The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-29

A convention of the National Guard
association, composed of all the officers
OF the national guard in the state, meets
today here in st. Paul This directs pub
lie attention to an organization which
deserves highest praise and encourage
ment. AS between the regular army and
the national guard, it is customary to
dtsparage the latter; yet British expert
enee in South Africa strikingly demon
strates that military drill alone does not
count for much in modern warfare; that
more than ever the result of battle now
depends upon the individual soldier. his
skill as a marksman, his ingenuity in
seeking and making cover, and the zeal
with which he goes into the fight. The
mere mercenary or machine man counts
for less today than he ever did before.
The modern soldier, to be successful,
has to be general in miniature and a
patriot in full life size. While doing his
part in general plan, he must have
the intelligence to carry on a little war
of his own with appropriate maneuvers,
and above all, he must be animated by
that patriotism which knows no other
thought or motive than to strike and
fight for the cause of his country.
In all these respects the national
guardsman compares very favorably
with the regular soldier. Whether he be
a farmer, laboring man, mechanic, clerk
or professional man, the national guards
man always belongs to the most in
telligent and respectable elements of so
ciety; he has ample opportunities to de-
velop Workmanship; he is actuated by
none but the most patriotic motives; and
even in the matter of drill, many com
panies of the national guard are equal
to the best in the regular army.
In case of war. the national guard is not
only on hand but eager to rush to the
front. There are some 10000 national
guardsmen in the United States and the
annual appropriation for, this organiza-
ton is s., Co., 600 or less than $40 per capita,
while the standing army of less than
100000 soldiers demands an appropriation
of $50 Zoo, 900 or more than $500 per cap
ita, a striking difference, ene4regular cost
ing the country as much as $50 national
guardsmen. Yet in case of attack from
without, or Indian trouble, it seems that
the national guard wo,1ld be practically
as serviceabie as the regular army, while
it would never be subject to the charge
of militarism, for the guardsman, though
he is always on hand in times OF war.
in peace he is common citizen 1t would
therefore seem, that the war department
at Washington would do all it could,
for the national guard Such is not the
case. Under Democratic and Republican
administrations alike, this fact has al
ways been the same and the cause is
close at hand. The war department was
established for the regular army and not
for the national guard The heads and
personnel of all the bureaus are regular
army officers; there is not man in the
department whose duty it is to give one
thought TO the national guard. Every
official of the war department is therefore
interested in an increase in the regular
army which would mean more life po-
sitiens and well paid commissions for
themselves and their friends But any
increase in the number and efficiency of
the national guard lessons the need of