The
minutest acts of officers of these departments are regulated by laws
of Congress, enacted with a view of the small regular force in time of
peace, and with no provisions for modifications in war. In authorizing
the formation of large volunteer armies, Congress did not authorize
any change in the system of administration or make any emergency
provision. As before, every detail of supply and transportation had to
be authorized from the central head.
The administrative bureaus were handicapped to some extent by
incompetent and ignorant members. Late in the campaign it was learned
that the way to a "soft snap" was through the Capitol, and some came
in that way who would certainly never have entered the Army in any
other.
There were alleged staff officers who had tried to enter the service
through the regular channels and who had failed, either by lack of
ability or bad conduct, to keep up with the pace set by classmates at
the Academy; there were others who were known as failures in civil
life and as the "black sheep" of eminent families; and there were some
who must have been utterly unknown before the war, as they will be
afterward.
How these persons ever obtained places high above deserving officers
of capacity and experience is a question which cries aloud for
exposure--but in a good many cases they did.
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