Evening star., 1893-09-09
Substantial Rumors as to an I'm
portant Battalion Change.
THE VETERAN THIRD" WILL MOVE
Voluntary Practice May Take Place
in the Gallery Next Week.
THE LAST OPPORTUNITY,

9uero but are aware of the fact that the
tntru battalion is about to move from its
OLD quarters In the Globe building 10 the
rooms In the Center Market armorv oc-
eupied since the practical decease OF The
nfth battalion by the engineer CORPS but ,,s
VIII probably be news to most of the local
soiaiery to hear even the rumor which has
IL that the third battalion will not only
cnange It's quarters. but will soon lose its
NUMBER and become the Afth battalion.
ihls, or course, means a transfer from the
nrst to the second regiment, and as the
transfer is earnestly desired by the MEM
oers OF the third 1t seems quite probable
enat their request will receive all the at
/ tention it deserves and probably an af
nrmative reply from brigade Headquarters.
None or the officers CT the third care TO saw
why the change il desired but there IS
practical unanimity Of belief from one end
Oh NO. TO the other that the shift will in
some way or other be advantageous Ii Is
unQuestionably true that there Is in the
urst regiment less of the regimental suirft
than is really necessary for the We'll l,eing
OF the command, and IL is also true that Ia
the second regiment the organfzation IA
much more concrete and harmonious 1t is
quite probable that the three battalions now
composing the first regiment would be tust
as solidly linked together as are the two ia
the second If they were only brought more
Sloseiy IN contact with each other. but they
nave met only as strangers, and then at
rare intervals, SO that the opportunities for
cultlvating the pleasant relations which
| should exist In every regiment have been
700 rev 70 oe OF any real advantage. IL is
therefore not an unreasonable conclusion TO
Imagine that the third wants more of the
| companionship which is common in the
| second regiment than IL has ever been able
| TO get in the first, and because their is no
regfmental spirit In the first IL desires TO
reach out after more congenial associates
1t has been stated by members of the third
that the regimentai officers took no visible
or practical interest in the welfare OF the
battalion, and that but for the regimentaIly-
unaided efforts of a small portion of the
membership the battalion would some time
since have been nothing more than a mem
ory. At brigade headquarters nothing can
as yet be learned of the proposed transfer
but unless several of the thirds officers are
very much mistaken the change will be
made within a week or two. This reduction
of the first regiment to two battalions will
not have any material effect on its appear
ance when IT parades, for the understanding
seems to be that the third sparate company
which has in its ranks about 100 men
Will take the place of the third battalion.
so that the irst regiment viii make about
as good a showing as usual when II par
ucipates In any of the outdoor ceremonies.
Next week will afford the closing oppor-
tunities OF the season for those who have
not completed their scores in the gallery or
who desire to better scores already made.
Each day from 8 to pm. and each even
ing from 1:30 to 10 the brigade gallery will
tor of rife practice will be on hand to look
after things generally and to certify all
scores made. The sensible man viii get his
work in just as early as possible, for to-
ward the latter end of the week there is
certain to be a very heavy attendance, and
practice will consequently be tr1ie less
satisfactory than on the first day or two.
Men who have made their scores on range,
but who, perhaps because they We're not
members during the earlier part of the sea-
son, should take advantage of the chance
offered by week of continuous practice.
and ought in that time to get rid of enough
ammunition to make qualification certain. In
no other subdivision of all the National
Guard have the opportunities been anything
like so extended as here during the season
now about to close. II any officer or en-
listed man fails to complete his scores-and
many OF them unfortunately have so failed
the blame cannot be laid on other should
ers than their own. Already have several
of the careless ones discovered that by fail
ing to do the shooting which orders called
for they have shut themselves out OF the
competitions which will be held in October
An unfortunate condition of affairs for
which the individuals alone are responsible
The assignment of inspectors OF rife prac-
dce for duty at the brigade gallery is as
follows: Monday evening. Lieut. Laird;
Tuesday evening. Lieut. Stewart; wednes-
day evening. Lieut.. Rotramel; Thursday
evening. Lieut.. Vale: Friday evening Lieut.
Cardozo; Saturday evening. Lieut. Pollard.
During the day Lieut.. King will certify
scores. AS TO the practice which may take
place in the first battalion armory, arrange
ments will be made by Lieut.. Ebert, and
him proper notification.
An interesting rife match took place at
creedmoor today, the contestants being
teams OF twelve from the twenty-third
New York, the seventh New York and the
thirteenth Pennsylvania According 10 Tie
terms stated some days ago the teams will
shoot ten shots each man at 300 and 40
yards, and then seven shots per man at
2eo, 800 and 500 yar6s-dupicatfons of the
National Rife Associations Interstate ana
Hilton scores. The result viii be looked Tor
with interest
The fourth floor Of the d Street Armorv
is now being fitted up for the reception IL
the engineer corps, displaced by The moy-
ing In OF the third battalion from the Globe
building to the Center Market Armory.
Col. A. r. Kuser of the staff OF Gov.
Werts of New Jersey was In the city yes
terday. The colonel is one of those Jersey
men who are good enough to be residents
of the District of Columbia. He will re-
turn TO Washington in company with the
many who are going to visit the District
NATIONAL Guard during the second week in
October. He will probably be one OF the
team of six that will shoot against a team
OF like number selected from the brigade
team Of the present season.
FROM very many sources-most OF them
disinterested-comes a great deal of fnte--
esting eulogy on the behavior of those SUBJ
divisions of the brigade that went into
camp all over the eastern part Of the United
states during the last summer. To select
one OF the ORGANIZATIONS for praise would
be unfair to the Others for there is nor a
single one but has been the subject of COM
ment most complimentary to the member
ship and extremely gratifying to those who
are interested in the welfare of the brigade.
1t is not quite certain that there will be
TINS year-as there was last-a National
Guard match in the competitions to be
held in October. Last year the first and
second regiments and the engineer corps
each gave medal, but this year there does
not seem to be any certainty about IL, and
for some days at least IL will not be known
whether the match will take place or not
The orders for the matches. which will
doubtless make their appearance by SatIIr-
day next, VIII probably contain paragraph
providing for conditional entries In the
match in question.