Newspapers / Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, … / Nov. 9, 1922, edition 1 / Page 4
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GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 192 GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS AND TELEGRAM MlhlH Btwt Day I tk Yea By Cmutm Mew Cmmr V . JftrrRKSS Man A. n. ioVKF.R Aivertlaiasr Mar. BAULK CnnPN Batter A. L. STOCKTO.X. .MamaciaC EdMe rfly and Saa-aay, SS.se r -reari per week- tally eaty. TM a yv-ari is am wmb. Slaa-M er any. act Saaaar. T. feeaae-r at Aseatrlateel Tn a-aj-tetef Pnsj a uilwtnly SatJIlet ts tes tar mwMwttw a an m Aaauba W-4R-4 M Mkmhr nrmri te Ikk aaarr aa ah im h ana faMaM kma. "I ncM ar iwaMMatMs at aMOal THURSDAY. NOVEMBER , Mil BORROWED B1UKFS. Well, we let out a feint cheer or two on Navy Day, but re conserving our real energies for Ship Subsidy lay. In the hope. 01 oeing aoie i through without actually groaning. Ohio State Journal. .7, y.y''BW- ' ' On thing that makes us feel real'y sorry for the Democrats In this" criti cal honr In that their whole blamed national committee h been able to collect only 80,1J.50 all put together since this campaign of education opened, whereas we can get that much any day out of a couple of rich widow and three or four coal oper ators. Ohio State Journal. nf Mum if the bootleggers haveHJ f.rf.r.l taxes and things like that, they'll have to pass the increased expense of doing business on to the consumer. Indianapolis New. ' Russia has opened her campaign for foreign trade by letting it be known that she ha nothing to sell and no way to pay. Washington Post. : Too 'many of u are generous with or brickbats and stingy with our bouquets. Kansas City Star. PARAGRAPHICS. Slemp also slumped. The weather: Fair; cool, brisk westerly winds. "The glove senator" certainly was handled without 'em. " Now Gilliam Grissom, you see what comes of leaving Greensboro. Pleasant Garden was one of the few precincts where the voters really entered into the spirit of the day. The burning passion of this con- j frressional district for woman suf- f rage is given further and fuller revelation. The war a good many of the sovereign suffragans look at it, a ' legislator is only a legislator; but $4 is money. , The Tar Heel G. 0. P. may have oted early, but it couldn't vote often enough to avoia beconin-f the late Republican party, " Well look who's here old Vie f Berger, out of jail and wilder-' eyed than evert There's one man who simply can't take a hint 1 TW. eighth district doctors we have with us today. Welcome, gen tlemen, and may your deliberations g far toward abolishing your jobs. , tion projecUi a port develop- Volsteldlsletired and Edwnrds ! ent n mIn1 w-terways h advanced; which means next to'Product development scheme, up mothing actually, whatever of syra-' -n- fish hatcheries, 15 millions ad holic significance may attach to it 'ditional for the highway system, - I notice has been given that effort . Well, the election "beings over, would be made to continue the ex and Governor Edwards safely elect-1 pansion of the educational institu ' ed senator, maybe . they can now tions, a Democratic gOTernor has afford to arrest the murderers in committed himself to state sponsor that New Jersey case, .ship for a fabric of water-borne Democrats Win in Poland. Headline. Bat without that it is poor sort of Democrat who can- aot figure out that Tuesday was a day of great and impressive victory, j ' ' , , . , . j North Carolina the election was a total loss and no insurance to the Republican. s invited to confer , this phenomenon: High Point went Democratic. Congresswoman Alice Robertson teems to have been one of the first j North Caroiina t0 g0 forward. In political corpses removed from the i deed, there is a clear enough in debris; but some western state r,unct;on to eo forward. The whole kindly supplied another woman, to the house is not totally lost to feminism. To what base uses may we re turn, Horatio! ... ss thus: Vol stead died (politically) ; Volstead as buried, Volstead reti'rneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of this loam, to which he was (politically) converted, might they not stop ' (metaphorically) a beer barrel? - Dr. Rankin, of the state board of health. Is to come to Greensboro "tomorrow, and tomorrow Greens boro is to select a sanitarian. There are not an abundance of M. D.'s qualified by natural aptitude plus special training for the position of public health doctor, nor are there many town officials who are quali fied to make a good selection for such a position, amongst the few. Dr. Rankin's coming is understood to Imply a recommendation in