Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-30
UNP REPAIRED FOR WAR
Weakness of the Military Arm
Upon Which Country Depends.
DEFECTS OF THE DICK LAW
Admirable Provisions Stricken Out by
Congress.
TRAINING OF THE MILITIA
Washington Declared That Only Reg
ulars Could Be Relied Upon-Size
and Cost of Standing Army.
TRAINING OF THE MILITIA
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald
Mr.. Frederick L. Huidekoper of this city,
Who' py his writings, is becoming quite an
authority on military subjects, has furnish
ed the North American Review an article
upon the unpreparedness of the United
States for war, which contains q great
deal of valuable information The author
has been looking into things pretty thor
oughiy. He has compiled many interesting
facts and statistic which have never been
brought together before and offers cogent
arguments new and old, in favor of an in
crease in the regular army and better
preparation for emergencies. He admits
that there has been a great Improvement
IN the National Guaru, but he thinks it is
still q weak staff for any government To
lean upon. His criticisms are likely~to ex-
cite great deal of indignation among the
members of the militia throughout the
country. He gives a long list of engaee
mehtS In which the militia ran aWay or de-
serted IN time of emergency and in the face
Vi the enemy, and reciteS several instances
When they were guilty of mutiny His an
thofity is stated in each case He alec 70
1ers to ten instances in when individual
states nave defied the United States gov
Its services. Ava
rs not the above glorious record for
us Americans to contemplate" he asks.
We VINO are SO prone to boasting of the
proves OIL our citizen soldiers? Yet these
results are by no means surprising in view
or the utter lack OF a definite military mol
Icy, which has always characterized the
measures of the legislators who frame our
military laws and mold our military organ
lzatfons. Our sages In the CAPITOL have
shown that they believe that because our
people individually possess courage, forti-
tude and self-relialce, in the highest de-
gree, they must necessarily possess the
same qualities When aggregated as SOL
dlers AT certain periods, as, for example
that just prior to the first battle of u
Run. the measures passed demonstrated
that Congress actually believed that an
army actuated by patriotism needed neither
instruction nor discipline to prepare it for
war"
Mr. Huidekoper does not blame the in
dlViduals, but condemns the system upon
which militia and volunteer uefeuses
are based. He apologies for the officers
who, drawn from professional and mercan-
tile pursuits have, of necessity, had but lit
tie time or opportunity to master the null
hilarious details which ought to be perfect
ly familiar to every one who leads troops
but, nevertheless, althousA these officers
cannot justly be blamed for their igno-
rance or their lack Of training, they are
responsible for an enormous expense to the
public treasury and appalling sacrifice
of life.
The condition of the militia is much bet
ter now than it was in 1861 when the gov
eminent depended entirely upon raw re-
cruitS for defense, or in 1898 when we had
considerable organization which served
chiefly to emphasize the defects of the sys-
tenn. Since then there has been reor-
ganization and great deal or improvement,
but we have not made the progress that is
necessary, he says, and recent legislation,
for the improvement of the militia, al
though well-meant, and, to a certain ex-
tent, beneficial, is not sufficient, and
tains extremely glaring defects which sub
stantially defeat the very purpose for which
the Act to Promote the Efficiency of the
Militia" approved January q, 1903, and
commonly known as the Dick bill, was in
tended.
The Dick Bill Mutilated.
AS originally introduced, Mr.. Huidekoper
says. it contained a number of admirable
provisions which were stricken out by the
stupidity of Congress, and features were
inserted which should have been omitted
He points out the chief defects as follows:
/. The law refuses to allow militia to
be called out for more than nine months.
2. Governors of states have the right to
regiments who are to be mustered into the
service and receive their pay from the
United States government.
3. Appointments from the list of officers
examined and found qualified shall not
apply TO organized militia regiments which
volunteer organizations.
4. The original provision for the crea-
ton of a volunteer reserve of 100000 men
in time of peace was stricken out and no
provision whatever made for such a re-
serve.
AS a result of this legislation the Presi-
dent would have at his disposal in time of
war only the regular army, with maxi
mum force of 100000 men. and an organ
lied militia of A. 25 men, who could serve
only nine months, making total of only
IA, 525 men who have any training or or
ganization. Beyond this he would be COM
PEELED to depend upon state volunteers COM
manded by officers appointed by governors
without regard to experience, fitness or
training.
Little Training of Militia.
1.-The crux of the entire question lies in
the efficiency of the militia or volunteers,
which can only be gagged by their train
ing" Mr.. Huidekoper argues. "All things
considered, Pennsylvania possesses the best
state militia in the country. yet its actual
training is confined to one week in camp
and about seventy hours of drill and in
struction during each calendar year. and
furthermore, there are no arnnories in the
United States which permit the maneu-
verjng of large bodies of troops such as
are necessary in actual war At the he.