The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1861-05-11

Article 8, Of the Constitution OF the otaIe
Of Iowa, provides that s'the militia Of this
Stat. shall be composed Of al able bodied
white male citizens between the ages Of
eighteen and for.y-ks years, except suen
Is are or may hereafter be exempt % the
laws Of the United Sates, or Of this State,
and shall Be armed, equipped, and trained,
a, the General Assesbly may provide By
law"
Near four years az, We s.renuously urg-
ed the passage of lw, By the Legislature
then in session, proriong for the organi1a-
ton Of tie militia Of mis- State, to the snd
that the State might receive its just quota
Of arms, authorized to be distributed 70
each State, by ths General Government un-
der the Act Of April %, lsoS, and suose-
quent acts. Our suggestions received some
attention at the hand. Of the military COM
mi.tee Of the Legislature, and bill was
prepared and presented for the eonsidera-
lion Of that law-masng body-bus 1t did
NOS meet with serious consideration at the
hands Of the Solop.. Il was treated as
Joke, and killed Of ~ ridiculous amend
ments and burlssqus speeches. So that,
while other States, BY reason Of their well.
directed efforts to eject thorough military
organization, have received .heir allotment
Of arms and aecoutrements every year, and
been provided with we'll fitted Up assenals'
the State of Iowa has never received any
thing of the kind, il We except few nus
ke.s set aside to her By a special act Of Co..
gress in 1856. Had the bill which was be,
fore the Legislature four years ago. then
become Law, this State would not now be
in the defenceless condition it is. But, in
the absence of oil laws for the enrollmen,
and organization Of the militia, Of course
the proper returns could not be made, and
as consequence the Secretary of War very
properly refused to transfer to this State it:
quota of arms and accoutrements, camp
equipages, etc. The result Of this shame.
full neglect is now before US. The Legis!a'
ture which meets next Wednesday, will mol
only have to pas, law for the organization
of the militia of the State, but it viii! have
to make largo appropriation for the pur
pose Of obtaining arms, etc., which, fou1
years ago, might have been obtained at nj
cos. whatever to the people Of this State
So that now, instead of there being large
number Of military companies in the State
Offered, uniformed and equipped-an Or
nament and honor to the Commonwe altb
and ready at any moment to march to th'
defence of the Countrywide State presents
the sorry spectacle of an unorganised militi'
"a whole people to whom military disci'
pliue and drill are almost total strangers
All this, owing to the inordinate propensity
Of our legislators to tribe with matters Of
the utmost moment to the public veal.
Now that it has become necessary to or.
ganizc and arm the militia of the State al
our own expense, let there be no halfway
work about it. Let US have stringent and
we'll dgested militia law, and appropriations
sufficient to place the State On "war foot
| ing" commensurate with its important ge-
osraphical position, in this exgency Of pub
lie affairs. When the militia bill comes up
before the extra session, let US have no such
frivolous scenes as those which character
lied similar prcsntments at the two last
sessions Of the legislature of this State.
We hope, ere this, that WILSON, of Dubuque,
and DUycoxBE, of Webster, have come to
realizing sense of ihe importance of thor
ough organization Of the militia Of this
State, and will act accordingly.