Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-25

portant part in the early part Of that
conflict and later furnished hundreds
OF officers to- other commands. Mr..
Esch believes that 'thad there been a
second line of 150, 000Sor 100000 men
as we'll drilled, equipped and organiz-
ed as these few regiments, the story
OF the rebellion might have been told
IN one chapter instead of a Dozen"
The most recent illustration of the
weakness of the second line was shown
in the Spanish-American war AT the
outbreak the organized militia was
nominally 114,000 men. Upon the call
for volunteers the President assumed
that at least 100000 men would report
for duty, armed and equipped for SER
vice. The men reported promptly, in
fact, the recruiting officers were SUBJ
merged by flood of applications for
service, but it was soon found that the
arms and equipments were, in many
cases, old and worthless. Uniforms
were not UP to the standard, and, in
many instances, men appeared in civil
ian clothes, without arms and with lit
tie or no military training.
1t was found that the cavalry and
artillery arms of the militia were COM
paratively nil. Twenty of the states
had no cavalry organization and thir
teen had no artillery. 1t was also
found that ten states required no eX-
animation for commissioned officers.
This lack of cavalry and artillery re-
mains unsupplied and in the event of
another war, the regulars would be the
chief dependence for these arms.
1t is believed that the revision of
the national law passed by the last
congress will do much to improve the
conditions in the national guard. 1t is
the purpose of this measure to secure
the cooperation of the regular army
and the state troops. In organization,
armament, discipline and instruction
the regular army is to serve as stan
dard The obsolete Springfield rifles
with which the militianen were equip
ped at the opening of the conflict with
Spain, are being rapidly supplanted by
the Krag -Jorgensens. The revised and
simpler tactics of the regulars are to
be used. To the annual regimental
encampments are to be added brigade
and division encampments, in connec-
ton with the regular troops.
This law, the increase of 81 100000
in the annual appropriation; the dis
tribution Of the new rifles and ammu-
milton are already infusing new life in
to our second line of defense and it
would appear that it is now to become
what it was originally intended to be
under the constitution.
with a standing army which for
one hundred years did not exceed 25,-
900 men and which today does not ex-
coed 10000" adds Mr.. Esch, eve
ought to feel all the greater interest
in improving, increasing and strength
ening our second line, the national
guard. 1t costs the state and federal
government at present less than $33
per man annually, as compared with
$1,000 per man in our regular army,
and about $3.50 per man for the hun
dreds of thousands in the standing ar
my of Germany. For our home defence,
therefore, our people need never groan
and sweat beneath the weary load OF
a Pretorian army. With out national
guard placed upon sure and respecta-
BILE footing, we shall have demonstrate
ed to the nations of the earth how to
arm ourselves SO that every citizen
shall provide the nation with a sol
der, and yet no soldier deprive the
nation of single citizen"