this connection, and if he' makes one and the recommendation is adopted, the chief North Carolina sanitary exec utive assumes the responsibility. Outside the physicians of Greens bore, there is no one here in position to assume thst responsibility without expert advice ; and by virtue of his position Dr. Rankin should know more about qualified sanitarian: available than the physician engag ed in, private practice. "--. A Mandate To Go Forward A cerUln'preclnct had 800 voters. of whom 200 wart Democrat and J00 Republican. Thar, bcinf roughly speaking as many female as there ar males in the human race, add universal suffrage and you have in this precinct approximate ly 400 Democratic Totes end 200 Re publican, Before, 'with a 75 per cent vote, the Democratic majority would be 75, or S3 1-3 per cent of the total. the same as if both parties had polled their full strength. The wo men qualified to Tote, a 60 per cent vote will give you 200 Democratic and 100 Republican ballots, still a Democratic majority of one-third of the whole, but of 100 in actual votes. ,The election result in North Carolina as a whole 'discloses inertia, apathy, indifference. Silence fives consent There is no evidence of more than a negligible amount of protest in the state: The Demo cratic party has control of every department of the state govern ment, and a large percentage of the registered voters, perhaps a major- nf tt,mth tmni In. . s conclusive at this hour have not cared to give positive expression of their' sentiment with respect to the manner in which this responsi bility has been discharged. In what may be called negative approval, or lack of disapproval, the party- in power, on the other hand, has re ceived a tremendous majority. The numerous county upturns the Republicans have suffered are no doubt in the main simply that county upturns; local results due to local causes. However, there de veloped no emphatic Republican dis approval of the state administration, no militant Republican protest, else it would have been especially re flected in Republican counties and close districts. The election returns proclaim one thing positively enough, and that is that anyone who may go whining calamity and blue ruin to Raleigh, Republican, Democrat, bourbon or L bolshevist, will have his labor for his pains. The legislative and the executive have been given a blank check by the voters. State expendi- turM within the past biennium have been unprecedented, millions have been laid out and millions more are represented in. plans for future ex penditures, almost, it might be said, where expenditures were measured in thousands before. The Democrats early in the summer announced that with pride their party would accept full responsibility for what had been done and projected in the way of roads, colleges, schools, benevolent institutions, all the category of con structive progress financed out of the state treasury. Since then the . h ' ri of r.;iw,v ,on.trnr freights, although careful to declare ; that the party ' volvet no further in A majority of those who went to the polls have given their positive approval of all this, and those who did not leave their fall plowing, spent the day in the turnip patch A IMlfstlaafl tVlaa AftfkaAm am VsaVlKit pnMmei fln,my they find nothing in the conduct of affairs to get excited about It is cermitted to the leaders of populace doe, not uprie anj ,uree j to the polls unless it is angry, and it is seldom angry unless a con siderable number are hungry. Those who did go out and vote are the more Bprightly of the citizenship, thinking more about public affairs; that is to say, after there have been subtracted the regular fetchers and carriers of the party organizations. There is then, a clear mandate, from the live ones, to proceed. The general assembly that was elected the dsy before yesterday should have no difficulty in reading a tommission to add to the road bond authorization whateyer is necessary, to appropriate to the state educational and benevolent in stitutions whatever is necessary, to embark upon any new enterprises or enlarge the scope of any old enter prises accordingly as necessity may be shown; always with due regard, of course, to a oereful expenditure jf money and the, revenue-produc-r.g possibilities of the state. There i no sort of warrant for an orgy of extravagance, or indeed for any xtravagance at all; but it is both he privilege and the duty of this general assembly to make wise and profitable investments for the pros perity and the comfort and the cul tural advance of the people. No previous administration, no irevious assembly at the end of ita Ufe, ever received just such an