WHAT WAS GAINED BY THE REMOVAL OF KRUSE?

The saying goes that to the victor go the spoils. That is the way it goes in warfare, and that is the way it goes in politics. Still, it is a difficult bit of this maxim that attached itself in recent weeks to Charles Kruse, replaced as assistant adjutant general for the Missouri Army National Guard. While we accept the way in which appointments are made in Jefferson City once a new administration moves in, we question what the state had gained in the removal of a committed public servant from what by all rights should be a position outside the reach of politics.

Know this about Charles Kruse: He has never cheated Missouri in giving of his talents. A Dexter farmer, Kruse served as the state's director of agriculture for several years. (He has since taken a job as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau.) A former curator for the University of Missouri, Kruse accepted a position last August as a member of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Upon the election of Mel Carnahan as governor in November, Kruse assumed his appointment to that board would be short-lived. However, Kruse was stunned to learn his National Guard service was no longer required.

Kruse served in the Missouri National Guard for more than a quarter-century. In 1990, he was promoted to brigadier general, one of only three such positions in the Missouri Guard and a move that required Pentagon, U.S. Senate and presidential approval. At the same time, he was elevated to assistant adjutant general, a position that, by tradition, is held for five years, then is followed by retirement. Kruse was content to follow this tradition. However, his early retirement came about as a result of Gov. Carnahan's decision to replace him.

Did Gov. Carnahan act improperly in replacing Kruse as assistant adjutant general? No one contends that. Did he act wisely? Well ... Kruse spent 26 years in the National Guard, giving up a lot of himself in the process. He served the state in several different capacities, in each case with dedication and integrity. If he used his guard post to advance his political beliefs, he did so without attracting much attention. Said Kruse after his guard career ended, "I always looked at myself as a soldier. Nothing more, nothing less."

Nice as it would be to hope otherwise, we can't claim surprise when something happens in Jefferson City whose only explanation appears to be political. Still, good public servants are hard to find, and it's difficult to see someone like Charles Kruse cast aside so casually. What was gained by this shabby treatment? Certainly, it sends an unfavorable signal to those who want to excel and rise in the ranks of the guard. And even if politics were accommodated, Missourians lost a good man from their service.