Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-07-08


American plans for universal military
training, but it certainly would affect
the size of the standing army.
The plan of the general staff for
army reorganization which was sub
mitted at the last session involved the
recruiting of regular army of a lit
tie more than half a million men. This
plan, although it received no attention
at the last session, forms n part the
basis of present discussion. and out of
it eventually will be brought the new
organization scheme, whatever it may
be, scheme which if adopted may go
by the board as soon as the League of
Nations becomes reality.
Fight Over General Staff Plan.
1t would be untruthful to say that
the majority of representatives and
| senators believes that even with a
peace-among-all-nat pact the
strength of the regular army of the
United States should be diminished
close to the vanishing point The Re
publieans, it is said. intend to give the
country a standing army of diminished
numbers. Whether or not they will
sanction universal military training of
course yet remains to be determined.
1t is useless TO try to hide the fact
that there is pretty row going on
among the ranking officials of the reg
| ular army today. The general staff,
many army officers say, is a rather
close corporation. The charge is that
the staf's intention is, if It can secure
congressional sanction for its general
plan, to make the general staff the all
mall of army administration. The
chiefs of army departments and bu-
reaus as they exist today are antag-
Onistic, bitterly so, to many of the
plans which the general staff is trying
to put into effect with legislative sane
ton. Congress must determine the
right in the matter.
Army officers who are opposed to the
staff plan say that if 1T is put into
effect it will mean the complete sub
ordination of the views of men who
know their business to the views of
men who only think they know their
business. 1t would be a tedious and
thankless job to go into the details of
the things which the general staff
seems to want to accomplish. Putting
it broadly, the staff critics say that ii
wants to run the army; that it wants
to be chief of artillery, chief of in
fantry, chief of engineers, chief of
ordnance and chief of everything else.
unless it be the medical corps.
Officers May Criticize Freely.
Within the next few weeks if the
matter of Importance enough, the
country will learn that army officers
of high rank are not afraid to speak
their opinions when the shield of con-
gress is thrown about them. An army
officer giving his views before a COM
mittee of congress is protected in his
right to criticize the doings of his SUI
periors, although, of course, he is ex-
pected to keep away from personalities
that are personalities only.
Discipline and feeling of loyalty
to the service have kept scores of
ranking officers of the army quiet dur
ing the past few months. An immense
amount of bitterness of feeling has
been engendered by the reorganiza-
ton plans of the general staff The
staff will defend itself and officers of
other bureaus will attack.
Women's Legion of Great War.
Washington is taking the initiative
in organizing the wives, mothers and
daughters of men who fought in the
great war. An association has been
completed in the District of Columbia
1t is to be known as the American
Women's Legion of the Great War.
This is local organization, but the
belief here is that eventually the scope
fact, some of the friends of the move
ment believe the women of the coun-
try who have close relatives in the
war should undertake to form an or
ganiZatiOn somewhat like that of the
American Legion recently formed in
ST. Louis, and which has for its OBJ
ject the banding together in fellow
ship of the soldiers who fought against
Germany.
IT is true that the American Legion
will admit TO membership women who
did war work of a certain kind. It
dOoS MT oOptap,pIata hOu,ovor +I,o al
mission to membership of women SIM
ply because they were either the
wives, mothers, daughters or sisters
of active combatants.
The Washington organization offers
membership to the female "next of
kin" to veterans of the war. The
wives, mothers and daughters of en-
listed men are Just as welcome as are
the women relatives of officers. The
intention is to make the thing thor
oughly democratic. Representative
women have the organization in
charge, and for time will conduct its
activities. 1t is likely that before
long officers of the organization will
be chosen from the ranks of the WON
en- whose next of kin were enlisted
men.
Mrs. Eustis Is President.
Mrs. William Cochran Eustis has
been elected president of this District
of Columbia association. She is the
daughter of former Vice President
Levi 2. Morton, who in his ninety-sixth
year is still living. Mrs. Eustis is the
wife of soldier who saw service in
France.
The organization is open TO "wom-
anfolk" of men of the army, navy and
marine corps. Among the officers are
Mrs. William NJ. Black, wife of the
chief of engineers; Mrs. A. F. Nihlack,
wife of an admiral of the navy, and
Mrs. George Barnett, wife of the chief