Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-01-25
MUST SHOOT WELL
President Roosevelt SAYS That
Should Be Object of Train
ing Soldiers.
NATIONAL GAURD MEETS
National Association Has n Rcprcacn-
tntion OF AZ states I'm Session mt
Washington Indu.triniism
Tends to Eliminate Good
Qualities of a soldier.
NATIONAL CAURD MEETS

Washington, Jan. 22.-Forty-two States
with ~ delegates were represented at the
annual meeting of the Interstate National
Guard association to-day. Senator Charles
a. DICK of Ohio, tho head Of the oreani-
zation, PRESIDED. President Roosevelt, Sec
rotary TAFT. Assistant Secretary of War
Oliver ana senator Dick were among the
speakers. The President spoke to the del
egatos III the east room of the White
House as follows:
Il trust it is hardly necessary for me
to say what genuine pleasure it is to me
to-day to greet this orennization | have
been member of the national guard
myself. and both at the time when I was
governor Gas the present assistant secre-
tary of war can testify and since | have
been President and even when ] was as
ways done all that in me lay to further
the interests of the national guard.
Il have good many things on hand,
but one of the things that are interesting
me most at present, is the encoura ge-
ment of rife practice in the national
guard ] want to have it understood that
| do not care anything like as much
for how your regiments march and per-
manoeuvres as care for how they are
instructed in the work that would Ike
them valuable as soldiers in time of war.
I earnestly hope that the national guard
and the regular army also, especially
the regular army will more and more
have the kind of instruction that will
make it second nature for the man who
marches to march fully equipped as he
would be in time of war.
IF he is trained to march that way
he will not throw away his equipment
the first time he goes to war, otherwise
he will do it. I want to see the average
national guardsman know how to shoot
well. ] want to see the fund that we
have for rife practice distributed
among the several state organizations
partly at least with reference to the
way in which those State organization
promote craftsmanship. I want to see
the young fellow who has been through
the national guard receive a training
which will make him able to do his
work in time of war if the need comes
In n great industrial civilization such
as ours we may Just as we'll face the
fact that there is constant
tendency to do away with. to climina te
those qualities which make n man n
good soldier. 1t should he the stead !.
object of every legislator. of every OK
ocutiNe officer. and, above all, of YOU
gentlemen who have to do with the ma
tohal guard to try to encourage those
qualities, to try to counteract the tom
dency toward their elimination. Every
officer of the national guard should
train his men the whole time as if he
was training them with a view to pos
sible action, so that the men under him
will be trained by him to have those
habits OF body and mind which will rem
der him formidable as soldier in the
field. You should try to train your men
so they can live in the open, train them
so they will know what cover is so they
VIII J." able to take advantage Of il, so
they will know how to march and marcn
well, and YOU should realize the relative
Importance of what it is that the men
under YOU learn that as war is carried
on nowadays, 90 per cent. of the ord nary
work done either on the parade ground
or in the armory either by a militia
regiment or "A regular amounts to NOT ling
whatever in the way of training except
so far as the incidental effect it has in
accustoming the men to act together ana
to obey; but they are not going to fight
shoulder to shoulder when they &c. ,ut
into the field. 1t is absolutely not of the
slightest consequence what their align
ment is but it is of vital consequence
that they shall know how to take cover
how to shoot and how to make them
selves at home under any circumstances
I'VE have such Il small regular army
that you men of the national guard have
upon you a heavy responsibility. I want
You to take your duties seriously and do
them with all your heart, if you do even
that YOU do more good to the nation than
any equal body of citizens to be found in
Dur country"
INITIAL BUSINESS MEETING.
At the initial business meeting of tho
association the executive committee rec
action in favor Of the bills
pending in Congress for the benefit OF the
citizen soldcry.
Secretary Taft, in his address. pointed
out that the army proper is nothing but
the skeleton upon which is to be placed
the fesh-the national guard or the vol
untecr forces-when the emergency may
arise. Mr., TAFT paid tribute to General
divers knowledge of national guard af-
fairs, which he said, was one of the things
assistant secretary.
General Oliver. in his remarks. suggest
ed that if the guardsmen pulled together
and stood together, they would get what
they wanted.