Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-13

army.
Army legislation will have sent
most of them back to civilian life
in the next few months. This is the
golden opportunity for the guard to
gather into it's ranks a lot of virile
young officers of the best type to be
found Many of them enter the
Officers Reserve Corps; but they are
needed. sadly needed, in the unbuild-
ing of great National Guard which
may have in it's organization the life
giving blood of the young men
officers and enlisted men who had the
actual soldering and a true devotion
to the ideals of a free and indepen-
dent United States.
The bill for the support of the
Army for the next fiscal year has
damned t h G
Army Appropriation wheels of the
Bill Is in Action. ani,s " ansn,
ually. 1t provides for an Army of
the average size of 325, 900 men; and
since there were about 100000 on
the rolls July /, of necessity the de-
partment issued an order reducing the
strength to 225,000 not later than
October 1. The first step in this re-
duction was the abandonment of six
demobiliZing stations. This will re-
suit in lessening the number of men
in the Army; but it will slow up dis
charges. which means a correspond
ing increase in Army pay and de-
cided feeling of hostility over the de-
lay in getting the boys home
The creation of the separate
divisions for the Chemical Welfare
Service. Air Service, Construction
Tank Corps and the Motor Transport
Corps. was well meant; but not well
provided for. 1t means that d certain
number of Regular Army officers of
high rank will be kept in these di-
visions at the expense of placing
others in the reduced organization.
Army legislators seem not to have
considered that with the reduction of
the Army to 225.000 men the officers
will be cut proportionately and there
positions created except at the cost
OF taking officers of high rank from
other places. In view of the multi
piled duties incident to the reduction
OF the Army established to it's pre-
war basis. the need of these men will
be severely felt, and the shortage of
the engine-room force will tend to
SLOW the movements of the war ma
chine
But above all. the failure to enact
the Senate amendment for the con-
tlnuance of the organiza tions exist
ing in the War Department Noyem-
Der IL is causing a sad state of I'M
certainty. The organization in force
IS the growth of wartime necessities.
and is far from being based upon a
scientific plan for the running of the
war engine; but it will run it, which
Is more than can be said of any other
plan that has been tried The short
age or officers will throw the opera
ton out of gear; but that is not ali.
me uncertainty of the situation-at
a time when the disqualification is in
full swing-prevents all DEVELOPMENT
OF the organization, and brings the
machine to an abrupt standstill.
Authority to commission in the
Army Officers Reserve CORDS officers
who have proven
Selecting Army their military
Reserve Corps. h, o,n IN IN s1 races
they held in the Army, and not linn
iting them to the rank of major. as
at present provided, is a wise provi-
sian of the Army appropriation act.
The present war has seen many Off
GERS from civil life make good in the
Army. and 1t was the general plan
of the War Department to retain in
the service such of them as wished
to enter the permanent establish
ment. il the Army plan for a half mil
lion men had been adopted.
In the temporary Army is another
class of officers. They are the men
hr h CI
fitness for military command; but
civil life. in which many of them had
been successful, has stronger calls
upon them than Army service al
though they are quite willing to
hold themselves ready to rejoin the
Army in case the country needed
them. With the reduction of the
Army to 225,000 men by October L,
next, which is necessary to bring it's
strength down to the average of
$4,000 men for the fiscal year, as re-
CURED by the appropriation act. very
few of these officers will find vacan-
cies in the regular establishment,
and the Army will lose them forever.
unless it gives them suitable induce
ments to enter the Reserve Officers
Corps.
This new provision that gives rec
ognition TO an officer whose record
shows that he is worthy Of higher
ram Is stTOHS lHQucement TO him
to accept commission, although it
binds him to render annual service
and is strong spur to his ambition
to keep up to the requirements of
the military profession. It's enact
ment will cause revision of the rec
ords of the office. as it is the ex-
pectation to review all commissions
of those who may be promoted in the
reserve and in proper cases to give
higher commissions. When the war
broke out the reserve was extremely
small, and very few of the officers
in it had had much military expert
ence. Now conditions are different.
which, il properly constructed, will
become an incalculable addition to
the potential military resources of
the country.
The provisions governing it re-
quire some further study and pos
sible amendment. There are ques-
tons about precedence which must
be examined before they can be en-
tireiy satisfactory. Under the exist
ing rule the date of commission is
the determining factor. That pro-
vision was made for peace times
Now members of the reserve think
that precedence should be fixed by
the period OF ones service time as
between officers of the same rank
Personnel officers believe there
should be revision of the age linn
T: its. When the old law was made
there were practically no officers en-
tering the reserve who had war ex-
perience. The provision of that
period. limiting eligibility to officers
under the age of forty years would
exclude many first-class men who are
quite competent to serve in the
| higher grades.
SENATOR HITCHCOCK DENIES
absolutely No III Feeling Between