The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1904-12-24


principally to officers rather than to en-
listed men,
Our material is such that with pains
taking, dignified and Jealous officers our
National Guard may be made as soldier
ly as regular army troops. The best of
material with weak or incompetent
commandant, or a competent but indiffer-
ent, lazy and unambitious officer, will
make poor organization, while a bast-
ling faithful officer, with wholesome
pride in his command, may make a most
excellently disciplined command out of
most ordinary material. The companies
which make the best showings are those
having the best officers.
sThere is a feeling insensbly COM
municated to and imbibed by the COM
mand if an officer is not prompt in at
tention to small details, punctillious in
things go as good enough when he
might achieve infinitely better results.
The weakest spot in the service of the
National Guard is the indifference and
lack of study and application on the part
of certain line officers.
ssIn the excellent report of Assistant
Inspector General Lewis r. Bryant, he
says: AS the Guard is gradually assum-
ing closer relation with the regular es-
tablishment, every effort should be made
to have it acquire the finish, which marks
the true soldier The lack of that finish
is marked by an oversight of small
points, a slouchy and careless carriage
and method of drill, and the ap-
parent evidence of company command
ant holding his position in the hope that
some field officer may soon die or resign,
whereby he may be elected to ride
horse and be relieved from weekly drills
General Condor comments upon the
happy decrease i'm the number of absen-
tees which he takes as evident elimina-
tion of dead wood The absentees from
muster numbered this year only 259. a
flife less than per cent, against 454,
or 8 per cent. in 1908, and 4SS, or 10 per
cent. in 1902. The First Regimtnt mus
tered this year with only Is members alb
sent The Inspector-G eneral remarks,
however, a very strange and unaccounta-
BILE change in the average percentage of
men present during the year at weekly
drills in the First, Fourth and Fifth regi-
merits. The percentage of yearly duty
in the First was only 43 per cent,
against 96 6-1O per cent. in 1903; in the
Fourth 40 per cent. against IA per cent
and in the Fifth ~ per cent. as compared
with 67 per cent. in the previous year.
This evidences something wrong in
Denmark. is the comment made by Gem
eneral Congdon. so radically wrong
he adds, '.that immediate and effacious
attention should be given to it. The off
GERS, and they alone are accountable for
the discipline of their companies, and an
officer with heartfelt desire for high
discipline and pride n the efficiency
of his men would never allow such slim
attendance at drills to go ON week after
week without a determination to ascer-
tain and remove the underlying cause,
even if that be his individual and partic-
ular self 1t would seem that active
court-martial work ought to be gotten
under way without delay in several COM
mands. The poorest showings in this
matter Of attendance at weekly drills are
as follows: In the First, Regiment three
companies, rating 80, 35 and IS per cent.
respectively; in the Fourth Regiment
three companies, 3s, 80 and 36 per cent
respectively, and in the Fifth, two com
panies with 81 per cent. each"