The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-08-14
SECOND LIEUTENANTS
 WANTED FOR ARMY

From the New orleans Item.
 "Give us, quickly" says the war depart ment, q, ,600-odd likely candidates for second lieutenants' jobs in the regular army Good salary, fine career, dependable position, retire ment on pay after you've served your 30-cdd years or have become 64|
 It sounds well.
 Meantime a 'plucking board' is hunting through the officers on the active list for 2,500 who, upon some pretext be separated from the service to meet the mandate of Congress that, after January 1, 1923, there can be only 12,000 in the commissioned ranks. No pre- tense is made that there are 2,500 incom- petent men, but 2,500 are to be fired-with years pay and allowances as salve for the broken contract the United States government is forcing on them. For army regulations dis tinctly safeguard the hale and competent from such treatment.
 How comes it that 2,500 trained men are to be dismissed, at costly expenditure, while 1,600 green men are being sought?
 Simply this:
 Congress passed an act, some few years ago, fixing the commissioned strength, grade by grade. The act was so passed that the strength had to be organized from the top down. There had to be so many generals, so many colonels, so many lieutenant colonels, so many majors, and so on down the line-not "acting in grades" but actually so commissioned. Pro- motions had to be made to fill all vacancies.
 Then it so happened that there were not enough officers to go around, under the pro- vision of the law and presently there were no second lieutenants whatsoever There was shortage-at the s'shave-tail' end of the line. This came about because of many resig nations after the war, of men who had tasted their fill of war and had opportunities in civil life, and of others who were weeded out for physical disability or other reasons falling under the regulations.
 Then it came to pass that Congress took an- other whirl at the army.
 It cut the commissioned personnel by some thousands under the total recommended by General Pershing and by the war department, and below the actual numbers on the active list. And having previously organized from the top down, it became necessary to reorgan- ze from the top out
 The folly of the procedure is .,atent.
 The average age of majors, lieutenant colones, captains and first Heutenants is to- day from six to ten years, according to the grade, less than it was before the World war. Yet hundreds of competent youthful officers, many of them with field service during the World war, who would have fitted well in peace times and been content in a lower grade, are to be "plucked" and given a gratuity in shabby recompense, while the gov- ernment scurries about for nearly 2,oo0 new second lieutenants, who must serve for years before they can, on the whole, be as compe- tent as those who are being piucked.
 If the managers of private industrial en- terprse handled a reorganization in such dis orderly fashion as Congress has forced upon the army, any sane court would be justified in granting receivership on any stockholders plea!
 It will be a brave young man who risks a career in the army again on Uncle Sams good faith.