Frank M. Rumbold letter to General Mann - July 23, 1917
Transcript
[War Department letterhead] July 23, 1917. MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL MANN. The following is offered in an attempt to devise some plan of action whereby inefficient National Guard officers can be eliminated with the least possible feeling on the part of the deficient officer, his family, his friends and the community from which he came, and also, and mainly, to promote efficiency by helping to bring about the best personal and loyal feeling on the part of the subordinate officers for their Regimental, Brigade and Division Commanders. In an army so comparatively vast, and so quickly raised, there are bound to be a great many men commissioned who will prove inefficient and incompetent, and yet who are, to a greater or less extent, inspired by patriotic motives. To quickly whip an army of, approximately, 1,500,000 men into a cohesive and inspired whole, especially of so-called independent Americans, will necessarily mean the expulsion, by some means, of the inefficient officers. To accomplish this object by the universal use of Boards of Efficiency, with its concomitant publicity, will cause many heartburnings and much bitterness, in the totality, and, incidentally, considerable public criticism of the higher ranking officers which may, I believe, be avoided by following some such plan as the following: Have confidential instructions issued to each commanding officer, of the grade of colonel and upward, to prepare and keep revising, as may seem to him proper and just, a list of those whom he considers, from observation, to be incompetent, with the reasons therefor. Prior to the visit of an inspector, this list should be submitted to him, so he will be acquainted with it at the time of making his inspection. During his inspection he can, easily, have the marked men indicated to him and can test their efficiency without exciting undue publicity. If convinced of the justness of the judgment, he can have a private interview with the officer and point out the fact that he is deficient, and that he (the inspector) believes that if he (the officer) is ordered before an Efficiency Board, he will be reported upon as inefficient, with the resulting publicity of an ordered dismissal. He can advise the officer in question to voluntarily tender his resignation, assigning any reasonable excuse for so doing. The great majority will do as advised, and they and their families will always, thereafter, combat any insinuation that there was anything of compulsion in the case, and not be so apt to attempt
Transcript
to exert political pressure. Every one has friends, and it is only too true that newspapers, as a whole, and
Details
| Title | Frank M. Rumbold letter to General Mann - July 23, 1917 |
| Creator | Rumbold, Frank M. |
| Source | Rumbold, Frank M. Letter to General Mann. 23 July 1917. Rumbold, Frank M., General Collection. A1331. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | Memorandum to General Mann from Frank M. Rumbold making suggestions for the removal of insufficient National Guard officers within the growing army. Frank Meeker Rumbold served as Colonel of the 128th Field Artillery during World War I. He later served as Adjutant General of Missouri from 1925 to 1927. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--Correspondence; United States. War Department; Missouri. National Guard |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Evaluations |
| Site Accession Number | A1331 |
| Contributing Institution | Missouri History Museum |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond those allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Missouri History Museum: 314-746-4510 |
| 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. Contact the Missouri History Museum's Permissions Office at 314-746-4511 to obtain written consent. |
| Date Original | July 23, 1917 |
| Language | English |