en-J dorsement; no assembly ever came into being in this state with so broad an implicit commission before.' VOTED AGAINST EVERYBODY. Senator Hitchcock was defeated. Senator Lodge was' re-elected on' the face of the returns, but by a margin so extremely 'narrow that his opponent will demand a recount Mondell was defeated. " Volstead was defeated. France was defeat-' ed. Freylinghuysen was defeated. Pomerene was defeated, ' , The' majority of these are Re publicans; but the majority of the seats in Congress are held by Re publicans. The two Democrats, Hitchcock and Pomerene, were re garded as exceptionally strong, and the election of -each had been all but conceded by the Republicans before the election, Yet they go down with the list of Republicans named.' - ." Is there anything common to all the men on that list? So far as we are able to judge, one 'thing and one only each name on that list was pretty well known to the aver age voter, each man, for one rea son or another, was conspicuous at Washington. That quality also be longed to Albert J; Beveridge, who was defeated also, and by a man not half as well known to the coun try at large. LaFollette, in Wis consin, and Reed, in" Missouri, were re-elected; but what we are exam ining now is the American vote. and the only instance in which that was given to a particularly (well known man is that of Johnson, who won in California. But who is Johnson? The champion rebel in American politics, the man who is known to be chronically ag'in the government . As the returns grow toward something like completeness thje im pression deepens that the vote of Tuesday was not the expression of any enthusiasm whatever, but mere ly the registration of a Tst dis pleasure. The country voted for - lody. It simply voted against everybody, except Hiram Johnson, who is always against everybody else. The voter seems to have gone to the polls, looked, over the ballot picked out each ' name that was familiar and voted for the other fellow. Whether the well-known man happened to be a Democrat or a Republican seems to have mat tered little; if he had played any conspicuous part in the conduct of affairs recently, he was marked for slaughter. Even Beveridge, who has been out of public life for many years, went down in the general massacre. In two Instances, however, there seems to have been a definite and specific issue presented, and in each instance the outcome is en couraging to every thoughtful stu dent of democracy. In Michigan Senator Townsend had defended Newberry on the stump. All the rest of the Michigan Republican ticket was elected handsomely, but Townsend was defeated. In New York Senator Calder was proved to hate voted for the outrageous tariff on gloves for the benefit of certain of his friends who are in the glove manufacturing business; Senator Calder was burled under a majority of 200,000. After all, there is a limit to what even the American people will stand, and the gross cynicism, the brava do with which Newberry and Calder flouted all political decency passed that limit Townsend has paid the penalty for lining up with New berry. Calder has found that even the money of his millionaire glove friends is not all-powerful. Those two lessons will not be lostvupon other politicians, and the coarse work of Newberry and "the glove senator" is not likely to be repeated soon. The election of Al Smith in New York probsbly has little, if any, sig nificance nationally. He was sim ply an immensely popular man with an excellent record behind him and the superb Tammany organization making the most sf that record. The astounding Smith majority simply illustrates that Tammany can do when it is not handicapped by the weight of its own past All in all, the most conspicuous phase of the election is the ex ceedingly evil temper that it re veals in the country. The voters are sore at everything and every body. The Republicans have been in power, and their record is not pleasing to the country, so they bore the brunt of,6ie voters' wrath; but that the sentiment is less Demo cratic than anti-Republican is in dicated by the defeat of Hitchcock and Pomerene. The voters are sose over prohibition, and hit it several tremendous wallops. They are sore about the tariff; they art sore about Newberryism; they are sore about foreign relations witness what happened to Lodge's majority; they are sore about pretty much every thing, and lashed out blindly, right and left This means, of course, that poll tics during the next two years will be one of the most nerve-racking avocations an American ean adopt; for absolutely anything may happen in 18Z4. A PRESIDENT WASHINGTON ' LIKES. " Mr. Hildebrand