Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-17
THE NATIONAL. GUARD
Holiday Season Lull in Local
Military Circles.
OFFICERS DRILLIN G.
LACK OF INTEREST IN ADVANCE
MENT OF REGIMENTS.
Sharp Note to Colonies - For an En-
gineer Company Practice
With Rifles Abroad.

Tie annGa! Christmas monday SEASON. is
having an effect in local militory cir
Giles. SO many officers and enlisted men
of the National Guard of the District of Co.
lumbia are engaged in lines of business
that require their attention evenings dur
ing the present shopping period that drills
and other assemblies at the armories are
of necessity but sllmly attended. So far as
the Naval Battalion is concerned, drills
were last Thursday evening formally sus-
Iended until January next The latter
date Commander Stratton will assume
active command of the organization of
tackles. The new commander has paid two
visits to the U. S. S. Puritan and seems to
be entirely satisfied with the condition Of
things there.
At the assembly for instruction last Tues
day evening in the drill hall of the Center
Market Armory. under the direction of Cap
tain Muir of the War Department general
staff ninety-one officers of the brigade
were in attendance. The officers drilled
with rifles and. In addition to other Work
instruction was given in the manual OF
arms and in stacking. under the revised
Infantry drill regulations. There seems to
be little that is intricate in the extended
order portion of the book. so at the as
sembly next Wednesday evening Captain
Muir will be requested to clear up any
doubtful points in the school of the bat
talon that may exist. The assembly next
Wednesday will be the last of the SERIES
as all available time thereafter until tie
4th of March will be required for the IN
struction of the enlisted men.
New Army Needed.
The disinclination on the part of the
House of Representatives to permit the
use of the pension bureau building for the
holding therein of the next inaugural ball
has again raised hope in the breasts of
District National Guardsmen that Congress
will provide for the brigade suitable
armory building with a hall of sufficient
size to make ii available as the place for
holding the inaugural balls of the future.
1t is pointed out that new armory build
ing is as much needed as is a place for
holding the inaugural balls.
Nothing official has yet been received at
District militia headquarters from the War
Department in regard to the new uniform
requirements. At headquarters 1t is reiter-
ated that just soon as the latest uniform
order comes to hand the brigade will be ad-
vised in relation to just what will be ex-
pected of it's members in regard to clothing
and equipment.
Sharp Note to Colonies.
The commanding officers of the 1st and
ID Regiments have each received a sharp
note setting forth that November o last
headquarters addressed them a letter re-
questing them to submit a scheme of
theoretical and practical instruction for
their respective regiments during the pres
eht uriil season. AuJutant General Brett
in his latest note says:
II am directed by the commanding gem
eral to inform you that no reply has been
received to that letter. though more than a
month has passed; that your failure to give
the subject your most earnest and earliest
attention must naturally be Interpreted as
demonstrating a lack of interest in the
progressive advancement of the regiment:
and that colonies cannot expect enthusiasm
and efficiency from their subordinate Off
GERS II they do not point the way and lead
n fhair a,,ix
tions.'
What Was Wanted.
The letter of November . called upon
the regimental commanders and certain
others to submit to headquarters at an
early date scheme for the practical and
theoretical instruction of their commands
for the drill year ending June 80, 1905. 1t
was set forth that the theoretical course
should embrace Rotations by officers ard
non-commissoned officers in separate
schools, In the new drill regulations man
ual of guard duty and small arms firing
regulations supplemented by lectures and
talks by field officers on current military
topics.
The practical course should embrace the
revised drill regulations to include the
school OF the battalion, guard duty and
target practice.
Nothing must interfere with the regular
weekly drill of not less than one hour and
half by each organization
Both the theoretical and practical courses
must be interesting, instructive and pro-
gressive, embracing only so much as can
be mastered by the average officer and
non-commissioned officer during the cur
rent drill season.
In this connection attention was directed
TO the idle time which Invariably follows
even short season of active effort Much
efficiency is lost by these frequent lapses
and for this loss there is no compensate
ing advantage. 1t was declared. To avoid
SuCn SIickneSS carefully nlanpad
thoroughly executed program Is essential
in the opinion of headquarters
The commanding general also expressed
the desire that each regimental commander
take the necessary steps to raise n reRi-
mental fund to promote the efficiency Of
ms organizat ton and to meet the legitimate
expenses that arise and which have been
met hitherto from appropriations intended
for other purposes.
In response to the last note Col May
commanding the 1st Regiment, has stated
that he Is convinced that no satisfactory
action could be taken until after the holt
days. He added that he shall with the
utmost dispatch comply with the instruc-
tons OF the commanding general and sub
init scheme for the practical and thcoreti-
cal instruction of his command
For an Engineer Company.
The bin now pending in Congress for the
reorganization OF the National Guard of the
District Of Columbia is to be amended so
as TO provide for an engineer company, as
follows:
THE engineer company shall consist of
one captain, two first lieutenants, one sec
ond lieutenant. one first sergeant. one quar-
termaster sergeant, with the rank, pay and
allowances OF sergeant; eight sergeants,
ten corporals two musicians, two cooks
Is first-class and IS second class privates:
Provided. That the commanding general
may. in his discretion, increase the number
of sergeants in the company to twelve, the
number of corporals TO eighteen. the num-
Der OF first-class privates to GA and the
number of seeond-cless privates to "a
1t Is stated that there is every indication
that the bill will be enacted during the
present session of Congress.
Rifle Practice Abroad
An interesting statement has been made
concerning rifle practice in the Netherlands.
Considerable interest is taken In this SUBJ
ject by the government of the Netherlands.
and much encouragement is given to the
formation Of rifle clubs and to the practice
with The military weapon Of that country.