The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1919-09-20
GREAT LESSON Of
WAR OVERLOOKED
CHIEF FAULT IN THE GENERAL
STAFF ARMY BILL POINTED
OUT BY The EXPERTS.
BUREAU HEADS ARE SHIFTING
Army Officers Are Admittedly Not
Good at Business, Yet Would Be
Called On to Handle Dig Industrial
ana Financial Affairs.
Bv EDWARD 8. CLARK.


ganiZatlon of the regular army. AS a
matter OF fact lhiS bill outlines for the
United States such a future military
policy as the authorities of the war
department would like to see enacted
into law.
There are many reasons today why
Il bin for the reorganization Of the reg
ular army should be of vitality greater
interest to the people Of the United
States than ever before. The country
is divided into various camps of opin-
ion on the subject of the army of the
future. The army has its viewpoint =;
labor has it's viewpoint; the man who
believes in sane preparedness has his
viewpoint; the pacifst has his view
point, and The so-called antimilit0ristS
have their viewpoint. The army bill
as finally adopted will have Il marked
influence in the next presidential
campaign for the good or evil Of this
candidate or that candidate.
1t is not proper for one who has had
comparatively little military service
and is far from being an expert along
any military lines to attempt to pass
judgment on technical matters as they
appear in this proposed legislation,
but there has been one lesson drawn
from this great war, and which it has
been supposed everybody had learned,
that seems on the face Of things, it
is said, to have been ignored by the
army authorities who drew this legis-
latiOn and sent it to congress.
One Great Lesson ignored.
IF there was one thing which this
war taught more sharply and specif-
ically than it taught anything else ii
was that army officers with their
training are not necessarily good bust
ness men. An American army officer
as the records of tie regulars will
show from the time that the records
began, are good fighters, but that they
have business heads of the leaders OF
great corporations no one need de-
ceive themselves in believing for @
moment. The officers themselves say
they are not good at business" 1t is
proposed in the bill now before con.
gress that the chiefs or heads of al
bureaus, and this means technical bu
reaus as we'll as others, shall be line
officers-cavalrymen, artillerymen, in
fantrymen, ETC., without any fixed time
to remain in office and consequently
subject TO removal at any time.
Now, what does this mean? 1t means
that the duties Of the judge advocate
generals department, the finance de
partment, the motor transport corps
the ordnance department, the chem
ical warfare service, the duties Of the
signal corps, the tank corps and tht
quartermaster corps are to be per
formed by detail from the active fight
ing service, and that the men so de
tailed are to hold their positions per
haps just long enough to become eff
clent, and then possibly are to go bach
to the work from which they were
called.
Heretofore in the service the only
fixed departments so far as their per
sonnet was concerned, were those Of
surgery and medlclne ana the engl
neer corps. Ii Is held Dy army ON
GERS and CIVILIANS VINO nave STUDIED
the lessons or the war tnat tnere arr
othef departments OF the army Wnlcf
require personnel Wnlch snail d
nxed IN lts tenure OF once.
Domestic problem MOST pressing.
a siiadoW came over the League o.
Naliohs anu tue peace pact STU
ation IN tne onited states senate
on the Gay tnat Freslaent Wilson
wrote MS answer ana appear u
the faiiroad shopmeh. interest IN tht
League OF Natiohs hau Deen at the mgr
water marx Tor weeks suddenly th'
shado" passed over II ana temporary!
at least echpsed IT, TOT every omciai IL
"s ,,t, 80, - go, , aon'es :,
TIC sleuation ilau arisen when uenlahl
ed lmmeolate atteheion anu IL posi-
Die, remedy
Inc views concerning the matter o
increased wages LOT the muitituae o
Americans VINO touay are serving IN
government lnalrectiy at least, De
cause Oncle sam mas taken holu o
certain hitheFto pfiVatefy-fuh corpora