noted in Wash ington, on election night, a pre dominant emotion- of sympathy f or j me rresiaent. Everybody was sorry for Mr. Harding in those hours when the defeat of Miller and Calder and the early returns from the middle west made it seem that the Democrats, were running away with everything in sight, and that the administration had receiv ed a stinging rebuke. . ' No. doubt as the night wore on and later returns came in it was gradually realised that the Presi dent was not as much in need of sympathy as had at first been be lieved. Nevertheless, the' emotion itself is interesting as revealing the standing of the chief executive in Washington. On a similar 'occa sion in 1916, when it seemed, on the face of the early returns, that Hughes had been elected by an over whelming majority, if anybody was sorry for Mr. 'Wilson that emotion was not 3 widespread enough to evoke comment The' Democrats were sorry enough, $ut they were sorry for themselves. It was ad mitted that whatever the result of the election, it was the President's doing, and it ' occurred to nobody to regard Mr. Wilson as the victim of circumstances. . . Mr. Harding is so regarded. Per sonalty, he is popular. Personally he is regarded as a sincere, earnest and honest man, who has done his level best for the country at a ter ribly difficult time. In Washing ton the blame for what then' seem ed to be the overwhelming defeat of the. Republican party was laid more upon the minor party leaders thsn upon the President -Therefore Washington was sorry for Mr. Harding. - But when a President is popular in Washington, look out! A man eannot please Washington and please the country too, if we are to judge by the records of the Pres idents. There has never yet been, a President of first-rate abtyity whom Washington did not detest cordially. Its hatred of Lincoln Is historic. Its hatred of Roose velt was venomous. Its hatred of Wilson finally became maudlin. But it Uked Taft and 'it likes Hard ing. We doubt that even the early election returns were as ominous, as. far as President Harding is con cerned, as Is the fact that Wash ington, when it heard the returns, was sorry or him. 1 ? AIRCRAFT COAST DEFENSE. General Mitchell, being of the air service himself, naturally in clines to enthusiasm over the pos sibilities of aircraft for coast de fense. Nevertheless, it is beyond question that the airplane is de veloping wonderfully in accuracy and effective range; and there is every reason to suppose that in the course of time it will supplant long range cannon altogether, when it comes to repelling raids on our coasts. So, even if one inclines to take with a grain of salt General Mit chell's assertion that the coast ar tillery corps is already useless, it is perfectly obvious that the Uni ted -States, with its tremendous cosst line, should spare no effort1 to develop the bombing plane to its highest capacity. We should give to the air service in general many times the attention it is get ting now. We are letting Europe outstrip us, both in military and in civilian aviation; and if we ever fight another war we shall rue our negligence. If President Harding calls Con gress in Washington November 20, we have an idea that it will be less an extra session than an Inquest And the verdict, of course, will be thst the elephant was murdered by parties unknown. PUBLIC PULSE TUB INDEPENDENT VOTER. Editor of The Dally News: Your editorial in today's News "Of Party and Voter" Is a masterpiece of timely logic. Your -reasoning Is in strict accord with my persona? politi cal views and convictions, which date back to the beginning of my voting age lt 1 sometime hard to make a hlde-bodnd "party " follower andert stand the trend ef a strictly inde pendent voter's mind, some of them look upon us as an outsider. For my part I have never been able to under stand how any Intelligent voter could walk up to the ballot box and stuff sn unscratchsd ticket In the box, and thst without sven knowing the names of many of ths candidates that he hsd voted for, much less the men them selves or the principles that they stand for. When a candldste makes the plea for votes, based upon the grounda that he has always voted a straight party ttrket, he has proven to my way of reasonings that he Is unfit to hold office and he should be defeated by the vote of the Intelligent independent voters. It Is all right to be a party man. but It 1 all wrong to be one of the hide-bound variety who put party be fore the best Interests of the people at large, and In my opinion, the man who will vote the ticket straight (either party) and without compari son and thoughtful consideration, should be