Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-21


1t is doubtful II discipline can ever be at
tanned, as long the elective system pre-
walls"
Established in Forty Nine States.
Other pertinent extracts from Col Brit
toms essay follow:
THE National Guard is established in
forty-nine states and territories in thirty
eight Of which it is known by that term,
and In the others State Guard State
National Guard Volunteers State
Troops or Volunteer Guard In 1897.
preceding the Spanish war, its aggregate
organized strength. as reported to the War
Department, was ia .S62. There were 9,1e6
commissioned officers. consisting of SO gen. .
erals, GIG general staff officers, S.222 reg!-
mental field, staff and company officers and
los, l66 enlisted men. as follows: Twenty
thousand four hundred and fifty-five nom
commissioned officers, AGA musicians and
So.O61 prfvates. OF these forces 497S were
cavalry. 5.0S5 artillery and 10o,179 infan-
try The greatest strength was In New
York. 1892. and the least, 361, In New
''Thirty-one states held encampments. the
highest percentage OF attendance having
peen In Pennsylvania, 9S; the lowest in
Idaho. 1.-THE average being IS per cent
Inc number OF men liable to military duty
at that time was upward of 10000 o0O-be-
tween eighteen and forty-fve years of age
physically fit and not exempt Five states
had division organizations In n few the
NUMBER OF general officers was dispropor-
'iohate TO the strength Of the organizations.
The Making of Soldier.
The good WILL courage and physical
strength of the individual does not Of itself
make a soldier fit for active service Not
even when supplemented by instruction in
manual drill and cramped movements in
an armory. He must know how to take
care of himself I'm camp and on the march.
what 10 DO and what not to do, in order
10 Withstand the fatigue of military life and
Keep out OF the hospital. He must compre-
hend the drudgery which forms such a con-
siderable part of his duties IN active serv-
Ice He must become familiar with his
weapon and be made to understand fits use
ana care as well as that of all his other
belongings. He must be practiced in firing
The few weaklings will shrink from ex-
ertion outside of holiday parades but the
desirable recruit will welcome it.
More good men are kept out of the ranks
or the National Guard because this service
is considered of slight Importance as a
military organization, but rather a kind of
state military police, handy to back up the
sherin, than by the prospect of a soldiers
real work. There could be no objection TO
the latter If the former was the main Ves
ture.
when the standard of efficiency shall be
recognized In the community as high and
thereby its true public utility become
known, Its appeal to the American youth
will not be in vain.
Educating Line and Staff Officers.
THE grand practical educator of line and
staff officers and men lies in the camp of
instruction and its field maneuvers This
should be annual and about two weeks In
duration. One week gives too little useful
time after deducting getting settled, on
arriving and getting ready to leave, and
in few cases could men devote more than
two weeks. Any and all work which can
be done in armories should not be left for
mnmpnf rTrOnnc CHI he
oughly prepared to get the most out of the
encampment training. The annual encamp-
ment should contain, wherever possible, the
entire body of troops in any state and
should be held In the state itself
The War Department should encamp
with the state encampment body of reg
ular troops. Only those that have had
practical experience can know the advan-
tages of this object lesson. Regular off,
GERS, as a rule are not accessible TO the
enlisted men of the National Guard, but
the non-commissioned officers are there
both in example and precept. The encamp-
ment should be working camp. with no
advance preparations beyond me space, ex-
cept customary suitability as to drainage
water, etc. Pampering men with a ready
made camp, mess hall and caterer not only
defeats utterly the purpose and usefulness
of the camp but stamps the occasion as a
holiday affair. Men appreciate the real
thing and enjoy 1t In preference to the
make believe The make believe disaf-
fects those that know what the real thing
to those who do not"
Notes.
Sergeant VIM. Henry Barstow has been
commissioned second lieutenant of Com
pany B. 18th Battalion.
DIR. Charles Harvey Bowker has been
commissioned surgeon of the 9th Battalion,
with rank of first lieutenant.
talon, have been ordered to assemble next
Monday evening, March %, for the pur-
pose of electing first lieutenant
Privates Delfosse Greene, Clarence Eek
stein, Henry T. Manly and John P. Myers,
have been discharged'in the interest of the
service.
The company of infantry mustered in the
10th instant has been officially assigned as
Company c. ID Battalion. j. Harry Bean
elected captain, Milton ]. Ernest elected
first lieutenant and Leonard H. Johnson
elected second lieutenant, have been ordered
to appear before the brigade board for ex-
animation April 10 next
Major Bell, inspector general Of rifle
practice, District of Columbia militia with
the idea of affording the local High School
Cadets an opportunity to indulge in rifle
practice, has suggested that the old tar
gets used at the rife gallery of the Center
market armory be set apart for the use OF
the cadets.
The following have been honorably dis
charged because of removal from the Dis
trict of Columbia: Private John E Hast
ings, ambulance corps; Sergeant Walter z.
Crawford and Privates Charles NJ. Helper
William A Miller and George w. Morris.
all of Company d, 9Th Battalion, and Ser
geant Edward E. Thompson, Company c.
9th Battalion.
TEACHING WEATHER SIGNS.