BROOKS MEMORANDUM OX RESERVE CORPS 401 



the American Expeditionary Force. As I then remarked to General 

 Macombj President of the War College, Mr. Brooks not only spoke from 

 a ripe experience in administering scientific fieldwork, but as the son of a 

 volunteer officer in the Civil War he had a pride in the military efficiency 

 of the United States and a desire to see the civil service cooperate with 

 the army. 



In his memorandum Mr. Brooks suggested the organization of a resen^e 

 corps of engineers and quartermasters corresponding to the medical re- 

 serve corps of the War Department. That the suggestion was both oppor- 

 tune and meritorious was indicated in a letter from General Macomb, 

 who on June 5, 1915, wrote to me that the letter transmitting the ^^plan 

 for a reserve corps of professional men has been the subject of study here 

 for the past week, and I believe the idea is going to have a much wider 

 application than Mr. Brooks indicated." While General Macomb was not 

 at liberty to state the details of recommendations to the chief of staff, he 

 continued: "I can assure you that we are all interested in the idea and 

 see great possibilities in the plan as it has been developed." 



A few extracts from Mr. Brook's memorandum will serve to outline his 

 plan for a reserve corps so far as it related to the engineers : 



"Many of the Governmeut scientific and technical bureaus include in their 

 membership a large number of highly trained professional men whose special 

 knowledge might be of great value in time of war. It is proposed that these 

 should be organized into a reserve corps to supplement, in case of need, the 

 oflScers of the regular army. . . . There are over 500 engineers in the In- 

 terior Department alone and probably over 1,000 in the classified civil service. 

 There should be no difficulty in selecting from these several hundred men who 

 would, with some training, be well qualified in case of need to supplement the 

 Engineer Corps of the Army. ... In case of emergency they could be used 

 to fill the subordinate positions and would be available at any time at short 

 notice, for their telegraphic addresses would be a matter of record in the 

 various bureaus. 



"The plan here proposed of forming reserve corps of engineers and quarter- 

 masters involves the giving of some special instruction to the men chosen. 

 For this purpose authority would have to be asked, but as practically no addi- 

 tional expenditures would be involved it would probably not be difficult to 

 obtain the necessary legislation. It appears that what would be required is 

 (1) authority for creating such reserve corps from among the professional 

 men in the civil service; (2) authority to have such men detailed for a certain 

 period each year for special instructions. . . . 



"While the above plan necessitates legislation before it is put into effect, it 

 would be possible to make a start without congressional action. The proposal 

 is to obtain a complete roster of the professional men in the civil service whose 

 special training might be of value in time of war. This would require only 

 an expenditure for printing and clerical work." 