looked upen as one unfit and unsafe to be allowed even this small privilege. ....ft B. OVERMAN. High Point ' - . SHEARS AND PASTE TmaseearttaeBtal FlTtaaT, The army aviator who drove a monoplane from California to Indi ana before they 'were compelled to alight missed their goal of a non stop flight from ocean to ocean. But in flying two-thirds of the desired distanoe ani the more difficult coun try without a descent In II hour they roved the entire feasibility of the projeot. The hardy flyers who make the next attempt may reason ably expect to And It free from the handicap of a leaky radiator and burned out engine. At least there are the best ef as surance that the feat will be ao oompliehed In time and probably In the near future. A generation to whose fathers the pony express and the first locomotive across the plain war marvels of fast transportation ean hardly be so surfeited with the exploit of aviation a not to feel new thrill at the near prospeot of flying across the oontlnent In a con tlnuoue trip. As It Is. ths performano of Lieut. Macready and, Kelly I both a reoordbraaklnt achievement a a sustained flight for LOSS miles and a notable example of resource fulness In overcoming the obstacles of violent storms, : mountain - cross- wind and mechanical haaarda - It 1 on of the great feats of avia tion and eomparabl as a contribu tion to the development of long distance flying with the high-speed record Tor (host djstanoea made at the recent Detroit contest. How far away I the Coaat-to-Coaat Air Limit ed, to cover the routs, oa the basis of the Pulltser Trophy speed records. In from twelve to fourteen hoursV Nsw Torn World. raise Keesaaay la taeokfrnty. President Harding I right In stat ing of the army that "there ar limit of reduction beyond which we eannot go, even In the Interest of economy, without destroying the ex cellent foundation new laid for our national defense and forfeiting, the accrued benefit of the world war experience. H" Have we not, however, already exceeded these limit' The Secre tary of War, backed by such an au thority a General Pershing, state that an army of 160,004 men and 11.000 officers is the minimum con sistent with' national safety. The director of the budget, however, states that the War Department may not exoeed expenditure to the amount of l3t,7s;,00O, which will maintain only the present personnel of 116.000 men and 11,000 oftloers. In order to save a few dollar for the moment ths army I being cut to such an extent that It cannot function as an efficient unit. ' The additional cost of keeping the enlisted strength up to 150,000 nan with 11,000 officer ha been esti mated at about $21,000,000. In other words, this sum represents the difference between an army -at the minimum strength for efficiency and an army ao out that It I crippled. The need of saving In every branch of the government I olear. But It 1 false economy to out -the army to such an extent that to bring It back to proper minimum strength will require Increased ex penditure In future years. New York Tribune. ' ' Light aa the Soata Sea Islands. Just a the world had begun to have It Ideas of -the South Sea Island definitely fixed by returning literary traveler who hav Indus triously pictured them a a region of romance and easy llvtng Professor Charles C. Nutting of the Iowa State unlveraltv comes home and publishes the results of his recent explorations'! In tba Fijian and other southern Pacific Insular groups. In the Iowa Alumnus he reports the island to be a veritable naturalist's paradise, but, strange to say, he describes a popu lation which had something else to do beside swimming among ooral reefs, dreaming under . Sheltering palm and waiting for bread fruit to drop. Professor Nutting's party brought back boxes of rar carvings, gar ments woven by nativ, craftsmen, ix ewe of fine coral and a mas of valuable geological and scientific data. This is contrary to all prece dents. The world had the Impression that the chief product of th. Islands as literary material for new books upon a delectable land where life waa one continuous happy dream. The FIJians. Professor Nutting says, were not only willing to work but proved valuable aids to Xhe party In all It Investigations, having quick discernment as to the kind of enecl reena deaired and a thorough ac quaintance with the marine life of the reef a The party went Into a region Inhabited by primitive Fijian and had not a single hairbreadth escape to chronicle. A stranger, Pro fessor Nnttlng y. can go any where In th Islands and hi nf and his property both will be entirely safe. He found the Fijian a remarkably fln race. On ot their oldest and most