The Washington times., 1922-09-12
.PLAN OFFERED !
FORDEM0T|0NS
IN ARMY RANKS
Capt. A. I. Eagle Holds That
Revision Of Present sys-
tenn Is Desirable.

tern Is desirable.
A radical change in the methods
of demotion and separation Of OF.
ficers in the reduction Of forces Is
proposed in letter from Capt, A. l.
Eagle, of the Air Service, to Con.
gressmsn John c. Mckenzie, made
public today. Captain Eagle writes
"a determination that there will
be a reduction to 10000 officers, ef.
fective January 1, 1923, having been
arrived at, ! am confident that the
Congress would not purposely, or
knowingly, permit an injustice TO be
done lin the method prescribed for
accomplishing that result.
Many Officers Affected.
II shall state my own case as an
some hundreds Of other officers in
the same rank with me who arc
similarly affected. was commits.
stoned in the grade Of first lieu ten
ant, December IS, 1917. and given
the rank OF captain, October 28, 1918.
remained in that rank until the
reorganization act became effective.
In response to the notifications ex-
tended under the reorganization act
took the examination, and was
commissioner as captain in the
regular army July !, 1920. AS an
emergency officer had become In
terested in army affairs. and de-
termined to make Of II my life work.
1.-The Pershing board made selec-
tions Of the men who were qualified
to hold positions in the various army
grades, and when that board select
ed me for a captains commission.
| assumed, as I believe l had a right
to assume, that had been ionnd
qualified to hold position OF pre-.
cedence over a man who was found
by that board qualified for the posi-.
ton OF first or second lieutenant. l
accepted the appointment In good
faith, and I expected. and i still ex-
pect, that the Government will keep
faith with me. have taken pride
in nv commission, and have worked
hard To show myself worthy Of the
trust and perhaps Of promotion.
Single List" Plan"
by operation Of the single list
method Of promotion, was assign
ed, through mere accident OF the
date of my first commission. the
number S,7lS, while my number on
the relative list OF captains ID
3,729. Above me on the single hst
are hundreds of names OF Officers
whose rank was second or first heu'
tenants, and who were commits
stoned in the regular army with
that rank on the very date on
Which was commissioned. All OF
them have been. or will be, pro
NOTED to captains. then to majors
before l can possibly expect promo
ton.
ut is now proposed to readjust
the army grades. after the work OF
the plucking board Is finished py
demotion, OF many ofticers VINO
now hold the rank of captain. They
are to be taken in inverse order
on the promotion list. While these
officers, when they are discharged
and recommissioned In the lower
grades, will not lose whatever posi-
ton they may now have on the sin
gle promotion list, such demotlon
will lose for me my relative rank
as captain and / shall never nave
a chance to recover It. II be-
come a first lieutenant under the
operation of such plan. many
officers junior 70 me in rank. com
missioned and promoted since July
/, 1920. will stand many hundred
files above me on the promotion
list, for the reason that they were
first commissioned before was,
and so. however meager my pros
poets Of promotion may have been
heretofore, the carrying out OF this
new law as II now stands will
thnpn N nfhnT
words, officers who have not re-
ceived any promotion whatever are
now about to become victims Of a
subversion OF grade.
Alternative Is Suggested.
Many of the officers in the
class named are oder men, whose
education, experience, and training
were found such that the Pershing
board directed they be commissioned
above numerous younger men bear.
ing second and first lieutenants'
commissions. 1t surely cannot be
the deliberate intention of Congress
further to penalize us because we
did not abandon our business or
professions and. enter the contest
with unattached younger men for
an early commission.
THE remedy which ] would sug
gest Is that further provision be
made in the law which is designed
to regulate the process of reduc.
ton in the number of commissioned
officers to $4,000 so that men IN
my class who are to be reduced N
rank will not lose their places on
the relative list Of captains, or at
least will retain positions above the
names Of all officers of the same
or inferior rank who have been
promoted since July |, 1920. This
request seems only proper, and ]
believe 1t will, II granted, avoid Il
great injustice.
Remedy Must Come Soon.
81 take the liberty of enclosing
draft of n proposed bill VIII .ch
would seem to me to accomplish
the purpose. 1t Is obvious, that II
those affected by the proposed bill
be benefited thereby, It must be.
come a law prior to December Is,
1929. This proposed draft is marked
Exhibit A." 1t proposed a method
of reduction by which all those
commissioned in any grade as of
July i, 1920, should not be denoted
until all those commissioned in a
lower grade, and promoted at any
time subsequently. shall have been
denoted. Proposed bill marked
"Eyhibit b" would leave mo !,