The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-04-02
The National Guard
Will Be on Deck
From the Albany Timcs-Union.

From the Albany TimCs-Imon'
CD THROUGHOUT the press OF the
country there is a deal OF COM
cent upon the legal inability of the
governor TO order the militia here,
or the president TO dispatch IL
there Inasmuch as speculative topics
are always clothed with certain amount
Of interest. this legal impotency ID IN
teresting only inasmuch as it offers scope
for speculation. 1t matters but little just
what are the legal powers OF the COVER
nor or of the president to order the mil
itia away. When the hour for their as
sistamce arrives, determined "Adsum"
from every member of every military
company in all the states in this Union
will greet the tap Of the war drum or
the thrilling notes of the bugle. There
will be no Quibhling then as to the power
of officials to place the militia in the
field, and in the heat and burden of bat
tie it's members will prove themselves
the peer of the soldiers of which foreign
courts may boast. or in which kings place
pride The people of this country are
not bellicose. They appreciate the hor-
rors of war and the sacrednSss of life,
but they do not lack couragebr patriot
ism. The spirit OF '1G is still alive in
America 1t needs no resuscitation, On
the contrary its enthusiasm sometimes
demands a restraining check. Should the
standards of war be hoisted, the militia
Of the country would prove true to its
name OF the National Guard"
o
1t is a fact undeniable that in the war
OF 1872 there was trouble in getting the
militiamen of certain states to cross the
border line of their own state municipal
ity, but that was because the war itself
failed to command general approval at
the time. The Federalists branded it as
unnecessary, and in states controlled by
that political party, the militia fell back
upon the prerogativc OF state rights.
But today an army of one million mon
could be enlisted against Spain within a
week. and the nucleus of that army would
be the militia. Here and there some
whte-liVered member of. that honored
body might prove himself a craven but
he would only be the exception that
would go to emphasize the general bray
cry of that magnificent body OF men.
There need be no fear of the militia
shirkng its duty in the hour of danger.
There Is no necessity of consulting the
legal power of the governors of the diff
ferent states, or Of the president of the
United States. No force, no pcrsuasions,
no inducements will be necessary to drag
the National Guard where best it can
defend the country's flag. Its members
have proved their worth in the long, ardu-
Gus conflicts of the civil war. they showed
themselves TO be the greatest soldiers
known in the annals of history; they
stamped upon the name OF their organi-
2ation a determination. a fearlessness, n
bravery and love of country unknown
to any other body of men, save, perhaps,
those who followed Napoleon through the
vicissitudes of his meterOic career. Yes,
the militia need cause no one a thought
II is the backbone of the defence Of our
country, and whore needed the most
| there will it be found animated by patriot
ism, Cmboldened by the love of the flag
and spurrCd on by a firm conviction Of
| the truth of the famous lines of Horace
--"Duce ct dccOrum est pro patria mori."