Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-09

Members Of the National Rifles Who Are
In the National Guard.

THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN A MONTH TO WITH
DRAW IRON THE eUARp-AS INTERESTING
QUESTION AMONG MEMBERS OF THE ORGAN
IzkrIoS-A POSSIBLE CONTEST OVER LKoAL
IIsHTs.
There would seem TO be a merry war on
between the National Rifles and the en-
gineer corps Of the District National Guard.
just what the outcome of it will be is a
matter that no man can decide at the. present
time The trouble grows out Of the fact that
four men belonging to the National Rifles have
also joined the engineer corps and the question
hs- arisen whether q man can belong to the
two organizations at the same time. The men
saw they can The National Rifles hold to the
opposite opinion
A little over q year ago DIR. G. b Young. who
has worn the red coat of the Rifles for about
81, years past. was practlcing for a rifle
contest between the Columbia Athletic
Clnb team, of which he is captain, and a
team from the sixth battalion. He is a
crack shot and at the time told that he
ought to JON .he engineer corps, which pays
more attention to shooting than il does to
drilling He given to understand that
IL would not interfere with his drill work
with the Rifles, and after studying the
constitution OF that organization and consult
ing with its captain he came 10 the conclusion
that there could be no objection to mis-
Joining the National Guard to which the Rifles
do not belong In February, 1882, he enlisted
in the engineer corps and was a member
Of the rife team that went over from the Dis
trct TO take part in the contest at Sea Girt last
summer. DIR. Young IL a corporal in the
National Rifles and has held other Offices in the
company.
THREE OTHERS LEFT.
Later in the year three other members Of the
foI Dr Thav
we're W. f. COlladay. corporal; DIR. George
Drury corporal and Chas. Nee. TAYLOR. They
we're all old members of the National Rifles.
The enlistment Of man in the National
Guard Caused no particular comment, but 1t is
said that when three others followed in the same
line some Of the members of the Rifles began
to fear that there was danger
that in course of time the men
who favored the National Guard might get the
balance of power and turn the Rifles into the
larger organization. At a regular meeting OF
the corps some months ago a resolution
was intrOdIced providing that in the future
no member of the corps should Join any
other military organization. The resolution
was lost but at the March meeting OF the corps
last week another resolution, more inclusive,
was passed providing that no member OF the
CORPS should be a member Of any other military
organization. The four men at whom the res
oIution aimed were given thirty days. or
until the April meeting. to decide from which
organization they would resign
THEY DECLINE TO WITHDRAW.
As vet they have declined to withdraw
from either. for they claim that the National
Rifles is not. strictly speaking, = military
organization. in the legal sense at least,
and that they are not necessarily
mutually exclusive. Their claim is that
was nothing in the constitution of the National
Rifles to prevent it. aud that the recent resolu-
ton was retroactive In its effect and hence ille
gal. On the ground that the National Rifles is
q propertvholding organization, with valuable
real estate on q street, they are Of the opinion
that they cannot properly be squeezed out on
any such reason.
THE LEGAL SIDE OF IT.
II was rumored today that the four men most
interested in the matter were going TO take ont
an injunction to restrain the National Rifles
from dropping them from membership at
Its April meeting. One of the four said
to STAR reporter this afternoon
that so far as he knew this had not been talked
OF among them Il. for one. he said, deeply
regret that the question should have arisen,
for it is an awkward thing to have any such
troCble in an organization 1 am sat
listed that legally we have the better
side of the argument. but l should deprecats
any action that would make the trouble any
more public. ! really believe that the Rifles
will recede from the position they have
taken when they 1t all sides. / have
been connected with the organization for
Q long time and / should hate to have my
relations with it any less pleasant than they
have always been At the same time / am IN
able 70 see WIN q man may not be a member of
the RIFLES and of the engineers at the same
time. Ny own experience has shown me that
the work of the two does not interfere at all,
and am at a loss 70 see what objection there
can be to a man belonging to drill or
ganization and to another that is composed Of
sharpshooters. They don't conflict with
each other at all. l don't intend TO
resign, however, and IL the Rifles want:it they
will have a chance to drop me at their next
meeting. do not think they have the right to
drop Us, though would naturally hate to go to
law about it