The Wilmington morning star., 1944-12-02

with them as much as many of his read
ers. His articles serve the good purpose
of making people thinko
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1914, by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK, Nov. 29-The subject of cheap
commissions up to and including the rank Of
Colonel in the Army and lieutenant commander
in the Navy has been quiescent for some time,
mair,ly because generalization would be unjust
to good men, of special talents, who deserved
the rank they were granted in the early rush
end promotion later. This deucacy, however,
has served to hush up fragrant cases of po-
liticaJ pull and general cheapening of rank.
Men with nothing to contribute to either serv-
ice, including many who were either distinct
failures in civil life or, at best, mediocrites in
their various lines, were taken as captains
or majors in the army or senior ieutenantS
OR lieutenant-comrnanders in the Navy and
assigned to administrative jobs because they
couldn't command units appropriate to their
rank, even in the unexacting duty of guarding
culverts III the desert or keeping personnel out
of posted premises. Thus, majors blossomed
forth who knew less about soldering than any
fairly alert first-class private OF today and,
in the Navy, highly competent chief petty Of
! ficers and warrants found themselves deferr-
! ing to bewildered masqueraders in gold braid
who had never been aboard naval vessel
and couldn't command a paper boat in a
bath-tub.
Again be it acknowledged that some fine
| civilians with expert knowledge of materials,
law. procurement and rallroading. to mention
| some important specialties, were badly need
ed for important jobs which officers of the
regular services could not have done as well.
| The regulars and the legitimate reserves who
had taken their work seriously in peace times
had other tasks to do and this access of reaS-
tnably successful and competent civilians have
given valuable help. Such volunteers, who
dropped their private affairs many of them
at sacrifice of earnings to leave their fam
:]jes if necessary, for as long they might
be needed, can be under no embarrassment
in any discussion of large element of mock
officers who got their commissions because
| they wanted to swagger in officers uniforms,
to get away from monotonous civil life, to in
| crease their incomes and, without serious risk
OF life and limb, to qualify for all the exemp-
lions, pensions, preferences and other bene-
fits which possibly would accrue to all veterans
without discrimination, for the rest of their
lives after the war.
The two services have been absolutely
CT awling with experts in press relations
for example and, here again, due respect is
| observed toward many individuals of ability
and character, who certainly know however
that this specially has been exploited to alb
surdity Overnight captains. rising to become
mayors ana ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, were showed
into press relations with no background mere
ly because they had been commissioned for
reasons unknown in the early rush and this
was deemed to be freak speciality with no
fixed standards of ability in which personal
ity' counted though capacity might be in
visible to the naked eye In one large city
soon after Pearl Harbor, several newspaper
reporters were solicited to accept commits
s1ons, whose military experience might have
been limited to the coverage of the G. A. R.
encanlpment and yet, every mail these days
brings letters from the mothers and wives of
enlisted soldiers and marines, including edu-
Gated young men, married men, fathers, who
have been in combat for as long as two years
and so far haven't received even chevrons.
While commissions were being handed out to
men with guile for connections, other appli-
cants with solid ability to offer in such special
ties motor maintenance and the purchase
| and mass preparation Of food, and with ex-
perierce in the first world war; were being
turned dbWn >methodically. Many were told
that the Army, at least, wanted to break with
the past because this was war of a totally
new kind and that therefore their services
were gratefully declined. Warrant officers in
the Navy were held down while landsmen re-
| ceivd commissions which they could not by
any stretch of the ina gination Justify any,
where afloat.
| 1t is explained that abnormal conditions of
| telIer SenCy JuSClIleQ the DeSIOWal OF many I'M
qualified applicants of commissions in ranks
which. under ordinary conditions, could not be
achieved in less than ten or fifteen years of
efficient professional service. Applicants were
ranked according to age, as bow to presum-
&C private family responsibilities which might
not exist at ALL Lawyers walked into the army
as captains and majors, other civilians were
handed rank free and comfortable assignments
| as inspectors and purchasers of material VINO
might have been drafted in time. But di-
charged regulars with lond experience were in
vited to come back in the status of sergeants,
superior in all the valuable qualities to utter
| novices who would nevertheless outrank them
and presently return home with honor, in the
rank Ct major or Northumberland.
| Rank has never been so cheap outside old
| Mexico or the state of Kentucky, where for
| years the governors made colonies OF all
comels to the derby, but, paradoxically, it has
never been so hard to win on merit as it is to-
day. Thus, thousands of fine young men, e 11-
Gated in college and in BATTLE remain prl-
Yates and corporals with years of service De-
| hind hem. and years more before them, While
| "vetrran'' officers over SO are returning to
civil life or stalling off that future IN which
| they will have to resume their utldlstngWsned
place Thus, too, young commissioned officers
| assigned to action are learning That, IN the
words of the West Point Lament IN The
Army there's sobriety, promotion very SLOW
| A warning seems in order IN conclusion.
| Rooeove1t ideo1oois+s of the left who hold such