The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-03-05
MAJ.N|CHOLSON.
FLAYSU. :. ARMY.
ON EVE Of TRIAL.
Ordered Court-MartiaIed, He
Repeats Charges Of Stupid
ity and Prussianism.

stand trial before a general court
martial, Major Malcolm Wheeler
Nicholson last night issued state
ment reiterating his charges that
the present army system breeds
favoritism and cliques which result
inevitably in injustice, stupidity,
and inefficiency."
Major Wheeler Nicholson created
a sensation a week ago when he
wrote a letter to President Hard
ing charging that the army was
"Prussianized" and run by cliques.
Patient at Hospital.
Recently the major has been
Reed Hospital. The specific charge
on which he will face a court-mar-
tial is being absent without leave.
1.-THE War Department Is now
ordering me to Camp Dix. N. j., for
trial by court-martial," Major
Wheeler Nicholson said last night.
mo reply has been made to my
charges OF Prussianism In the army.
The forthcoming trial will itself
will prove most OF them.
what sort Of justice an accuser
will receive from those whom he
has accused remains to be seen. The
unfortunate part OF 1t Is that It
reduces the general case to a per-
sonal case, which usually results In
less light and more heat.
Irrespective of what happens to
me, the charges against the War
Department still stand. Having
failed to secure any action on them
from the Executive branch, ] am
now putting them before the legis'
lative branch.
Asks for Inquiry.
Congress has heretofore investi.
gated the smoke of evil in the regu-
lar army. If they will investigate
my charges and their supporting
proofs they will have opportunity to
investigate and put out the fire.
The general staff il a powerful or
ganization, entrenched in all sorts
OF places. An individual fighting
them has little chance. But even
the general staff cannot stamp out
al idea by stamping on the man.
An idea whose time is ripe Is strong.
sr than any army. The time Is ripe
for reform in the regular army.
The regular army, after demon
strating It's inefficlency in war,
demonstrated also its foreign tradi-
tons by antagonizing practically
every American who came into con-
tact with 1t. 1t attempted to put
an nl-fitting collar on the Ameri-
can neck. The regular army tried
TO cut the neck to fit the collar.
What Is needed in charge Of the
army is a controlling element capa-
BILE of altering the collar to fit
, the neck.
"The evils Of an army must al
ways be sought for at the top. The
higher officers set their stamp on
It Our army has always had the
Same evils. Therefore 1t has al.
ways had the same unsatisfactory
type of officers in power. There
fore the system that continually
puts the same type in power Is the
root of the evil. The present sys-
tenn breeds favoritism and cliquese
which result inevitably in injustice,
stupidity and inefficiency.
Cure for These Evils.
~The cure of these evils is pro-
motion by merit, assignment to
duty by special fitness and elimina-
ton of the inefficient. These
things are impossible until a sys-
comparative efficiencies of officers
is installed that will stress the rise
of the leader and eliminate the
bureaucrat. The present system is
q failure. 1t is so worthless that II
forces the promotion and assign
menet of officers to duty by the
hazards of personal acquaintance
ship.
Proof of the failure Of the system
in war can be had by Congressional
investigation of the Reconsideration
board at Blois, before which appeared
a large number of regular army Off
GERS who failed as battle leaders.
Proof of it's ineffiCiency in peace can
be shown ny investigation of the
Class b act-an illogical attempt to
eliminate officers by selection of
their records when every officer
knows that the present system of
keeping officers efficiency records is
worthless for any system of pro-
noting by selection on their records.
Investigation of the Class b act
should especially be held at once be-
fore Congress gives the general staff
the power il Is now asking for to
eliminate several thousand officers.
Immediate action will prove the
danger to the army that this power
would create, would correct count.
less abuses and injustices, would
prove the worthlessness of the pres
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