The San Francisco call., 1896-01-02
MILITIA TIA i IN !. 4 |. MUDDLE, D
Complications Arising From. the
Recent Election of Colonel.
. Macdonald. :
--------= .':s.'' -: - !.
ACTION OF GOVERNOR BUDD.:
- - - :: ...: -
The Protest Submitted Before Election
" Cannot Be Withdrawn-Armory
Question Unsettled. XIX
ACTION OF GOVERNOR BUDD:

The officers OF the National Guard il.
this City. are still awaiting the action OF
Governor Budd on the protest submitted
at the election for colonel held December
10th, and<they also wish. to know: what
course the Governor will pursue in regard
to the, heutenanr-colonel and the three
majors. -.
: At the time of the election and Just be-
fore .balloting commenced protest signed.
by a number of line officers was sub
mittedinth the interest of Colonel Macdon-
aid; objecting to the. six. assigned field;
officers voting. This was >predioated upon:
it becoming known that: an opinion had
been. furnished to Colonel Giesting the
presiding officer, to the effect that these
officers were entitled to vote under the
provisions of section 1884 OF the Political
Code, and that he would SO rule, based
upon the construction placed upon the
words, ttThe field .offic GERS. of a battalion, !,
when composed. of less than; six com
panies and. more than: three, are one
lieutenant=colonel and one major ig-
nGring the fact. that. this only applies
to separate companies and not Ito any:
organization consisting of: more .than:one
battalion when formed into.:a. regiment,
and was a. forced construction in. direct
conflict. not only with this section, but.
with the laws Of the State. The field Off
GERS OF a regiment. are DESIGNATED as zone
colonel one. lieutenant-coIonel and one
major for each:hattalion. }" ..:4 ~
The protest was: hled by the friends of
Colonel Macdonald to lay the grounds for
an appealin case of his defeat and if=de-
cided adversely to .him*at headquarters to
commence proceedings :lnthe civil COURTS.
The result of the election being favora BILE
Ito Colonel Macdonald, ,ehis friends sought
to o=MithdraW the@protest, but= the ezpresiding
officer refuSed'to permit that, holding that
under: the provisons of paragraph 326 of
the regulations it had become. n part of
the record and must be for rWarded with the
(: return S OF the:election., - ~
/ This action places the Governor and the
/, brig ier;g general in. a. rather anomalous
/ positions: Ii .they;ignore the protest they
recognize the1eTection of Colonel Macdon-
|: aid, and: recognize hat at least two more
officers voted at the: election than were le-
+. gally entitled >thereto in. the face of the
/ fact made manifest by the protest and es-
l.tablishesa a preCedent:fer: future elections.
/ Recognizing the protest: overrules the
l:opinion that: was: given at the time and
/: will require new. election. 1t is we'll
I=settledi rule that on review cognizance will
! De taken OF all 1rreB ularltleS.
r.. ConCeding :thecons of the three
| battaliens; there being a lieutenant lionel
! serving Mith,each..at the time, upon the
+ same being carried into effect, paragraph
1881 of>the. regulations prescribes: "Should
4. the consolidation create supernumerary
1 officers the communicating chief will desig-
nate such as are. TO be mustered out of serv-
1 ice. :; .*:... -:
+. This consolidation, or whatever it may
| be:terned, by.Virtue of general orders No.
&18, brought three lieutenant-colonels into
I the new org aniZation, whereas regiment
! cam only have one, and the commander
Ein-chief falling to designate the supernu-
meraries< intended to either recognize the
Ethree:in violation of the provisions which
i prescribe. mo person shall be appointed
I or" elected to any commissioned office, not
/ created by law, IN the military force of the
! State" or by failing to specify did not con-
:. :sider either as entitled to hold and conse-
! quentlY:not entitled to vote.
| THAT the three majors were not legally
/ field officers of the new regiment and not
| entitled to vote must also be apparent.
l:Under the provisions OF paragraph 3S1, for
the consolidation of companies and regi-
ments, if made to apply to battalions,
1 all the field officers of these battalions
! would become supernumerary, for under
i section 1882 OF the Political Code the bat
-talions of regiment are not formed until
after the regiment has designated num-
! Der of companies, and then only "as the
commanding officer of the regiment shall
direct
| General orders No. 1s simply organized
the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Battalions
into zone regiment, to be known as the
| First Infantry; thus up to the tim e of
the issuance of that order they had been
separate battalions with certain field Off
GERS assigned to them for duty(vide general
!! ordersNo. III, these field officers serving and
holding their commissions and qualifica-
tions in the old regiments and assigned to
such duty Hereunder, and not under any
new commission and qualification as re-
quired by the regulations. That the bat
talions to which these officers were as
signed were formerly portion of the COM
mand in which they held commissions
may be coincidence; observation-disclosures
on the Governors staff might have been
assigned, ,as wasidone with the Naval Battal-
ion.
That they were not considered as officers
of the new regiment is shown by the clause
in general orders n IS. 'The permanent
assignments of the lieutenant-c colonies and
majors to duty with their respective regi-
ments will be announced in future Or
ders."
II General Orders No. 18 organizes a new
regiment, the field officers should be
elected by the commissioned officers of the
different panies, as provided by section
1885, and not appointed. The election
must be held under the provisions of that
section, the officer detailed to preside,
among other matters, to give notice sol
the office to be filled" AS this was moi
done neither Colonel O>Connor nor Cap.
tain Tilden can be considered as elected
and as neither OF them was connected with
the bodies organized or consolidated into
the new regiment, they cannot be con
sidered as transferred. officers. The entire
matter makes very pretty muddle witt
no early improvement in sight.
In the meantime the armory question
is still in a chaotic state. A few days ag,
a meeting of captains was held under tn
: auspices of Captain Cunningham, tn
Warwick of the old Second, to ascertain
what arrangements could be made to set
, tie this matter. One of the proposition
submitted was asking for two companie
to volunteer to remove their quarters t.
the armory of the Nationals on Ellis street
the other eight companies to be quartere,
{ at the Page-street armory, but as none Q
> the companies appeared to be willing t