The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-03-17

alone would have been efficient and given 10
tbs state respectable volunteer militia, q
body Of young men armed and uniformed
that would have been m honor and credit
TO Texas ard 10 appearance and thorough
ness OF organization would have done justice
! to tho achievements of Texas soldiers in the
war of independence in 1886, in tho MeIi'
can war and In the late civil war. This bill
furnished by ssthe codifers had some cbiec-
tionsble features it is true, but il
was so framed as to bear equally
and ligh!ly.on all citizens, and q law Of this
nature ITO be of any..value whatever, can
hardly DO expected TODD more. But the
thinkers Of the sixteenth would not lot it rest
They must needs remodel..it after their skilled
fashion, and they made of it but an abortion
If Wa mistake not, Mr.. Baker, of Pamela, was
the self.elected military architect at whose
plastic touch the present militia law sprapg
into existence and il is to him mainly that
the state of Texas owes she present csrica.
ture yclept militia law. There is now a
bill pending to appropriate means for an
encampment of thesvolunteer companies OF
the state We, do not know how far this bill
hes progressed nor with what favor 1t is
meeting but we would respectfully
suggest to the legislature thst..it either adopt
eepable, efficient and operative military
law or else repesl the one, rather the farce,
TIA. aow encumbers the statute books.
When the state had no militia law az all it had
some twenty odd well drilled, handsomely
uniformed and equipped volunteer companies,
each one lew unto itself, and number OF
which, of their own yolition, and in their
state pride, formed themselves into
battslions snd regiments and one brigade.
These volunteer organizations were The pride
of their respective localities and reflected cred
il for them. Some of them Indeed
on different occasions, did
service for the state ant then, this purely
volunteer organization was moro effective,
of more force and character than the strsg-
Cling ends Of make-believe militia organi-
zstion under the present law. There was
bill before the congress Just adjourned for
Cd reorganization, srming and disciplining
of the militia Of the United States, which,
in the press of other business and the dead
euinp of political timber, was left over.
This bill provides that all citizens in every
state, between the ages of eighteen ard
forty-fve, shall DO enrolled in the militia,
which shall be..divided into an active and
inactive force, the active force to embrace
the volunteer companies formed
under the laws of tho states aud to beuDder
regulations similar to those governing the
regular army; the general government to
arm and equip this force, provided it be Ell
fcient. standard maintained and annual drills,
that 10 on csmpments, held under supervision
of regular army affairs; the president
to be authorized to call out this active force,
whenever an exigsncy might arise to justify
him and the inactive or reserve force to be
called out only by act of congress. These
are the main features of the bill. We feel
certain that.it will become alaw az the next
session of congress, aud, although We cannot
fully approve the measure, as in our opinion
it uuts the militia o the states too much
under control OF She general
government still ss there Is little doubt Of
It's becoming a law, we think the legislature,
in justice to our state, should make provision
by law for the formation of volunteer
militia and give it the means of becoming
efficient and of keeping itself up to the
standard, and of having a. least one annual
cncAm ginent and drill. Texas is about the
only state in the union that has no militia
law, or rather adequate militia law, and with
the reputation her soldiers have won In every
war IL which they have participated, she
ought by all means TO have provision for the
formation and maintenance ola most splendid
volunteer militia. If each state in the union
hal gooi militia law, ana lhey ali have so
far as we can learn, except Texas, they would
furnish a suficien. number of well drilled
citizen soldiers in case of war to maintain
tho,cause: of our government. Thcre ara
now about one hundred and twenty-five
thousand voionteer militia organized, disci-
Mined. uniformed and armed in the United
States aud there are about six million of tho
arms bearing class of citizens. So il will
really be seen that we have an abundance
Of material if the states viii utilize and edu-
cate il. Ali we need is law that says TO
every male citizen between the ages Of
eighteen and forty-ase, that will voluntarily
organize into companies of not less
than ,hir,y-two mon exclusive Of three com
missioned officers and four sergesnts, that Zoe
state will furnish srmory room and the ex-
of one encsmpment Of not less thsA
one v ssk's duration each yeAr. Or If they
do not dssire 10 enroll themselves in the &C.
tive force, then by paying tax Of one dol
lar Der annum they viii be exempt from
or .AnizatioD, OF. 10 other words, mag belong
20 tie inactive force. There must be,
toe. provision nsae for organizing the active
f,res into regiments. brigsdss and divisions
and there must bs provision msde fOF co
forcire discipline BY fines or ether punish
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