powerful chiefs he described a a polished gentleman of sxqulalt courtesy, who made the visit which Professor Nnttlng paid him one at the most enjoyable experiences of his lite. But be make4 not a alngl referenee to (he nymph and sirens of wondrous beauty whom so many literary visitor dlsoovsred. Pos sibly h vii not a clo observer. He noticed, however, that people did toil in the South Sea Islands. He said that h worked hard himself, a did th member of hi party. This Is a revelation which none of the recently returned travelers has made. It is a matter too 'which seekers after an easy life might con sider before -emigrating to the South lea Island. New York Herald. Grievance, All these' years I have remembered a night When Island ran black Into a sea of silk. A, bay and an open roadstead set to a shimmer Irks cool,, whit silk . Under an August moon. Trees lifted themselves softly Into th - moonlight, --- - A"Vinebii the balcony glittered with a scattered brilliance, The roofs of distant houses shone solidly like ice. Wind passed, It touched me. ' The touch of the wind was cool, Im personal: The fingers of th wind brushed my face and left me. . I remember that I shivered. And that the long, contlnnou sound of the sea beneath the cliff Seemed the endless breathing of th days I must live through alone. 1 grieve for that night as for some thing wasted. You are with me now, but that was twenty years ago, . And the future 1 shortened by many dsys, 1 no longer fear the length of them, I dread the swiftness of their d parture. -But they go go ' With the thunderous rapidity ot waterfall. " And scarcely can we find a slow, cool n'ght , To consider ourselves, And the peaot-lul shining of th moon Along a silken sea. . , - Harper's Magaxln. .-.v ri v I r ri is irr f m m in . . z-ai v i , TRAGEDY OF THE ARMY . . .. - - an " - '1 Arrival of theRed-Bordered Letter That Means , tilimination of "Here's another one of these th 'confidential' letter. Captain." Th "old man," who had undergone the rigors of Cuban, Philippine and Euro pean campaign undaunted, upon who coat were rows of ribbon representing the highest military honor th country can bestow, fal tered."."!: cant give them oat. You will hav to do It for me. It's too much for for ma." ? . The adjutant took th letter bor dered In red to denote ufgenoy. A few. .minute later another officer, a lieutenant eolonel of twenty year' service, who rose, from .the ranks after the Spanlah-Afrlcan war. per haps, a young west Pointer recently graduated, or an oversea veteran wearing on hi right sleeve th gold stripes signifying wonnds received In battle, find himself separated from hi chosen profession and facing th protJtam of providing for himself and hi family In a competitive world with which he 1 probably utterly unfamiliar. - To most Americans the man I uniform is a "soldier boy." Be It a Natlonalanard regiment In summer encampment, a group of youth at a civilian training camp or an old-line organisation of th regular force on an overland hike, tne men in ine olive drab, soldiers and officer, are considered Midler "boys." Th newssaoer Item relating mat some 1.100 oommiastohsd officer from anions- these "boys" ar to b on- charged from the army by the first of th year I passed over quioaiy by th reader.- If he considers th situation at all he visualise a hal and hearty young man In hi twen ties, deeply disappointed possmiy at th sudden termination of a military career, .striking out for himself In the business world. Temporary set back ha will meet, of course. But a few year at th moat should htm assimilated In the civil life of the country, - with hi disappointment gradually overcome as he forges ahead In hi new line ot endeavor. He I a "boy" and,-if ot th right calibre, ean make his way with th rest. And ther th reader let th thought drop. But the otd eolonel, a veteran of thirty year knows better. The army man for the iot part Is a "boy" by common titular consent only. 'The drill period ar ovr. Th ad jutant walks heeltatlngly to offlcr' rew. - On tne grass piot in irom oi th quarters of the offlcerfor whom the senvelop Is destined ar playing two tiny youngsters. "What do vou think ot these kid of mine, eaptalnT Some rascals, ehf ask th major proudly, -ureal imng to hav about the house I" They sure are, major, they sure are." Th adjutant' vole quiver. Th letter so filled with moment for these tot burn his hand. Tve gotr-a letter here for yon, major." , "Mor report, what? I gue there'll be no movie for me and th kiddles tonight," is th Jocular remark-. M Th " communication Is t unfolded, "Under the requirement of th act of Congrea, approved June 10, 19M, the President