Memorandum for General Crowder from Hugh S. Johnson - April 24, 1918
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April 24, 1918. Memorandum for General Crowder: First please read my memorandum of March 29th immediately hereunder. You will see that R.S. 1205 is on the statute books, that it guarantees to officers appointed in the Staff corps the right to retain their line commissions until they have reached a line grade equal to their staff grade. I think that any disinterested observer would hold that my memorandum completely demolishes Col. Wallace
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[page 2] to grade in regiment rather than to grade in the line. Finally he finds the provision crystallized in revised Statutes 1205. From all this he deduces that the provision is organic. With this I agree. He drops, however, to the amazing conclusion that since promotion was regimental at the time of the revision the change from
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[page 3] R.S. 1205 did not deal with appointment of Judge Advocates. It was a General Rule governing transfers from line to staff. It was a general rule of a century
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[page 4] Repeals by implication are not favored. There is not in the whole opposing argument one substantial statement of reason. Why should R.S. 1205 be repealed? What has happened to the organization of the Army since 1813 that would make it any less desirable as a general rule now than it was then? What change has there been in army organization making R.S. 1205 any less consistent with that organization now than at any time since its inception. There is absolutely no reason in logic or law to argue that this specific and explicit statutory provision does not now retain all the force and effect it has had since its inception over a century ago. I think the opinion and the memorandum proposed by myself are perfectly sound in law and logic. Hugh S. Johnson Colonel, General Staff. HSJ-eef
Details
| Title | Memorandum for General Crowder from Hugh S. Johnson - April 24, 1918 |
| Creator | Johnson, Hugh S. |
| Source | Johnson, Hugh S. Memorandum for General Crowder. 24 April 1918. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | In this memorandum, Colonel Hugh S. Johnson wrote General Enoch H. Crowder and addressed the organization of the Regular Army as stated in Federal Statute R.S. 1205, which concerned the transfer of men, ranks, and promotions. This document is part of a collection compiled by Enoch Herbert Crowder, the Edinburg, Grundy County, Missouri native who served as Judge Advocate General. Crowder devised the Selective Service Act in 1917 which drafted America's forces during World War I. |
| Subject LCSH | Crowder, E. H. (Enoch Herbert), 1859-1932; United States. War Department; World War, 1914-1918--Political aspects--United States; Military commissions; Promotions, Military |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Site Accession Number | C1046 |
| Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | April 24, 1918 |
| Language | English |