Headquarters 55th Field Artillery Brigade,
Camp Sevier, Greenville, S.C.,
January 27, 1918.

His Excellency T. W. Bickett,
Executive Mansion,
Raleigh, N.C.

Dear Governor Bickett:-

I would apologize for encroaching on your valuable time but for the fact that the importance of my subject is apology enough in itself.

I wish to most earnestly beg your assistance in the raising of the standard of efficiency of the officers of my brigade. When the brigade was completed, I was the only person in it who had ever fired a gun, and few had ever seen one. Necessarily the organizations were raised without any idea of what duties the officers would be called upon to perform or of what kind of talent is necessary in an officer of modern artillery. The handling of artillery is purely an engineering proposition and a certain degree of mathematical ability is essential. It is astonishing to what an extent this ability is lacking in the young men of our day.

Artillery invariably fires over the heads of infantry and the opposing lines are close together. We cannot afford to shoot our own people in the back due to the errors of incompetent officers. This is food for thought, as you have more North Carolina infantry in this division than you have artillery. My only object here is to produce efficient artillery. I have no political afiliations nor ambitions. The officers are all alike to me except in so far as they are efficient or the contrary, and with thirty one years of active artillery experience behind me I believe I am a competent judge.

Three cases have recently occurred in which officers have either resigned or been recommended for discharge by efficiency boards and then have sought political influence to keep them in the service. Two of these were in the 114th F. A., (1st Tenn.) and one in the 113th, (1st N. C. F. A.) The last case was thet of 1st Lieut. Eugene P. Jones, of Lenoir, N.C. (I think).

Believe me when I say that I am in too desperate straits for officers to seek the elimination of any man who shows any hope of ever making good. My people have now been in diligent training for over four months and the regiments are averaging over 80% in their weekly examinations. Mr. Jones’ average is 34%. He is stupid and lazy, has learned next to nothing and will learn nothing. He has no energy and no capacity for leadership and the command of men. Such officers are useless and hopeless. I am told that he comes from good fighting stock, but unfortunately this war is not being fought by ancestors, but by brains in the present generation.

This officer has just been passed upon by an efficiency board with the inevitable result, and the object of this letter is to ask you to use your great influence with the North Carolina delegation in Congress and others in places of power and influence to the end that they refrain from interfering in this and similar cases that will follow perhaps from time to time without first inquiring as to the facts at this end. This is, that they act on facts, and not on friendship and sympathy. I do not ask you to take my opinion. The field officers of this regiment are exceptionally fine men and can be relied upon to state the facts on square.

I hope that your Excellency will pardon the length of this letter and give it serious consideration. May we not hope to enjoy another visit from you in the near future?

Very respectfully yours,

George G. Gatley
Brigadier General, N. A.,
Commanding 55th Field Artillery Brigade.