The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-02-01
GUARD WANTS
NEW ARM0RY
Present Building Unsuitsd For
the Purpose.
NOTHING BUT AN OLD SHACK
AFFORDS NO PROTECTION TO
GUNS AND EQUIPMENT.


The members and officers of the ma
tional guard in this city want new
armory, one that viii be a credit to the
states military organization, and will
give adequate shelter and protection
to the equipment of the guard. The
present armory, according to the Off
GERS and men, is entirely unsuited for
the purposes for which it is being used,
and is getting in such a shape that in
teresJ is being lost by many of the
members in the guard work.
1t is asserted that the building is
nothing more than q shack, that does
not protect the equipment from the
ravages of the weather and offers al
most no protection against loss of ac-
cOutrement through theft. The insur-
ance companies refuse to carry inSur-
ance on the valuable contents of the
building, and as this is government
property, and the officers are held re-
sponsible for it, a determined protest
is being made against further occu
pancy of the place.
Want Suitable Headquarters.
The spirit of discomfort with the old
quarters is general throughout the
guard. and the members of the latter
feel that the state owes it to itself to
furnish a suitable house for the prop
erty of its citizen soldiers. The matter
has been a topic of constant converSa-
ton, and every guardsman is anxious
to see the legislature take some action
on the suggestions made in his message
to that body by Governor Wells. Mat
ters have gotten into such a state that
the officers say: UNLESS the state can
give its guard a decent house to store
its property in, the guard had better
be abolished for interest will be lost
in it and it will dwindle away"
Colonel Sam Park, in discussing the
matter yesterday. said that the trouble
caused the guard by the bad condition
of the present armory was so great that
protests were being made from every
quarter
I'VE have in that building said he
"more than 100000 worth of property
belonging to the government, and the
building affords scarcely any protection
for it. Such a state of affairs is very
discouraging to a military organiza-
ton.
Captains Are Responsible.
For instance. each captain is under
bonds and is held responsible for the
equipment of his men. There are in
after, and if anything is lost he must
stand good for it. The building is in
such a shape that locks on the doors
offer no protection to the stores inside,
and we are troubled constantly by hav
ing stuff stolen.
Then, too, the building is so rickety
that the guns and other paraphernalia
are not protected from the ylclssltuoes
of the weather. It is impossible to keep
dampness out of the barracks and, as
consequence, the guns rust every time
they are put in the racks
"Then when the inspector general
comes around to make an inspection he
finds the guns in this condition and
goes after the officers and guardsmen
for not keeping them in the proper con-
dition. The men do the best they can
and to have the inspector after them
all the time about things over which
they have no control, discourages them
and causes tagging of interest.
Officers Are Discouraged.
'T tell you there are not a few Off
GERS who would just as soon not be IN
the guard. but they feel that they owe
it to the state to stay there and try to
keep up the guard. With such condf-
tions to battle against, though, you
cannot expect to have young man flock
ing to the guard for enlistment, and II
is hard work to keep things going at
the pace they should
''Then, besides all this, the building is
considered so unsafe that the insur-
ance companies will not carry insur-
ance on the contents, and all that
amount of government property is
there without any protection against
fire or other destruction. The partitions
are so thin and unstable that when any
indoor games are played or in drill
ing, any one knocks against them, it
Ioosens a lot of plaster that falls off
the wall and leaves the place in a very
bad shape. No pictures or anything of
that kind can be hung to beautify the
appearance of the quarters, for the
unstable walls will not support them
AS a result, we have a barren place,
unattractive and inadequate for the
needs of the guard.
Duty of the State.
''Ofs course, the place is much better
than the old one we had, and it is
worth the rent that is being paid for it,
but yet it is not such a place as the
guard of Utah should occupy. The gov
eminent is doing everything it can to
furnish us with the best equipment free
of cost, and the guardsmen think it is
as little as the state can do to furnish
a suitable place for the storing and
protection of this equipment.
With suitable and cOmmodious
quarters, interest. I think, would re-
vive in the guard and it could be made
what it should be- Money spent in this
way would be a good investment, too.
for should there be any trouble here it
would cost the state many times as
much as a good armory would to put
down that trouble if they had to do it
without the aid of the guard, or by the
aid of a guard that was inexperienced