanitation. If his superiors take to
him as kindly as they promise to-.
the general unquestionably will stay
where he is.
So far as Congress is concerned
there will probably be no effort to
| interest itself unduly in the mat
ter. But there are any number of
| Congressman to be found who re-
gard the post as one of the utmost
Importance. They think the utmost
care should be taken in the filling
| of the office and that one should
be installed in it who has some
knowledge of the civilian require
ments of the nation and who will
keep sensible balance between
army and civilian physicians and
surgeons, and who will steer clear
of some of the troubles run into by
the medical departments of other
nations armies.
| American newspapers and the
public generally will scout the pre-
posterous idea of Ralph Kitchin
that publications have obtained any
unfair concessions at the hands of
either the President or the Secretary
of the Treasury. The truth is the
papers have been battling for SOME
~. !: I.