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Show GENERAL WOOD TO SUCCEED BRIGADIER GENERAL BELL AS CHIEF OF STAFF. 1 JtezTGEM-BEZZ. Hi 1 V. lit sf'-i ' Washington, May 9. The next twelve months promise to be memorable memor-able for the many important changes In the army. Many of these changes will occur in the regular course of events, and may be discounted, but others are still" somewhat unsettled and consequently open to speculation. . Prominent among the things that are settled is that Major General Leonard Wood, now in command of the military department of the east, with headquarters at Governors Island. N. Y will be the next chief of staff of the army. General Wood will succeed suc-ceed Major General J. Franklin Bell whose reappointment to his present office of-fice was announced immediately after af-ter the Inauguration of the new administration. admin-istration. General Bell, however, has decided to remain here but a few months, and before next spring- ho will be transferred to Manila, where ho will have command of the troops stationed in tho Philippines. Until General Bell was appointed the office of chief of staff, which Is regarded as the most important office of-fice in the army, was invariably filled by the officer of highest rank. Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Generals Young, Chaffee and Bates held that office in succession, and the appointment of General Bell followed the request of Lieutenant General Henry C. Corbln to bo assigned assign-ed to the comand of tho southwestern division at St. Louis, instead of to the office of chief of staff, tri which his rank naturally entitled him. Gene ral MacArthur succeeded General Cor-bin Cor-bin as lieutenant general, but lie was not on the best of terms with Secretary Secre-tary of War Taft, with whom it seems he had disagreed when they were together in the Philippines, It was deemed best to make no change in tnc office of chief of staff for his benefit. ben-efit. Xo such reasons apply, however, to tne case of General Wood, who is a warm personal friend of President Taft. General Wood likewise enjoyed high favor with President Roosevelt. Thus, two years ago. it was decided that Lieutenant General MacArthur, the senior officer of the army, should go Into practical retirement and fill out the remaining years of his career on the active list at his old home In Milwaukee writing his observations of military affairs In the Orient, principally prin-cipally in India. General Wood, upon his return from the Philippines a year ago, to be assigned to the choice of the commander of the department of the east, which in the natural course of events would have fallen to General Gen-eral MacArthur And now the latter is to be retired for age early next month and General Wood will then be the senior officer of the army In point of rank and service. Thus General Wood will have accomplished in twen-t twen-t -three years what General MacArthur MacAr-thur accomplished In forty, and other officers In quite as long a time. General Wood s career has been one of the most remarkable the army has ever seen. He was born in New Hampshire, studied medicine, and in 18SG was appointed an assistant surgeon sur-geon in the army. He participated in the Indian wars and saw considerable service. It vvas not until he became the family physician of the late President, Pres-ident, however, that he was really started on the road to success. He was captain and assistant surgeon sur-geon when, with the outbreak of the war with Spain, in company with Theodore Roosevelt, he organized what was known as the Rough Riders regiment. He later received a commission com-mission as major general of volunteers, volun-teers, and in 1901 was appointed brigadier brig-adier general in the regular establishment. |
