The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-11-27
THI. MILITIA SYSTEM.

Tho organization Of u thorough and efficient
militia Is u subject which has attracted moro
than usual attention during tho past few
years. Tho abuse Of tho military power of
tho government in the South, and the arbi-
trnry and offensive fcntlres that were then
imnartod to reconstruction, which should
have been II purely civil process first alarmed
the pooplo Of tho country and produced the
! revusion Of popular sentiment which
occurred in 1874. The purposes Phil Sheridan
nnd DOG ticrrittf we're tEe IL sllhserHo ht
| least served to warn the people Of tho dan
gers thnt attended tho uso Of the regular, or
mcrCennry, army In carrying out partisan
behcste, or any. even the most dispassionntn
internal measures Of government, and to
arouse oil lovers Of constitutional freedom to
| open and indignant resistance.
Then came on the labor troubles and the
railroad riots in 1876 and the spring Of 1877
These served to illustrate In tho most
pointed manner tho inolflcloncy Of the militin
Of Mt least two States as thon organized. One
Of tho crack regiments Of Pennsylvania
proved to be no better disciplined thnn mob
Mt tho Pittsburg "Round- House. while Gov
Carroll publicly disgraced tho swell Dalu-
moro regiment after its short campaign In
West Virginia.
| But when "Blue jeans Williams, tho DEM
ocrntic Governor OF Indiana, acknowledged
| Tint he had not in his own State The power I'd
maintain tho authority Of the Commonwealth
over which he presided. by calling on the
| United States for troops to InRjntan lts peace
and dignity, the whole question was thrust
| upon tho country. All jealous men began
to speculate rs to tho results that would
follow the use of tho paid army in internal
affairs and its interference, In any capacity,
in civil and State OF municipal nTairB. Tho
result of their eneculntioDs has been to bring
them back TO the doctrine Of Madison, who
declared that "tbe greatest danger to liberty
! is from large standing armies and to that
OF Jefferson, who said, Il am for rolyng for
sy.Ieinal defense on our militia solely TIL
actual INVASION
Both of these sentiments found expression
in the Federal constitution, that Of Madison
in the article which provides that no appro-
priation for army purposes shall be for a
longer time tI,An two years, and that Of JET
ferson In the following article, which we quote
at Ioslpth In or(leF to show that the duty OF
organizing the militia is imposed upon Con
gross
, TO provide for organizing, arming and dis
1 ciplDing the militia, and fOr governing Sl1Ci
1 part of them aa may be employed IN tht
, service Of the United States, reserVlnR tf
the States respectively the appointment o
4 the officers, and the authority Of training tht
t militia according to the discipline prescribed
j by Congress.
c For q great many years Congress ha
: neglected and evaded the Injunction p]ainl,
s imposed in this article. The reason for thi
{. Is very palpabe. In endcavoring to carr,
t, out the exaggerated ideas OF the framers Q
e the constitution in respect to the necessit
l. for military organization, the natural resul
of the terrible struggle through which tn
e colonies had just passed, Congress promptl
% founded an enormous militia establishment
Y. which went to pieces by reason OF ITS o"
d weight and unwiediness. The law enrolle
ID every available male, and required OF all eS
a. traordnary duties. The result was that tn
ID whole system fell into disrepute and rldlcu
to and had to be abandoned, and Congress ha
10 as yet, found no solution for the difficult,
pi It has gone on farming" the militia, leaV1n
to it to the States to organize and discipline 1t.
no Recently the matter has been taken moi
>v Of from the causes we have mentioned, b
I'd militia officers, and there is, at last, SON
I'd prospect Of the adoption of a uniform system
ar such as is contemplated in the constitutions
it provision above cited. There have recentl
been two conventions convened for the pu
n pose OF considering this very question.