Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/563

* STAEL-HOLSTEIN. 483 STAFF. trans., 1882) ; Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du lundi, vol. iv. ; Brunetifere, Evolution dc la critique (Paris, 1890) ; Dejob, Madame de tiaussure et I'ltalic (ib., 1890) ; Faguet, Politiques et moral- istes, vol. i. (ib., 1898). STAFF (AS. stwf, staS, Goth, stafs, ruJiment, letter, OHG. stap, Ger. Stab, statT; connected with OChiirch Slav, stabii, staff, Litli. stdbas, st6bras, pillar, Skt. sthapay, to make stand, from stha, to stand, and ultimately with Eng. statid) . In military and naval usage, the aides or assist- ants of a eonimanding officer. The staff of an army comprises the assistants of the general-in- chief and of his generals, and their duties are to relieve the chief of the details to which he cannot personally attend. In the United States this body is divided into the military staff and the administrative staff. The former is charged with the more purely military duties, and comprises the chiefs of staff (the assistants and executive officers of the generals in the office and in the field), the adjutants-general (who at- tend to the correspondence, orders, etc. ), the inspectors-general (who are charged with the in- spection of the troops), the chief of artillery (the assistant and adviser in all matters relat- ing to the artillery, and responsible for the artil- lery materiel and personnel), the chief of cav- alry, the chief of engineers, the chief signal officer (responsible for the military telegraph, signal stations, and balloons), the provost-mar- shal-general (who has charge of the police, pris- oners, deserters, secret service, and post-office), and the aides-de-camp (attached more directly to the person of a general, assisting him by carry- ing orders, studying and reporting on portions of the field, and attending to a part of the cor- respondence). The administrative staff is charged with the service of administration and supply, and comprises the judge advocate (who supervises the proceedings of military courts and boards), the commissary of musters (who supervises the muster and pay rolls, and makes musters into and out of the service), the chief ordnance officers (who are charged with the sup- ply of ordnance material), the chief quarter- masters (providing transportation, forage, cloth- ing, and camp and garrison equipage), the chief commissaries (providing commissary stores), the chief paymasters, and the medical directors and their respective assistants. General Staff Corps. Since the passing of the General Staff Bill, which was approved on February 14, 190,3, and which entered into legal effect August 15 of the same year, a general staff organization has been instituted as follows: The General Staff Corps establishment consists of officers detailed from the army at large under such rules as may be prescribed by the Presi- dent. The duties of the General Staff Corps are to prepare plans for national defense and mo- bilization of troops in time of war; to investigate and report on questions relating to the efficiency of the army and its preparation for war; to aid and assist the Secretary of War or other general officers and commanders, and to act as their agents in informing and coordinating other offi- cers, who are subject to the sipervision of the chief of the staff: and to perform such other military duties as may be prescribed by the President. The General Staff Corps consists of one chiei of staff', and two general officers chosen from the army, not below the grade of brigadier-general, four colonels, six lieutenant-colonels, and twelve majors from corresponding grades, twenty cap- tains from grades of captain and first lieuten- ant, to have rank, pay, and allowances of cap- tains mounted. Time of detail, four years, unless otherwise relieved. When ri'licve<l these officers return to their former branch of the army, .and are not eligible for service in the General Staff Corps until they have served two years in that branch of the arm.y in which they hold their conunission, except in case of war or emergency. The chief of staff' supervises all troops of the line, and the adjutant-general's, inspector-gener- al's, judge-advocate's, quartermaster's, subsistence, medical, pay, and ordnance departments, corps of engineers and signal corps, and performs such other military duties as may be assigned by the President. All duties previously prescribed by statute for the commanding general, as member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification and of the Board of Commissioners or of the Soldiers' Home, are performed by the chief of staff or other officers designated by the President. Acts or sec- tions of acts authorizing aides-de-camp and mili- tary secretaries do not apply to officers of the General Staff Corps. The chief of artillery serves as an additional member of the general .staff and enjoys the rank, pay, and allowances of a brigadier-general. In England the regular army officers, non-com- missioned officers, and men doing duty with a militia, volunteer, or yeomanry corps corre- spond very nearly to the French cadres comple- mentaires. The English up to 1902 had no regular staff institution, answering to that of the French or Germans, but strong efforts were being made to secure the organization of such a system. The staff college prepares officers for staff duty, but officers are frequently thus era- ployed who have not passed the staff college. Officers of the British army desirous of serving with the native army in India join what is called the Indian Staff Corps, from which they are appointed to any regiment to which they may be assigned. In Germany the Prussian general staff organ- ization is known as the general staff of the army, Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, and Saxony maintaining their own establishments, but subordinate to the Prussian corps. It consists of the chief of the general staff, usually a high ranking officer, subject only to the Kaiser; the Baupt-Etat, or principal establishment of the general staff; and the Neben Etat, or auxiliary establishment of the general staff. The duties and functions of the general staff are as follows: Collecting, add- ing to, and arranging military information neces- sary for the knowledge of the German Empire and all foreign States, and the further train- ing of officers of the general staff and of the officers attached to it for duty. The great gen- eral staff consists of a central and six other sections. The central section is under a major- general, who is the principal assistant of the chief of the general staff. The first section keeps informed about everj'thing that would be useful in ease of war with Russia. Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Balkan Peninsula, and Asiatic Russia. The second section deals with corresponding details regarding Germany itself.