Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-19
ArmyOfficers
Can't Fight
Favoritism
They Lack | o b byists,
Do Not Complain
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

-
army officers-politics and dis
elimination. They are getting
destructive dose of both. They
can't fight back. Mostly, they
have no political backing. They
are taught not to complain.
These twin disabilities leave
them helpless against the work
of pressure groups that do play
high-power politics to obtain
undue favors, the effect of which
is to discriminate against regu-
lar soldiers.
Among the strongest. most
expert and effective Hobbies in
Washington is the Reserve Of
fcers Association. 1t represents
strong bodies of voters in every
state and congressional district.
What they 60 after they usually
get.
WHAT they are after now is
w apparent from the fact the
whole topSide staff setup in
Washington is being crammed
with reserve colonies. lieutenant
colonies and majors whose mill
tary education and experience
is next 10 nil. Their distinction.
rank and advantage flows from
the fact that they have held
high reserve commissions on an
inactive basis for a fewer or
greater mum Der OF years
mostly fewer.
When they are called TO the
army for active duty. they draw
the pay of their grade and rank
with regulars, not from the day
they were called to duty but
from a day, mostly long before
this emergency. when they re-
ceived their reserve commissions
and get relative credit, as Of
military service, for those years
in civil life.
Now all this is not 10 decrv
the reserve. | was in IL myself
for ID years. It Is certainly not
10 criticize their being called TO
these jobs and enjoying the pay
and rank OF their grades. We
couldn't otherwise build the
army.
/ am only talking about the
effect Of the manner in which
this IS done TO impair the, army
and prejudice regular officers of
many years Of service.
S A FIRST example: To fill
"A the great need for trained
officers in staff and command
posts. regulars also were given
the same kind of temporary
commissions in advanced grades
that these reserve officers hold.
But they don't get the pay of
these grades and they rank only
from the day they were given It..
To be more specific. a regular
captain Of l3 years hard service
or II If we count service as a
cadet--a graduate of most of the
service schools. and rated "su-
perior' through all his service.
was made temporary major a
few months ago. More recently.
a civilian, his Junior in age. who
received a reserve commission
three years ago. was called TO
active duty in the same depart
mcnt.
The civilian temporary ma ior
has had no active service and
his military education was de-
rived from correspondence
course. But he ranks the regular
temporary major by three Years.
which in these days is lot. and
he receives the full pay and
allowances Of his grade-about
$50 month more than the
regular (captain) temporary
major.
THE process here described
has even graver consequences.
BY filling advanced posts with
too many unframed reSeVists
IL is cutting off the future hopes
of professional soldiers and
threatening us with an amateur
army.
In the navy a regular officer
advanced 10 a temporary grade
receives the pay of that grade
Just as do the holders of tenn
porary grades from the naval
reserve and he is not superseded
in rank. But not the army. In
this political scramble for rank
and advantage it seems TO be
the one-legged man at the pants
kicking contest.
Why? Because il has no con-
gresSional lobby. Well il ought
10 have one the best in the
world. The morale and efficiency
OF the army are the responsible
ity of the secretary of war and
the general staff.
THEY ought to be in there
Il fighting. not for special ia
vors but for simple justice TO
professional soldiers. The navy
does The army is more sus-
ceptible TO political threat.
If politics is permitted TO
creep back into the selection and
promotion of officers. it will be
for the first time since Wood
row Wilson kicked politics out,
and it could prove to be a ma
tional disaster.
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