Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-14
Frederic Haskin's Letter
DENOTED HEROES

uktOuP IL Ssp SSAs 49,
There il still war In the war de-
partment. Heroes are no longer
falling in battle. but they are fall
ing in rank, and many of them
seem to find their falls more pain
full than the casualties Of conflict.
Many a man who took bullet In
his leg with equanimity seems In
clined to howl like the traditional
wolf when he is hit in the dignity.
A man who has his head taken on
by a German shell probably suffers
nothing, but many whose heads
are taken OF by the secretary Of
war suffer acutely and tell all Of
their friends about 1t,
OF course this business of demot-
ing the men who fought their coun-
tries battles is essentially sad
one. 1t should not be treated
facetiously. The shrinking Of q
brigadier general into a major is
not at all humorous to the individ-
ual who does the shrinking, espec-
tally since his pay shrinks at the
same time. But We cannot 60 on
supporting a large corps OF gen.
erals in time of peace. This demo-
ton is bound to take place.
Especially delicate is the issue of
rank among the 1900 officers who
remain in the services, nearly every
one Of whom must be reduced.
Nearly every one may be depended
upon to look upon his reduction as
an injustice, to look about for other
individuals who have suffered less
in getting back to pre-war status
than has he and to sizzle with heat
when he finds them. With q task
SO complicated and with the cir
cumstances under which officers
are assigned so different, it is i'm
possible to make the reductions
equal and simultaneous and 60
most officers are likely to find
cases that lead them to seeing Grim
son. Thus it develops that there
is much unrest in the war depart
ment.
There are the men who were
overseas, for instance, the officers
of the regular army who COM
manded troops and who deported
themselves with gallantry and
credit. There are many of them
who had the war time rank of
major general or Of brsgadier gen.
eral. There are men who COM
manded divisions, even army corps.
They are back in the states now,
and their commands have disap-
peared like snow in the spring. The
duties of those days of war are
gone for them forever. They are
back to the humdrum days CT 1914
with their assignments of post
duty, staff duty, and attendance at
service schools.
There is one considerable group
of these men who commanded
troops in France and who were in
clined to regard themselves as en-
titled TO special consideration,
which found itself sitting high and
dry as long ago as last fall. The
brigadier generals Of this group
were reduced to majors, and the
major generals to colonies, and
were ordered to report to the army
war college.
Arriving in Washington. these
men looked about them and found
that there were certain other off,
GERS of high rank, holding staff jobs
or bureau jobs. some of them men
who had not been overseas at all,
but who were still enjoying their
war time rank and the increased
pay that appertains thereto. Some
of these officers accepted the situa-
ton philosophically, as becomes
one who consecrates himself to q
career in the army. but others con-
scientiously objected, believed
themselves outraged. 1t is said OF
one such officer that he tore the
decorations from his heaving breast
without SO much as stopping to un.
clasp them, thereby doing much
damage to the uniform.
The apparent injustice in thi.
situation, however, was capable o.
being explained away. The assign
ment under which an officer com