order that yon be dls ohargsd from the service e e e you will receive one year' pay. " Ha Mirth I HI To. The major mlle bitterly.' "Th! WU, i kfhd of expected this yes I ihnnrht I'd orobably be among those tired eliminated. rather." He laughs, but there Is no mirth In th tones' Ha eyes as h cast mem upon th gleeful children belle hi ex pressed expectation- ot th coming of th "confidential ' leiieT. In 111! he was fairly wll tab lahed In business In. a mid-western town. He conducted a garage. With the outbreak of the World war -h entered th army. He may have seen service overseas. In Frano or Siberia. Or his war experience may have beear sained on the Mexican ooraer: ine call of the service Isot "In his blood. When Congress in lOlt enacted legis lation lnoreaslng the officer personnel h cast his lot with the oolors. . Th garage was sold. The proceed were soon eaten. up In the expenses Incidental to th constant movee irom atatlon to station during tne alter war reorganisation of th regular Another Officer. HIC establishment For five 9?s the automobile business has weeiif far from hi mind. HI tenure In the service was to be limited only by the efflolent performance of hi doty, ao h had imagined. Now, by the tint of the coming year, he must re-establish himself somewhere with 12.000 or so .as his working capital. Not In th old horn town, for explanations wall never convince the village gossips that he was a vlotjm ot circumstances, that he was not Inefficient but merely slightly less efficient than the other member of his adopted profession who did not receive one ot the "con fidential" letters. Ot thf thirty other' officer on th poet whoa children are racing about ths pared s ground six are face to face with a similar "confidential" tragedy. There -1 th chaplain, who fen year ago gave ap hi church la northern New York because he aw a broader Held for hi effort among the soldier "boy." And th dental officer, who attempting now to break Into' hi "game," would be Immeas urably handicapped for year, a, with a few hundred dollars, h (trove to build up a prsotlc.v There Is the lieutenant, also, who twelve year ago a a gawky youth left the farm to "Join the army and ftas th world." The drawback of a lack of eduoatlon he overcame by weary night of study on duty In a lonely outpost fort In Alaska. Hs gained the oovoted commission finally. He I now well over thirty and know no other busi ness than that of soldiering. - ' General Pershing, In hta efforts to further th economical administration of lh army, eonceded that the regu lar force might dispense with 100 officer and tlll "carry on" under the provisions of the amended Na tional Defense act, which defined th flrst real military policy for defense which the country ha ever enjoyed. He advocated the retirement ot older men under provision which would compensate them to some extent1 tor their long eervlo In the' Philippines, and the west during Its wilder days of frontier Indian posts and In th war ot 1898. Hut Congress deter mined that some 1,500 must go, and that this number should be eliminated by the end of 1022. liva Hlnateo for Each Record. To a board of Ave general officers was dflegated the onerous task of ridding ths service ot the "least effi cient." Volunteer for this detail of outtlng hort th career of their comrade in arms could not be found In th entire army. It I laid that only th personal persuasion of the oommander-ln.chief of the wartime army was of avail In organising th "plucking" board.. Wst Pointers and non-military eefdemy graduates, overseas veterans and general with no foreign service during the World war and an officer who had Worked his way from th rank to a silver star were finally prevailed upon to undertake th work. r' Th board wit given am til Sept IS to , submit fti final report."Thls gives an average of five tnlnutJSkto oensldsr the record ot -each enrlAi'; an average of five minute to-Vletlde whether or not a man who has jeuent, ay, fifteen year a an offinsijki the army and fought through tte1orld war will be allowed to c Jmy as an offlcar or will be coil .mo ooia ! ' .ay tatlsV , As llmlnawJr of enter civil life," one .stalls discovered. . ' Provisions for ths ellml unsuitable regular army officers have gradually been reducing the commis sioned personnel since the war days. A few hundred may still remain an th lineal list who ars 'unable to adapt themselves to the -new and very broadened mission ot the regu lar army, which makes It a training end instruction cadre for the National Guard and the rapidly growing Or ganised Reserve force and oilmen training camp. , .