The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-05-28
HARD PROBLEMS
FOR CAPT. weeks
NEW SECRETARY OF WAR kNoWa
He MUST ADJUST MATTERS
BETWEEN FACTIONS.
PERSONAL FEELING N IS HIGH
Charges Of Fsvoritism In Promotlona
and Of injustice Toward Certain Of
fieers Will Be siftcd and Wrong
Conditions Corrected. MI I,

fieers Will Be sifted and Wrong
Conditions Corrected. 81
i BY EDWARD q. /! CLARA
Washington.--Itss will be no joy
cruise on which Capt. John w. Weeks
has embarked and which probably is
to continue for four years, and the
captain knows it. John w. Weeks is
the new secretary of war, but he won
his title of captain while serving as
sailor in the Spanish-American war.
He is graduate Of Annapolis.
The problems which will confront
Captain Weeks for solution in the war
department he will find probably to
be harder than the mathematical puz-
Gle Of finding the line of intersection
Of two planes in space, or the enigma
Of the factors Of the wheel and axle
mystery which confronted him in his
midshipman days in the ancient An
napolis classroom. ~ +
Your correspondent knows some
thing of John w. Weeks Feelings con
corning the task which is about to
undertake. Last summer for some
months happened to; be closely as
ISOLATED with the new secretary of
war. At that time his name was set
down on the public slate as that of
the man who certainly was to be sec
rotary of the navy IN case Mr.. Haf;
ding were elected. I knew then that
Weeks did not want the navy post.
and felt that he would not take It
if it were, offered. I knew, however,
that he did want the treasury, and !
also knew that he had every reason
to believe that he was to get it, but
he did not get 1t, and now he is to
enter the doorway OF the war office.
Before saying. anything definite
about some Of the problems which are
to confront Captain. Weeks as secre-
jtary Of war. it may not be uninter-
esting to tell why he did not want to
take the navy office, for which he, by
training. IS eminently fitted. He grad-
suated from the United States Naval
academy In the class of 1881 Vir-
tually all Of his classmates who are
not dead or retired are rear admir-.
ais on the active list. &
Why. He Didn't Want Navy, Job. 4
Every rear admiral wants fleet,
Weeks would have an unhappy time
Of. it in the navy with Jim, Bill and
Smith, dearly beloved. companions OF
the boyhoOd days, seyerally and to.
.gether, asking him for preferment. 70
get away from them he would have to
take to the rigging and he never would
dare to come down. So it is that he
has taken a shore berth in place
where it will do landing parties no
good to get at him. I'D =. 81 4.
FeH people perhaps have q keen
perception Of existing personal con.
ditions" in the war department today.
The war brought various disagreeable
things as its companions. and while
the war is gone, it has left its COM
panions quartered, temporarily at
least, in the rooms Of the War depart
ment. These matters have been dis
cussed before to some extent but pur'
posely the virulence of personal feel
Ing as between factions in the depart
ment has not been dwelti upon. At
the root Of the whole thing are the
charges of favoritism and promotion.
aud of the denial to officers, Of com,
manding ability places to which they
were said to be entitled, and the sub
stitusion for them Of men of inferior
rank and Of perhaps less distinguished
service. Gag" =, +. I --,,,,.,sF (.
Congress- today has held up the con-
6rmation of twenty-five or thirty, or
perhaps more, officers who were COM
nliss!oned as brigadier generals. Moss
OF these officers were given promotion
over the heads Of seniors of the serv-
ice. and the charge of course Is that
Is responsible.
Must See That Justice 10 sDone.
Tho new secretary Of war must Of
necessity make it one Of his first du-
ties to find out the truth concerning
every. charge OF favoritism in promo
ton IN the army, and must attempt to
deal out dyen-handed justice ever il
the process shall result in throwing a
lot u brigadier generals back into the
colOlcl rank and boosting a lot OF col
onels into the brigadier ranks. IT Will
be NO easy job to get the truth, and no
pleasant job to deny the men already
named for general rank the right TO
wear their stars. 20 i{fi&y2
YOur correspondent can say tthat for
a month at least John w. WeeSs haa
been studying the army situation. Ils
has been getting information from ot.
ticers who have been connected in any
way with either faction to the. army
There are plenty OF such
officers, for many service men bold. pc.
sitions aloof from the Influences "
Army officers WHO haze
been retired for some time, but who
have kept closely in touch with every
thing that has gone on in the war dh-
partment have been able doubtless TT
give some counsel to the incoming,
secretary.
1t seems likely that almost as soon
as the new congress assemblies an at.
tempt Will be made to investigate the
49, !.