Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-06
THE NATIONAL GUARD
Why Company G, Second Battalion,
Was Disbanded.
4 REVIEW OF THE COMPANY RECORD
Work Has Commenced on the
Rifle Range at Ordway.
HAT IS BEING DONE


with certainty as to its coming material
lied when the general order disbanding
company c, second battalion, was made
public. Company of the second was bet
ter known as the National Fencibles, and
this, so some Of the guardsmen say. was
about all that was the matter with it.
Since the disarmament order was issued
great deal has been said and written about
the matter. but a considerable percentage
of the ideas which achieved publicity gave
evidence of a lack of military knowledge
and a marked shortage Of ordinary cour-
tesy. Those who have been reasonably well
acquainted with the history of company c
of the second supposed that the officers and
members Of that organization would, for
the sake of their own regulations, have
remained silent, but gossip around the
armory and some of the anonymous inter-
views that have occurred during the week
indicate what many of the guardsmen look
upon a foolish desire to insist upon
somebody's uncovering the company record.
OF course, 1t is difficult for the general
public to understand why company C
should be elected from the brigade. for the
Fencibles-as they were best known-filled
a large place in the public eye. This is
made plain by one who until very recently
was prominent officer of the guard, and
who said to a Star reporter: Whenever
there was an occasion of display it was the
Fencibles who marched better than any
other company; whenever somebody's bene
fit demanded the presence of a drill team
on the stage it was the Fencibles who most
frequently supplied the need; whenever
there was brilliant combination of the pro-
acknowledgement and the amateur military,
there the Fencibles would be we'll repre-
sented: and 1t was the Fencibles who went
to Omaha and Little Rock and Memphis,
there to compete with drill teams from
other states and twice to capture a trophy
that was honorable and lucrative, but
from the standpoint Of the soldier practi-
cally useless. Achieving so much of sue
cess and popularity, the FencibleS were,
of course, conspicuous in the newspapers.
and had there been a contest week
two ago to determine which company in
the brigade was the more popular, the Fen
cibles would undoubtedly have come dan
gerously near to winning the prize But
efficiency in the National Guard Is not
determined by the amount of space devoted
in newspapers to the doings Of company
nor can Illustrated articles atone for mill
tary offenses Therefore the Fencbles are
no longer in the National Guard. Consul
.ation with associates since the disbandng
order was published reveals practical unan-
unity of opinion favorable to the action
taken by Gen. Ordway.
The most surprising thing in connection
with the case is that such order was
not issued long ago, and but for the social
prestige of the company 1t would, l have
every reason to believe. have been done in
1892 or SO. The FenCibles therefore, should
be grateful to Gen. Ordway for the lenien-
cy he has shown them. This leniency is
placed on record in the order which says
of the Fencibles that as a matter of fact
this company has never attained a proper
standard of efficiency. During the eight
years Of its service, the inspecting officers
have each year reported it among the
poorest in the brigade in general military
efficiency, and notwithstanding repeated
official censures for its disregard of orders
and regulations, its recent inspection DEM
onstrated the fact that the company can
rot be depended on to perform service that
may be requii ed of it in the National
Guard, and therefore is not worth the ex-
pense necessary to be incurred by the Unit
ed States and the District of Columbia to
maintain it, That sounds like a pretty
broad statement continued the ex-ofticer,
as he folded up his copy of the order, but
every word OF it is true The records of
the adjutant generals office will show that
pany been forwarded to headquarters in
anything like due season; there has al
ways been delay and never once a good
excuse Another singular thing that, in
fairness to all the parties concerned, will
have to lie recorded of what has always
been called a crack company is it's failure
to properly care for the arms which it
would have to use in case it were called
into service. A battalion inspector said to
me last night that the record of inspec-
tons made by the battalion officers showed
most conclusively that the rifles in the
possession of the Fencibles-but not the
ones they drilled with when they went into
any of the big competitons-were COM
paratively worthless; they were rusty and
dirty with accommodations Of Oil and dust,
and there were broken electors and ruined
locks and dislocated rear sights and miss
ing front sights and all sorts of disabilities
which no real soldier would permit to exist
in his rife for a minute. The difficulty
IVES that most of the Fencibles had moth
~ to-, -
dierly quality which must exist in the Ma
tional Guardsman if-he is ever to amount
to anything. The care of the guns was left
to a jantor. with the usual results.
Sorry for the FencibIcs as individuals
PERSONALLY, 1 am sorry for the Fencibes.
Knowing their officers and a very large
percentage of the membership quite we'll,
1 have the highest regard for them in
their respective civilian and social capac-
tiles, but as soldiers have more than once
been compelled to feel ashamed Of them.
In an interview with President b. H. War
ner of the board of trade published in The
Star the day after the directors of the
board visited Camp Washington, Mr. War
ner said something about the day of the
tin soldier having passed away forever
in the District of Columbia. That wasn't
cutie true Just then, because the FencibleS
were still in the guard, but it is true now,
and I sincerely hope that general orders
No. -, current series. will result in soaring
out of the brigade several of the little toy
rnilitiamen. who, to a greater or less eX-
tent, impede the progress of the brigade
toward that efficiency which every sincere
National Guardsman desires it to achieve.
A few years ago all that was asked Of the
militiaman was that on stated occasions
he should step around lively in rear Of
band and lock his best in a uniform that
gorgeous enough. to tickle a red In
dian into commissions, but of no earthly
use to a soldier. Times have changed,
however. since those days, and now the
National Guardsman must know how to be
a good deal more than an automaton; he
must. be well disciplined; must know how
to drill, and how to shoot and how to per-
form guard duty, and the hundred and one
little things that a soldier needs in the
field to maintain a fair degree of comfort
and the maximum of health-for the soldier
cannot reasonably expect to do duty and
live In a hotel. From the remarks I have
heard made by some of my purely civilian
friends l am of the opinion that the public
has rot yet caught on to the fact that the
od-time militiaman is entirely out of fash
ion. But he is, nevertheless, so far as the
District of Columbia National Guard Is
concerned.
The Poor Inspection Did 1t.
I'm some Of the papers reference has