The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-22
THIS NATIONAL GUARD

The bill for the reorganization of the
National Guard was submitted to the
National Guards association in session
at Washington yesterday by special
committee. 1t is believed that the present
congress will act favorably upon meas
ure which makes provision for the greater
effectiveness Of the militia in drill and
equipment. In the latter essential, the
militia now organized are greatly def
cient. Only in recent years has there
been an earnest effort to remedy the de-
feet. Organized militia to be efficient
ought to be trained in the use of the arms
and ammunition and artillery which they
will handle in the event Of call to active
service. They need to have such meas
ure Of field service that they will be pre-
pared in large measure for the actualities
OF war. ~
Senator Teller made a speech in the
senate the other day in which he repeated
the old and well-worn argument that it
is not necessary to keep the militia on a
war footing because they are always ready
for service and can be depended on for
efficiency as we'll as a regular army. This
line of argument is fallacious. We hear
much said about the Greeks at Their
mopylae and the work of Garibaldi S
volunteers, but the Greeks were always
trained from babyhood to be soldiers, and
Galibaldi's militia was composed of men
who had generally had considerable
amount of military training. So it was
with Napoleons armies. They were not
: raw militia, as has sometimes been said,
but most of them had experience in the
storm and stress of war.
In our own civil war, it is the opinion
of military experts that, had our militia
been trained in the use of arms and the
stress of marching and camping, the war
would have been concluded fully year
or two before it was. The preponderance
of power is always with the government
which can command well-organized and
equipped force, having all the essential
means and appliances of modern warfare
The nearer we can come to this condition
through the perfection of our militia or
ganiZation, the less we shall have to fear
from war suddenly brought upon us. A
nation WHICH CAL eleCC luODlllLdllOu IL
two or three weeks is reasonably secure
other things being equal.
The protests in this country against
army increase in 1900 were largely insin.
cere, and it is not 'uncharitable to make
the observation. The cutlery against reg
ular army is to a great extent politica
protest by men who think they can in
flame the public against the existing gov
eminent and administration The profess
formity Of militia methods with the reg
ular army is largely demagogic also. Their
is no more danger in this country from
scientifically organized militia than there
is in Switzerland, where the militia cal
be modified in a week and in perfec
readiness for service. We have vas
unorganized militia force, which SHOULD
be organized so scientifically and practi
cally that the men will always be pre-
pared for actual campaigning and the of
ficers prepared by field work to develo
their strategical talents. Our regula
army now is merely the nucleus OF a suf
ficient war force to be developed by tn
addition of a well-trained, organize
militia. The latter we must have as in
surance against danger through foreig
war, or domestic INSTRUMENTATION an
anarchy. ...- -.