The San Francisco call., 1897-01-04

The members of the National Guard of
the State are now turning their eyes
toward Sacramento 10 see what the legis-
lators will do for them. There are many
things they need in order to bring them
10 the standard of an efficient militia, but
whether they will receive them is a matter
that cannot be foretold.
Adiutant- General Barrett, in the ben-
NAL report. issued a few days since, asks
for the statutory appropriations. He
wants $4,000 for new uniforms, $3l 800
for new overcoats and $40, 500 for blankets,
making a total OF $50 900. These demands
are based on uniforms at So each, over
coats at 50 each and blankets at $5 80
pair. The men who will have to use and
wear these are pleased that the demand
has been made, but express the hope that
the next lot will be of that class Of
material that will be comfortable and ser
viceable and not merely for show or sum-
mer wear.
The Adiutant- General asks for an appro-
priation sufficient to permit of the holding
of camps of instruction to be held in each
of the two years for which the appropria-
ton shall be made. Then he wants 5000
10 pay for coaling and cruising expenses
OF the Comanche, the vessel used by the
Naval Reserve, and a like amount for
special emergency fund to prevent the
putting in at the close OF the term OF two
years deficiency bills.
Further, he asks for $500 for the pre-
servation OF tn records of the California
Volunteers and recommends that the
State shall build armories in all places in
California where there are more than two
companies.
The Adjutant- General has been in cor
respondence with Adjutant-Generals OF
other States, and result of this corre-
spondence viii be the formulation of q
bill to be presented TO Congress ASKING for
an increased appropriation for the
National Guard of the several States. The
amount at present appropriated IS $4OO,-
OO0 and the amount that will be named
in the bill to be presented Will be IS, 5UO,-
600. The argument that will be offered in
support of this demand is that the Guard
is liable to be called upon at any moment
10 support the Union In case of war. and
that being the case the general Govern
ment should make the proper provision
for the Guard.
One thing that is necessary for the
efficiency of the Guard and for the sake of
uniformity is revision Of the uleS and
regulations. Our citizen soldiers are will
ing to conform to the rules that are made
80 govern them, but they would like 10
have those rules SO clear that they may be
a uniform adoption of them- Those
now governing are so unsatisfactory that
every individual who reads can place al
most any Interpretation on them desired.
For instance, few days since tor want of
clearly defined rules there appeared at
funeral the Governors staff. the division
staff and rigadier-generaPs statf, each
aItlTed differently and each under the I'M
preston that the uniform or dress worn
was the proper thing. The staff that was
attiTed IN civilian g dress was the proper
one, as the one whose memory they had
ssemDled to respect was not entitled 10
military honors.
The new firing regulations, an abstract
of which appeared in THE CALL last Fri
day. ave been The subject of much talk
among the guardsmen and the comments
are not a. favorab bic as those who promul-
gated them expected they would be-
Lieut.-Coi. Cluff, division inspector of
tie practice, speaking OF the new regula-
tlons said that he was under the pr es-
sion that they are too severe and that
they have a tendency TO discourage men
who under other circumstances would be-
come good, if not frst-class, marksmen.
What ought to be done, said the inspec-
tor, sis to encourage ruen to become COM
petent in the use OF the rifles. You GER
tainly cannot encourage them if you tell
them that if they do not, at the State shoot
at 200 yards score fifteen, they will be
barred from trying their skill at 300 Yards
and, of course, that bars them fr0m shoot
ing at the 500-yard range. When the rule
was that man must make 90 to ntitle
. him to a bar, if he only made % the first
time and made 81 the next time he got
his bar and that encouraged him 10 try
and do better the next time, but under
the new rules If man does not make the
requisite fifteen there is no use Tor him TO
:" try again. That believe will prove very
discouraging."
Then there is regulation for skirmish
firing, but no provision is made for
range, and at present" continued the in
spector Il know of no place where the
panies OF San Francisco can indulge
in such practice except al San Bruno. The
State has made no appropriation tor such
a contingency and does not provide for
transportation. Now, the men 10 rot go
on such practice for their own pleasure,
bu for the benefit of the service, and it is
rather hard that they should be called
upon for so cents each for fare out of their
=. own pockets. 1t seems to me that the
State should provide transportation on
such occasions.
There are others in the guard who are
of the opinion that the new rules will be
Y ry oppresslv and will not accom- olish
the desired results. They hold that such
rules would do in the regular army, but
they VIII not WORK satisfactorily in the
National guard for the reason that the
men have not the same opportunities for
rife practice that the men in the regular
service have.
For time there. was quite an opposi.
tion in the several companies of the guard
against any proposition to house all the
companies under one roof, but recently
a change has come over the guardsmen,
and now there Is a movement in almost
every company to agitate movement for
general armory in which the troop, the
signal corp and the infantry could have
spacious and comfortable quarters.
On New Years eve the members of
Companies e and G. First Infantry, held
their annual reunion at the ST. Germain,
where they partook of tlne dinner, BID
the old year adieu and welcomed the new.
There were present a large membership
and a lew of the ex-mem bers of the Ma
tlonals. Among these were Colonel Jerry
Moore, Lieutenant McMlnn, Major Til