Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-01
Secretary of War Root Urges
Congress to Settle Status OF
National Guard
EFFECTIVE SUPPORT is NEEDED
Under the Present Law the United
States, the Secretary Says, Has Prac-
tically No Militia System-Repeal OF
the Anti -Canteen Law Is Favored
The General News.

| in his amman report, JUST iiis'uc P
urges upon congress the necessity OF
Immediate action looking toward the
settlement of the status of the national
militia.
| After reviewing the history of the
bill. prepared by his department. ana
| introduced into the Senate by MI.
Hawley and in the house by Mr. DICK
the secretary says:
| II earnestly urge that this measure
| that q nation which maintains put
small regular army and depends upon
unprofessional citizen soldlery Tor It's
defense should run along as we nave
done for one hundred and ten years
under militia law which never worked
satisfactorily in the beginning, ana
which was perfectly obsolete before any
man now fit for military duty was
born.
"The result is that we have pracu-
cally no militia system, notWlthstahd-
ing the fact that the constitution makes
il the duty of the federal congress to
provide for organizing, arming, ana
disciplining the militia and for calling
forth the militia to execute the laws Oh
| the union, suppress instructions, ana
repel invasions' The national guard
organizations of the several states nave
grown UP in default of any national
system and to meet local requirements
Their relations to the federal govern
ment have never been defined or set
| tied. The confusion, controversy, and
bad feeling arising from this uncertain
status We're painfully apparent at the
beginning of the war with Spain, and
| it must always be the same until con-
gress shall exercise its constitutional
power over the subject.
1.-THE bill which has now passed the
house is the, result of extensive and
| painstaking conference among repre-
sentatiyes of all the classes of citi-
zens especially interested in the sub.
| iect and especially qualified to eX-
press opinions upon 1t.
| THE fundamental idea of the bill is
| to recognize the value of the national
government of the national guard,
which is capable of being utilized, first,
as active militia when called out by the
president for the specific purposes
| enumerated in the constitution; second,
as an already organized volunteer force
when It's organizations respond as such
| to calls for volunteers for general mill
| tary purposes under authority of con-
| gress; and, third, as the great school OF
| the volunteer soldier, the benefits OF
| which are received by the country when
| the members of the guard respond 1ndi-
| yidually to calls for volunteers.
| "The capacity of the national guard
organizations in general to serve eff
fectively as organizations, either militia
or volunteer, in the national army in
lease of war depends very largely upon
/ the aid which they receive from the
national government. The guard is now
armed with variety of weapons of diff
ferent kinds and calibers, including two
| different calibers of the obsolete
Springfield rifle, the Lee, the Reming
ton-Lee, the Winchester, and the Krag-
Jorgensen. In several instances differ
ent national guard organizations of the
same state are armed with different
weapons of different calibers. Among
all of the $4,000 national guardsmen of
| the different states and territories only
about 1000 have the modern service
| rifle of the United States army.
/
The secretary is convinced that the
abolition OF the canteen has greatly in
| jured the morals of the service. He
gives his deductions fro.l recent reports
as follows;
ga great number of additional re-
ports have now been received, and they
confirm the impression produced by the
earlier reports. / am convinced that
| the general effect of prohibiting the use
of beer and light wines within the linn
tied area of the army post is to lead the
| enlisted men to go out of the post, to
| frequent vile resorts which cluster in
the naighborhood, to drink bad whisky
to excess, and to associate intimately
with abandoned men and more aban-
| doned women; and that the operation
of the law is to increase drunkenness,
disease Of the most loathsome kind, in
subordination and desertion, and moral
and physical degeneration.
These reports are ready to be sent to
congress whenever that body desires to
consider the subject"
The secretary urges the creation of a
general staff, declaring that the most
important thing now to be done for the
regular army.
"The numerical strength of the army
prescribed by the order of Oct. "a, 1902,
is as follows:
Cavalry ..... -. >. .. 49,. l2,24O
Artillery:
Artillery:
| Coast. $500. To- OF
i Field :. $3.50
Non-c commissioned staff and
|
Infantry. 24,4S0
Engineer battalions and band. 1,282
Additional strength for troops
stationed at the general serv-
ice and staff college, school of
application, and legation
guard, Pekin, China :. $3.50. Las
Enlisted men, staff department.
etc. ;. !. ......... 1877
! Iolal-.. ...'o otooo
"The necessary instructions have
been given prescribing the method OF
effecting the reduction required by the
order of Oct. "a, 1902, so that it will
have been completely accomplished In
the most economical way before the end
of the current fiscal year and in the
main accomplished during the next
: thirty days"
Commits Suicide by Grasping Live
Wire.
Omaha, Neb Nov. 29.-Chief Elec-
trician Shields of the Armour packing
lplants committed suicide in the pack