Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-29

cultfeS too numerous to mention Is to be
regretted. In fact. had the guard ceased
to exist, l think no one would have been
surprised. There Is absolutely no induce
ment Held out to any one to join, and from
the time man enliStS until he Is dis
charged 1t is nothing but money out Of
pocket, on duty or off duty.
THE commissioned officers must be at
the personal expense of buying their uni
forms. and this large outlay very often
prevents competent men from accepting
commissions. Both officers and men are
also required to pay monthly dues in adj
ditiOn to giving their time and attention
to drills and other duties. All this without
remuneration, and often at the expense
of losing part Of their wages or salary.
Now, in most Of the states the citizen sol
diers are paid according to their tank
when ordered out on duty, and they do no
more than the militia of the District. Why.
then, should not the members Of your
guard, who cOnscicntiOusly live up 10 the
oath taken by them. be paid when they are
ordered out on any duty, more especially
when they leave their homes and bust
ness and attend an encampr;ent? 1t seems
to me that Congress ought to appreciate
the necessity and justice Of an appropria-
ton for this purpose.
Some Useful Criticism.
"Ther, again. in my visits to four armor-
les and in my conversations with the va
rious officers and men. find that the. SYM
pathies of many Of the citizens and nler-
chants Of the city are not with the guard.
1 have known of more than one instance
where men, ordered to be present at the
annual inspection Of their companies. have
been told by their employers that II they
left their business and attended the in
spection they could consider themselves
discharged. Naturally, the men could not
afford to lose their situations, and conse-
quently their companies suffered by their
absence. 1t Is much to be regretted that
any business man in Washington should
take such action, and 1t can only be ac-
counted for from the fact that the citizens
OF this city have fortunately not had &C.
casion for the active service of their mill
tia, and have not learned that a time may
come when the services of the National
Guard may be of inestimable value to them
in the saving OF both life and property As
to the annual inspec ton of the guard 1T
seems to me that such an inspection is en-
tirely inadequate to give the commanding
general any satisfactory idea of the efIi-
cheney of his command. Since the death Of
my esteemed friend, Gen. Dan Macauley
who was your inspector general, no one has
been appointed to fill the vacancy and IL
appears to me that now is a good time for
an Improvement in this department
Il discovered from personal observation
and inquiry that many enlisted men and
some officers turned out at the last inspec-
ton who had during the winter failed
to remember that they belonged to the
guard am neglected TO attend the regular
drills of their companies.
These men, of course, did not know
whether they had uniform and equipments
or not. end naturally did not know in what
kind OF condition they were. But, by feeling
the jani:or, they had their brasses shined,
their belts blackened and answered their
names at mt ster. Such men are not a
credit to the National Guard. They cannot
be depended upon. and are just so much
dead wood. The sooner they are dropped
from their company rolls the better, for
every month they decrease the percentage
Of the attendance Of the company as shown
by the drill and parade report. 1t is my
option that n more thorough and satisfac-
tory inspection Of the guard could he had
by the appointment OF two assistant inspec-
tors general, with. say. the rank of captain
one being assigned to each regiment. 1t