Evening star., 1941-11-09

Star Staff Photo.
their country, at good deal of expense,
Of time and trouble" Through no fault
of their own, he continued, they have
been found ineligible for combat duty
in the serious emergency with which
we are now confronted, and which re-
Quires more difficult qualifications and
of higher grade, perhaps. than We
have ever had in war before"
Some Pathetic Cases.
He affirmed that the War Department
Is seeking to handle the changes with
absolute fairness" but admitted that
there have been some very pathetic
cases" One was that of 1t. Col. Chris
ton Heidi of the 44th Division, who on
October II was found slumped over an
automobile steering wheel in his garage,
dead of carbon monoxide poisoning
With two of his three sons in the Army,
he had just been notified of his relief
from duty at Fort Dix.
The War Departments difficulty is
that on the one hand it is compelled to
placate National Guard officers of high
degree because of their political influ-
ence, and on the otheris convinced that
in modern warfare it is unwise and un-
safe to intrust the command of units as
large as division to part-time soldiers.
This persuasion Is reflected by the re-
placement of National Guard divisional
commanders in every case by profess
Sional warriors.
A survey of the 20 National Guard
major generals who hold or recently
have held troop commands reveals that
only one of them is a career soldier,
though all saw active service in the first
: World War. six were decorated for hero
ism and six have been graduated from
courses in such special institutions as
the Infantry School, the Command and
General Staff School and the Army War
College.
The One Exception.
The exception is Maj. Gen. Haskell. a
graduate of West Point, who resigned in
1884 after service of 80 years in the
Regular Army to accept appointment as
commander Of the New York National
Guard-a post carrying impressive social
and political prestige. He is now 63 years
old and almost one year beyond the new
age limit of 81 years set for major gen.
erals commanding divisions. But regula-
tionS make it possible to retain such Ma
tional Guard officers from six months to
year after they reach retirement age.
Among the other 19 are five lawyers,
five bankers, two insurance men, two
State adjutant generals, one gold miner,
one capitalist, one oil operator, one news
paper publisher and one magazine con-
tributor and war correspondent They
48 to "a.
The War Departments handling OF
National Guard major generals is only
one of many omens in silent but de-
termined revolution that has been at
work. From time immemor1al an organ
of the several States, the National Guard
stands today as an integral component
of the United States Army. 1t is no long
er commanded by the Governors Of the
various commonwealths, but by Presi-
dent Roosevelt. Its State alegiances
have been thrust into abeyance before
primary allegiance to the Federal estab-
lishment. 1t is now a commonplace that
guardsmen may be called to serve out
side the boundaries of their respective
States and even beyond the continental
limits of the United States. provided the
post lies within the Western Hemisphere.
Chose Own Officers.
Thus far, in general. it has been the
policy not to disrupt State formations.
but the War Department undoubtedly
has authority to do so. In fact, this has
already been accomplished, over bitter
protests from the States involved, in the
case of the National Guards three
proudest units-the 22d, 23d and oath
Cavalry Regiments. Some of these, in
metropolitan cities, contained mounted
troops of ancient lineage and great So
cial and political influence. In half q
dozen cases, 1t was thought diplomatic
to retain such units as cavalry recon-
naissance regiments. Otherwise, the
divisions were broken up and scattered
to the four winds, for anti-aircraft and
coast or field artillery service.
An old and democratic prerogative Of
the National Guard was that of choosing
its own officers. Even now, in some
States, it has been the custom to elect
company oficers-that is, captains, and
first and second ieutenants. In higher
grades, the rule of seniority frequently
prevailed, with appointments made by
the Governors. In case division repre-
sented two or more States-for instance,
the 35th, 38th or 43d-the officers eligible
(eAa STOKES. paRe Ray