Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-20
Gen. Thrift Proposes to Give the
Militia Plenty Of ofTarget
Practice
QUALITIES THAT COUNT in WAR
Aim Of the New Adjutant Will bs
to Make the Men Efficient for War
Rather Than Dress Parade-cheap
Rates for the G. A. r. Eneamp-
ment-othsr News.
Special to Times-Republican:

0pCCidl W 1i1nSo~4sSPuNAASoAAs
Des Moines, March 2O.-Iowa guards
will get about all the ammunition
they can use this year for target prac-
tice. 1t is the belief Of Adjutant Cen
eral w. III. Thrift that it is much more
important that man should be able
to shoot straight than that he should
be proficient In the matter of drill and
the like. The general is evry partic-
ular about the efficiency Of militia
men as to all points and takes partic-
ular pride and delight in seeing COM
pany of men so thru the maneuvers
with regularity and skill but he
thinks the efficiency Of an army for
warfare, the thing for which it is in
tended primarily, depends on the abil-
| ity of the man behind the gun. Gen.
the federal govement to make appro-
| priations for civilians for target tprac-
tice and for gun cluhs. He says the
state militia or national guard is not
taken care Of yet properly and the
first expenditures should be for 1t. In
case civilian organizations are en-
couraged to practice target shooting he
thinks it should always be with an
army rifle and equipment The state
Of Iowa does not appropriate enough
money for the use of the guards for
| target practice now and especially is
deficient on paying for the rifle ranges.
General Thrift thinks this year, how
ever, every company can get all the
practice 1t wishes. No ammunition
will be issued unless the companies
use it, but every encouragement and
inducement will be held out to the men
to practice.
| Adjutant General Newman, Of the
Iowa department of the G. A. r, has
received word from therailroads to the
effect that one faEe for the round trip
will be allowed for the annual encamp-.
ment at Oskaloosa in May except for
points where the fare is one dollar or
less. In such cases the fare will be
one and one third for the round trip.
For the past ten years the department
has always had rate of one fare for
the round trip. The rate this year
gives that to all points Of the state ex-
cept those in Mahaska county and
close by There will not be enough
time left now to take the matter up
again with the railroads in the hope
of getting less rate, so the matter
will be allowed to stand as 1T Is. All
but a small part of the state will have
| the same rate as in former years.
80
| Members of the Iowa library COM
mission will meet in the offices of, the
secretary in the state house Thurs
day for the regular meeting. Nothing
| but regular business will come up at
| the meeting SO far as Is known now.
| The commission in fact has but little
power and can do little more than act
| in an advisory capacity to the secre-
tary This is because of the hostile
legislation passed when the commits
sion was created. 1t has been the hope
of the friends of the commission who
are aware of the work that is being
commission, that the next legislature
would remedy this. The members of
the commission regularly appointed are
Mrs. Harriet c. Towner Of Corning;
Witter II. Johnston, Fort Dodge; Mrs.
Elizabeth S. Norris, of Grinnell, and
Mrs. Anna B. Howe, of Marshalltown.
| They serve without compensation but
have their travelling expenses paid.
State Librarian Johnson Brigham is
ex- officio president and Superintendent
Riggs and President Mclean Of the
state university are ex-officio mem
bers.
Over in Nebraska they are looking
| to the Iowa railroad commission as a
model. A letter from George G. jun
kin, chairman of the committee on ac-
counts and expenditures of the house,
asks for the abstracts for railroad re-
ports for 1904, if printed, and says
Eve look to Iowa as a state which has
.. model method of handling railroad
rate questions The legislature out
there is planning to pass some railroad
|legislation and Mr. Junkin is looking
for information and ideas.
/ Dwight n. Lewis, secretary of the
railroad commission, believes that a
| great deal of good will be the outcome
| of the meeting in Chicago of the COM
mittee of the national association of
| railroad commission secretaries. With
the committee a large number of rail-
road men met The purpose of the
meeting was to devise a method or rule
that should be uniform in all states
| for determining what per cent of the
money expended by railroad In re-
pairs and Improvements should be
classed in the operating expenses and
| what part as betterments. The mat
| tor ;c ono of dacf6ed interest to the
public altho at first sight it might
appear to be merely technGality. For
| instance, If railroad replaces wood
en- bridge with a steel one in order
to keep up the efficiency OF the road
and handle the increased traffic and
the steel bridge costs three times as