Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-18
FACTS OF THE D. enc
Some Interesting Informa-
ton About Local Militia.
COST OF ORGANIZATION
SAID TO LEAD MILITIA OF U. S.
IN EFFICIENCY.
Need for an Armory-Have No Full
Dress Uniforms and Seldom
on Parade.

at strikes me that the time has come to
say some plain things to the people of the
District about the local National Guard"
said citizen who has served his term in
the organization and is an Interested STU
dent of military affairs in general. THE
amount of tommyrot that is published in
certain papers in the District about the cit
izen soldiery and the ignorance that ex-
lists among the people who talk the most
about it, is enough to make person pos
sessed of only ordinary intelligence dis
gusted with mankind. In the first place, it
might be said there are not two persons
out of a hundred among the population Of
this section who know one single thing
about the organization, and at least one of
these two has forgotten all the facts. Such
dense ignorance on subject of such rel
alive Importance would not be tolerated for
an instant in any other section of the coun-
try, and it seems to me to be particularly
out of place here.
II think that the time has come to place
before the people a few plain facts con-
nected with the organization which are
matters of common knowledge to those
persons who have taken the trouble to in
veStigate. This comes in particularly handy
in view of the bill pending in Congress and
approved by the militia committees for the
reorganization of the militia of the Dis
trict.
the District National Guard costs about
800 600 per year to maintain. This is ridic-
ulous and absurd. The appropriation of as
much money as has been needed for the
support OF the militia is actually absurd
in one particular at least, as an average of
$4,000 per year has been paid out in rents
for armories, an expense which could be
absolutely done away with If Congress
would only see the economy of erecting a
suitable armory. The largest appropria-
ton ever made for the militia was that for
the year 1903, $59145. OF this amount
S1S,S25 went for rent, fuel and repairs to
practice ships and armories, and more than
half of the remainder was used to paw the
troops, a feature that was not inaugurated
in the District militia until 1901. Before
that the troops gave up their time, which
represented money, for absolutely nothing.
while other militia organizations through.
out the country were being paid at a good
rate. They are being paid now more than
the members of the local organization are
drawing.
By Way Of Comparison.
Just for comparison in 1901, the first
year the pay of troops for the District be-
gan, the appropriation made by Congress
for the support OF the local militia, includ-
ing the naval battalion, was $53375. The
strength of the organization at that time
was about 800 officers and men. The state
OF Connecticut in the same year with an
organized strength of 2.945 officers and men.
paid $156, 095.9S for their support. this ev
elusive of the allotment made to Connecti.
cut from the sum of 81 600 600 appropriated
by Congress for the support of the militia
of the United States. Connecticut last year
appropriated $4,000 for a new arnlory to
be located at Hartford.
$50 much for the expenditure of money
and the amount the taxpayers are taxed to
provide for their militia.
''The entire lifetime of the organized