Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-19

| THE BIG FLAGSTAFF Is UP--THE RIFLE RANGE
| AND WONDERFUL BRIDGE ACROSS THE
RAvINE MATTERS OF MILITARY COURTESY
| THE LIGHT BATTERY'S ANNIVERSARY
All things are ready at Fort Washington for
the District National Guard camp of 1890 that
| begins Monday. There may be needed a few
/ finishing touches here and there, but there
still remains plenty of time for that sort of
work. The brown-green tinted turf no longer
soothes the eye with its pleasing monotony; its
| surface is dotted with numerous white patches
| and when the sun sets tomorrow it will leave
| several hundred tents in the dark Some of the
| canvas shelters will be ready for occupancy at
| that time. but the great majority will remain
PROSTATE until the brigade comes along on
Monday and commences camp life by pitching
| them. A great deal of work has been done at
the fort and on the grounds dur
ing the past week and it has
been done by comparatively few men. In
the commlssary department all is we'll. and.
unless the program unexpectedly breaks down,
all will continue to be well to the end of the
present chapter. Ser9eants Neumeyer, Corvai-
Zier and Campbell of the general staff have
toied as they never toiled in their lives before.
| and they feel assured that the number of
klckers IN this year camp Will be but small
fraction of peg cen. of those who howled
of crochery necessary have been placed ready
for immediate use; the great cauldrons are in
condition 10 produce soup or coffee at fifteen
minutes notice; the giant refrigerator--an old
-proof-yawns for the supplies that are
coming. The mess sheds are complete and the
long rows of seating capacity stolldly await the
pressure Of a thousand hungry men and the in
creased strain OF thousand men whose appe-
titles are fully satisfied.
The only new feature around headquarters
not previously described in The STAR is the
gigantic flag staff that was raised YESTERDAY
1t is a good deal of improvement on the
pole that supported the colOrs last year; is the
regulation article, in fact. The fence that once
surrounded the headquarters building has been
removed.
THE RIFLE RANGE.
Maj. Pollard's work on the rifle range has
been especially arduous during the past week.
A hundred and one of the annoyingly obstruc-
tive little things that always come ND at the
last moment have plagued him. but he is some
distance ahead now and by Monday morning is
expected to have sufficien. surplus of time
on hand to eXpend in watching the brigade dis
embark. by that time the targets will be in
place on all the ranges and the boys can COM
mence shooting as soon as they pitch their
tents. The latest addition to the artificial fea-
lures OF the ravine is the bridge on which the
men will cross to the 500 and 600 yards firing
points. The structure Is a combination of nat
ural woods and tenpenny nails and Is of ample
strength. In it have been combined the canti-
lever. suspension, trestle, draw and pontoon
principles, and it is undoubtedly a success. The
greatest depth from the bridge floor to the
bottom of the ravine Is 81 feet The course
pursued by the bridge Is somewhat winding
but it gets there. 1t is probably the only thing
OF the kind III all the region round about and
the visitors TO the camp should avail them
selves of the first opportunity to see what man.
armed with hammer and nails can do
when he makes up his mind 1t is thoroughly
safe and undoubtedly picturesque structure.
CIVILIANS IN UNIFORM
Last year several company commanders took
civilian friends into camp in the guise of mill
tiamen. The instances of this unofficerlike
conduct were neither few nor far letween
This year the officer who does that kind of
thing will get himself into a very elaborate de-
scription of trouble. Gen. Ordway has figured
1t out that this abuse was OF common occur
renee last summer and he has taken occasion to
remind those i'll command that the issuing of
arms, uniforms equipments to persons not
members OF the guard will result IN a court
martial and vacancy, The general is, as
some OF the boys say, IN dead earnest"
MILITARY COURTESY.
Another matter to which the general has di-
rected especial attention is that of mutual rec
ognitlon by officers and enlisted men. The
camp Is purely military affair and every man
IN the guard ought to know what his military
dutE Is Inc comments OF army officers on the
militia have, for some time past touched with
especial force on the point of discipline That
| Is about all they can reasonably find fault with
| for they all know that the citizen soldiers can
! out-drilI and Out-shoOt them There is no rea-
son why the mlitiaman should fall behind in
| tins important matter. Paragraph 784 of Up
tons Infantry Tactics reads: ''Al guards and
sentlneis Will pay the same compliments to the
officers OF the navy and marines and to officers
| OF the volunteers and militia in the service of
| the United States as are directed to he paid to
| the ofhcers OF the army according to their
| relative ranks" The term Service of the
| United States may be matter for argu-
4 ment when the relative positions of
state militia and the army are being
discussed. but there can be no two opinions rs
to the community of interests, SO Jar as para
! graph Ioi Is concerned, between the army and
| the National Guard of the District of Columbia
! That Is IN the service Of the United States and
/ o! the United States only Its officers are
! commissioned by the President Of the repub-
| lie and OF their status there Can be no cues
| uon. 1t Is therefore compulsory upon the Of
| ncers and enlisted men Of the army that they
properly recognize the members OF the Dis
trict National Guard, and it is just as binding
upon the guard to salute or return the salutes
! OF officers and enlisted men of the army The
| idea seems to prevail with n good many
! mliltiamen that to salute implies inferiority
! The idea Is all wrong. salute is simply
courtesy; courtesy expressed in the military
| way. All officers salute each other. the Junior
| saluting first; why should the enlisted man be
dencient IN this one particular when he is, in
every other way, such an adm irable soldier?
| An ARTILLERY ASSNEasARY.
There was great anniversary celebration