The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1898-05-06


governor, recruiting officers are in
structed to give preference to the
guards. In other words, if company
of the guards presents itself for enlist
ment and can pass, then the entire
company will be taken, and the major
ity forming the new company, now
known as volunteers, will elect the Off
GERS that were theirs as guardsmen
If, on the other hand, the militia com
pany is unable to secure the accep-
tance of only about thirty of its men,
the remainder being unable to pass
physically, then the remainder of the
company would have to be made up
from those who are not members of the
national guard, and if the majority of
the company is composed of the latter
class and is unwilling to have the ma
tional guard sfficers serve them as Of
GERS of volunteers they can select 9TH
ers and the governor will commission
those selected by the volunteer com
pany. I notice that the Kansas City,
Kans., company was able to get near
ly its entire company into the volun-
teers, with the result that it's national
guard captain was chosen captain of
volunteers. Now then, if only part
of the company is accepted and none
of the guard officers chosen, the ma
tional guard company is not disor-
ganized, it is only reduced in numbers
and those not chosen will retain the
arms and equipments furnished by the
state. This would cripple the state
authorities in supplying the volunteers
with the arms furnished it by the gen.
eral government for just such emer-
gencies, and the only way out of the
difficulty for governor was to disband
the national guard of the state and re-
quire all arms to be turned in.
Tony mind Governor Leedy acted
with very good judgment. He recog-
nized the fact that every citizen of the
state had a right to offer his services to
the government, and in apportioning
the number of men required from the
different sections he was governed en-
tirely by the population of these sec
| lions. I feel sure that men with army
vraining are preferred, as long as all
other conditions were equal, to those
who have not had such training, and
| that where men who had seen such SER
vice in the regular army present them
| selves for service in the volunteers
they will also be given preference, on
the ground that their experience is
valuable to both the state and thegen-
eral government. A number of men
N each company with such service
will prove of the highest value to the
raw recruit.
The criticisms upon the governor
are born of partisan prejudice. 1t is
unfortunate that under the present
conditions those opposed to the gov
ernor politically should not be willing
to accord him some show of fairness.
He appears to be a man of great will
power, and determined to go ahead
when he knows he is right. That he is
right in this instance does not deserve
a moments S doubt.
The conditions that have confr onted
the guards of Kansas are present with
the guards Of other states. l have
just received a letter from a brother
officer at Mobile, who writes the state
troops there are having a hard time.
rhe companies have only been able to
10 have from twenty to thirty of its
members pass the recruiting officer,
and they are not willing to consoli-
date their interest. Each wants to
take its own officers, and the result is
great friction among the guard.
Down in New York the crack regi
ment of the country, the seventh, re-
used to volunteer because the men had
40 assurance that they could reta in
,heir old officers. 1 am sure Gov.
Leedy has acted the part of p patri OF
IN this matter. and no amount of par
sisan prejudice can rob him of the
credit that belongs to him in this in
stance.-Kansas City Times.