-' . The other thousand to be discharg ed roust comprise the officers who era considered after a five-minute re view of their reoords as -theJHltst orncieni. . , - The Army and Navy Journal, pub lished for and of, but n6t by. army men. states: "The force Jias received the greatest blow la It history to Its morale. No nmy ever faced, and the regular army haa faced all kinds of enemies In many different part of the world 'during it long and honorable career, ever succeeded in striking such a blow." ,. ' In sn effort to alleviate' the dis appointment eo far as possible th war' department haa surrounded th notification to th Individuals -looted tor elimination with a veil of seoro Henos, the "oonndentlal" letters whloh pass through ae few hands as possible. Te a casual visi tor at an army seat the tragedy which ha entered the homes ot on out of every ea-rra of th otftoers' families I (hardly apparent The blow Is grWhed at and bom. 4'j een. oiavw rsjsjaeaes.- svery situation possess its h amor ous ildellghts, Bven th prooeas ef . elimination haa Its Jest. The dis tracted war department reqnaa that th officer dlacharged "attach themselves to th National Ovafd th Organised Reserves so that th country" will not loss th benefits ef their trtlnlng and experience" It I hoped that th major who, vrlthla the next month or so. with Ma and two youngster, will leave the army post and with, th munificent year's pay attempt to plok up th lost traces of civil life will obligate him self te be called out upon a moment's notice to again defend his country's Integrity against Interior or exterior foe. Mor faoatlen than the hep la the faot that la many oases, prob ably th majority, - th eliminated majors, the captain and th lieuten ants wllll comply with th rqnt For Inbred la th heart of th mili tary ma I his unbounded patriot ism, b what they may the rewards he gain from hi davotloik 4)tlll another comedy sideline In the melodrama la th fact that th appro priation not permit of th imme diate examination of candidate for second lieutenancies to fill np th ranks depleted by the departure of the discharged veterans of-th World war. At th same hour that th de partment of Justice announce th un doubted discovery of a "radical plot to form communlat group "(a th army and tiavy" officers with' the most priceless of all military exper ience, that gained oa the field ot bat tle, are discharged, their plaoes te br taken by youth, enthuslastlo sough, but of doubtful valu to the government until they shall hav completed th course at n of, th armV's service schools '. - Of sours, Congress I hearing from bom. Desplts th smirks ef ; th village tattler, th town folks do not understand why the major who wok a promotion oa the muchly adver tised Flanders Field should k thrust unceremoniously forth Int civil life. The army man a an in dividual may hav but little politi cal Influence. But h is rathsr a town Idol In th plan of hi birth. His school chum of younger day, hi parents' frlsnds. and his frater nity brother will want- tof "know why." The constant dlsoourgmnts whloh have been met during the aft erwar reaction against all. things military may hav almost extinguish ed his fighting spirit But those" who believe In him are taking up the fight on hi behalf. They ap preciate the tragedy, perhaps more than does the offlosr In hi bewildered hopelesshesa . ' Thers may b th usual unfounded complaint front th floor ' of - th bouse that Vnnly oftlcra.pm,BlviL life are being eliminated; that dis crimination I being made in favor of the West Pointer." These utterance will purposely, or Ignorantly fail to take Into consideration the faot that but It per cent ot the regular army officers of today are from the mili tary academy, and that the propor tion of the West Pointers to b dis charged wlll.be Jitst about 15 per cent, of the total numbea, ' , The adjutant whose army duty It 1 to deliver , tbe '"confidential" letters knows that no favoritism Is being shown. Throughout th army there Is the utmost confidence In the fair- naasiai ) n rt ifs-itn ejtri'isiial'Bf A 4 Ika " V .l ef general officers whose task it Is to reduce th commissioned person nel. - t- - ""' '-, ' ' Th legislation may b modified to some extent before th major - hit . the trail , In elvll life. HI orders for discharge may even be revoked. But that tragic moment when he unfolded th "confidential" com munication will ever be seared . In , hi mind. KVera he not aa American soldier Tboy" hi faith in the grate fulness and 'Justice of the republic mitlht, be Irreparably' shadowed. Aa Adjutant la New York Times. .
Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 9, 1922, edition 1
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