The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1919-04-10
DEMOT|ONS IN ARMY
THAT SEEM UNJUST
COMPLAINTS ARE CAUSED BY
THE REDUCTION OF OFFICERS
TO THEIR FORMER RANK.
OTHERS RETAIN HIGH PLACES
Cases of kutz, Fries and Barker Are
Typical of Those That Have Given
Rise to Much Unfavorable Critisim
by the Public.
BY EDWARD B. CLARK.

|
Washington.-Rece there have
| been many cases of "demotiOn by Sc
| lection in the United States army. In
| time of peace "promotion by selection"
known to some army officers as pro
motion by personal acquaintance"
could not produce more complaints
and quarrels.
The trouble Is that hundreds of reg
ular army officers while still holding
their present rank in the regular estab-
| lishment, were promoted to higher
rank in the National army, to keep
that rank until the time came when
| they were to be ordered to resume
| their old places in the regular army
Many of these high ranking officers IN
the army as 1t exists today already
have been sent back to their old junior
ranks, while scores and in fact hun
dreds Of others, junior in the regular
army to the men already denoted, are
still holding their high rank in the
army rs it is. This means that many
veterans of the regulars today are
ranked in the existing army by men
who are many years their junior in
years and in service.
Peculiar Case of Kutz.
There is one peculiar case which
possible is worthy of comment. q. w.
Kutz, of the corps of engineers, Is
today the engineer commissioner of
the District of Columbia, holding the
rank Of lieutenant colonel of regulars.
1t was only the other day that Kutz
was a brigadier general in the Amer
lean EXpeditionary Forces in France.
He served with great distinction as the
commander of an American regiment
in the field with the French near Yer
dun. 1t was while in command of this
regiment that he was promoted to the
rank of brigadier general. Then he
was sent back to the United States TO
organize a brigade and to take it back
TO the embattled country.
Instead of this program being fol
lowed Kutz was discharged from his
rank as brigadier general and resumed
automatically his old rank as a lieu
tenant colonel of regulars. Today as
lieutenant colonel, and as engineer
commissioner of the District of Co
lumbia, he has under him as engineer
commissioner two officers of the corps
of engineers who are still full colonels
in the army as il exists, both of whom
are sixteen years Kutz's junior
In this case Kutz lieutenant col
onel, has under his direction two col
OnelS. This would be impossible were
it not for the fact that Lieutenant Col
onel Kutz, in directing the activities of
the two colonies, is acting not as a
lieutenant colonel of the army, but as
engineer commissioner of the District
of Columbia.
Demoton of General Fries.
A large part of the criticism Of army
administration Is unjustifiable, but 1t is
certain that the demotions which re-
Gently have taken place have brought
about a condition which is something
more than merely anomalous. Amos A.
Fries, corps of engineers, was the chief
of the chemical warfare service of the
American Expeditionary Forces in
France He was given the rank of
brigadier- general, and while in France
he organized the gas field service from
top to bottom and set it working. He
was ordered back to the United States
for confcgl ce purposes under an
agreement that he soon was to be
4 20 l.
What happened? Instead Of being
sent back to France General Fries was
denoted to his old rank in the regular
army, that of lieutenant colonel. He is
now Lieutenant colonel of engineers
and is ranked in the army as it exists
by more than one hundred officers in
his own corps, the engineers, who are
many years junior to him.
Brig. Gen John w. Barker went TO
France I'M the American Expedltlonary
Forces. He was wounded on the field
of action He entirely recovered and
was sent back to duty in Washington
where he found himself discharged
from his rank as brigadier general to
become again a lieutenant colonel with
place in the existing army below
hundreds Of men who in the regular
service are his juniors.
Washington Still overcrowded.
Washington Is still full of people,
war workers, peace workers, and, I'M
happily, It must be said, too many peo-
pie who are just hangers on. Members
Of the new congress are being con-
frontcd with the hard task of finding
places to live.
The Capital City has lost some
thousands Of its temporary inhabitants
within the last month or two, but
stlli the place Is filled to overlooking.
The wonder Is where all Of the peo-
pie were packed. II Is true that the
government put up dormtorles for
many Of It's workers and IL Is Just as
true that some of the workers lived
two and three In room when the
press was on, but the exodus seems TO
have made comparatively little differ.
ence In the ITO Let" situation.
One result Of this Is, of course,