The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-25
SEATTLE. TUESDAY. AUG. 90.
OUR MILITARY WEAKNESS.

Our dispatches recently announced that
an effort will be made at the next session
of congress TO reorganize the militia of the
states 80 that they will be put under
national pay and supervision; that is,
while the National Guards of each state
will remain under state control in time of
peace, they will by their enrolment in the
National Guards of the United States be-
come Immediately available for national
defence in event of war. II this scheme
was put in force our state militia, instead
of being starved down to the level Of mere
s'picnic" volunteers by both state and
nation as at present, would get decent
pay, full equipment and competent drill
from the trained officers of the regular
army. Without some such scheme of re-
organization our militia will be found in
event of war just as wor thless as they were
at the outbreak Of the civil war. Then as
now our militia, with the exception of a
few crack regiments in Massachusetts, and
In New York city, instead of showing that
their militia service had been to them
profitable school TOR the cultivation of
military spirit and manly patriotism, gen.
orally joined the ranks of the "stay at
home rangers" the type of Oliver Wendell
Holmes "sweet little man" who but for
the vile guns would have himself been a
soldier. The militia in 1861 was composed
as 1t is today chiefly of young fellows who
enjoy military picnic, like to fill neat
Il. e Al
alton that it excites among women. There
Is little discipline and sense of absolute
subordination among the militia of the
various states, as was shown in 1877 when
Pennsylvania found her militia worthless
in the hour of the Pittsburg' riot. and was
Obliged to appeal to the general govern
ment for aid.
In 1851, when the war broke out, very
few OF the officers and men of the militia
offered their services to the government,
and the volunteer regiments had to be
filled and differed chiefly by men who had
never belonged to the militia and were
totally ignorant of military drill. The
few militia officers who joined the army
made poor figure; they had played
"picnic" soldier so long that real war with
Its terrible hardship was more than they
could bear, so they dropped back into civil
life, and for the rest Of the war contributed
nothing 60 the crushing of the rebellion
save when they paid Communication or
cheered . regiment on its departure and
return. Nor was this remarkable. You
cannot treat militia parsimoniously and
expect TO have any true esprit du corps.
The state does little for the militia; Con-
gress does very little, and for this reason
its members never seriously consider
themselves as true soldiers of the state.
and life of peace with no near pros
pect of war makes poorly
equipped, meanly paid militia feel that
they are merely soldiers in form but not
In stern fact. The consequence is that
with the exception of few crack
companies and regiments whose mem
bers have either money or social
influence to procure money to per.
fectly equip them, the militia of the
country taken as a whole are comparatively
worthless when wanted for any serious
work. Our situation, therefore, with a
regular army of about $1,000 electives and
a '.picnic" militia of about 100000 on
paper, is one of perilous military weakness.
The popular belief that we are too far dis
tant from Europe to be in any danger of
war is not well founded. A very rich
state that is at the same time in an abso-
lutely defenseless military and naval con-
dition is always in danger of war.
Does anybody suppose that our govern
ment would have stopped TO eat little
crow in the Boring sea controversy, if we
had not been conscious that we could not
possibly enforce the extremity of our po-
sition by force of arms9 Without sea
coast defenses: without an adequate navy !;
without an appreciable regular army {;
without improved modern rides or cam
non: without q formidable militia, We are
I'm no condition 10 so to war tomorrow
with even second rate power, and our
government knew it ana acted wisely in
obedience to its knowledge. But let us
SESAME that we are entirely safe from any
foreign war, nevertheless among 100000
Of people. spread over a continent, there is
liable at any time to arise instruction or
riot from industrial. religious or social
causes beyond the present power of local
or state authorities to meet For these
reasons there ought 10 be an enlarged reg
ular army OF $1,000 peace establishment so
Organized that it could be quickly
expanded 10 10000 in event OF war,
AM there ought TO be = thoroughly
orpanized and drilled militia in every
81 te. But this efficient militia will never
ey ist in the states until it is properly sup
ported and instructed by the federal gov
ernment and subject TO its control in event
Of national war. The regular regiments
should he localized for RECRUITING and linked
With reserve regiments for organization
and instruction, and in event Of war our
government should resort 20 the democratic
method of CONSUMPTION, without commute
ton, from the ranks of all the arms-bear-
Ing males between is and IS, using. as
Germany does, men " no are past the arms
bearing age for such service as they can
perform, like hospital service, military
depot and railway service, and gsrrisoning
permanent fortihcations.
The militia of the states, under Federal
support. control and instruction, ought