The San Francisco call., 1905-01-04
MANNER OF DISTRIBUTING
FUNDS Is NOT SATISFACTORY
Poorest Counties Under Present
Laws Pay the Heaviest
for knowledge.

familiar) took the field reasonably well
armed, equipped, drilled, dlsclpilIeo,
Differed and rendered service tnal
made us all proud of every man on It's
roster.
To have newly recruited this regt-
ment out of totally inexperienced vol
unteers would have required several
weeks. To have officered, armed,
equipped, drilled, disciplined 1t, would
have required many more weeks; and,
in the meantime. disaster might have
resulted to our cause. But with many
National Guard regiments, like the
First California, from the various
States, to draw from, the United States
was able quickly to put into the Philip
pines and Cuba armies which brought
the war to a swift decision in our favor,
saved many, many lives, which, with q
long-drawn struggle would have been
sacrificed, to say nothing of the mil
lions of treasure that otherwise would
have been necessary and the disturb
ance of business and trade that would
have resulted.
Where would we have been in that
war had we not had a navy. with
Dewey, Schley and Sampson in COM
mand? We could neither have beaten
Spain nor invaded Cuba nor the Philip
pines, even had we the best army in
the world. And, without our National
armies of invasion, Dewey's victory at
Manila Bay and SIMPSONS and
Schley's destruction of Cervera's, fleet
would have netted us only modicum
of what resulted from our swift and
sure attacks on sea and land.
Therefore, / am of the opinion that
those of our fellow-citizens who de-
precate the existence of the National
Guard, and would abolish 1t, have not
given the matter sufficient thought.
Our flag, our national honor, our
citizens. and our trade and commerce
must be protected. To do this requires
navy and either a great standing
army (Which God forbid!) or a suf-
f1cient number of our people trained
quickly to form efficient armies. And
there is, think. but one way to do this,
and that is by supporting. encouraging
and maintaining State National
Guards, in which shall be preliminarily
trained in the art of war the youth of
the country.
Not only so, but there is great need
that the youth of the country shall be
taught discipline and a cheerful obedi-
ence to constituted authority. For in
our land of liberty there is liable to
arise in the mind of the individual an
idea that he owes nothing to his fellow
citizens, his city, his county, his State,
his country or his flag. No other where
| than in the National Guard is the in
| dividual so well taught to respect the
authority of those who, for the mo-
ment, may be his superior officers. No
other where than in the National
| Guard does he come into such close
contact with the flag Of his country and
learn to look upon it as the symbol of
his political and personal liberties. No
other where does he so well learn that
''in union there is strength that he is
one American citizen, whose life, liber-
ty, pursuit of happiness and property
are safest only when those of his fellow
citizens are also safest. He comes out
of the National Guard better, safer
citizen, loving his country better; more
jealous of, because he knows them bet
ter, his rights and privileges as a citi-
zen of this great nation; more impress
ed with, because he has learned some
thing of them, his responsibilities tow
ard those who. like him, are also
Americans; with greater respect for
the law and those empowered to en-
force it and, above all, impressed with
the idea that, after all, there Is no
greater, purer, more patriotic duty than
to serve his country In her hour Of
greatest need.