ive him of; his seniors may overlook
him in giving credits, unfortunate circumstances may defeat his
fondest hopes, and the crown of laurel may never rest upon his brow,
but the reward that follows upon the faithful discharge of his duty to
his company he can not be deprived of by any disaster, neglect or
injustice.

He is a small sovereign, powerful and great, within his little domain.

=869. Devolution of Work and Responsibility.= The company commander
should not attempt to do all the work--to look after all the details
in person--he should not try to command directly every squad and every
platoon. The successful company commander is the one who distributes
work among his subordinates and organizes the help they are supposed
to give him. By War Department orders, Army Regulations and customs of
the service, the lieutenants and noncommissioned officers are charged
with certain duties and responsibilities. Let every one of them carry
the full load of their responsibility. The company commander should
not usurp the functions of his subordinates--he should not relieve
them of any of their prescribed or logical work and responsibility. On
the contrary, he should give them more, and he should see that they
"deliver the goods." Skill in distributing work among subordinates is
one of the first essentials of leadership, as is the ability to get
work out of them so that they will fill their functions to the full
within the limits of their responsibility. Not only does devolution of
work and responsibility cause subordinates to take more interest in
their work (it makes them feel less like mere figure-heads), but it
also teaches them initiative and gives them valuable experience in the
art of training and handling men. Furthermore, it enables the company
commander to devote more time to the larger and more important matters
connected with the discipline, welfare, training, instruction and
administration of the company.

The captain who allows his lieutenants to do practically nothing makes
a mistake--he is doing something that will rob his lieutenants of all
initiative, cause them to lose interest in the company, and make them
feel like nonentities--like a kind of "fifth wheel"--it will make them
feel they are not, in reality, a part of the company--it will prevent
them from getting a practical, working knowledge of the government and
administration of a company.

By allowing his lieutenants to participate to the greatest ex