The morning journal-courier., 1908-06-17
TIN SOLDIERS PASS Their Day in 0. N. G. Has Pass ed Away, Says Adjutant-
 General. CARE OF STATE PAUPERS Edward Segur Tells About His New Charges--Attack on Railroad Commission Resented.

The day of the tin soldier Is past In the c. N. G.. said Adjutant General Cole this week in commenting on the passage of the militia bill by congress, according to a special Hartford cor respondence of tho New London Day. General Cole said further that he eX- poets the great improvements that have taken place in the C. N. c. dur ing the past few years will continue. It Is no exaggeration to say that un- der the law, passed in the administra- ton of Governor Mclean, making the position of adjutant general perman- ent, the state militia has been trans formed and that 1t has become. what 1t could never have become with temporary adJutant general at the head of it an efficient part of the na- tional guard. ready to defend the fed- eral government as well as to main- tain the state government General Cole has worked for this with might and main. The task which he had set before him was one of great mag nitude and he realized that fact lie
 knew that he would have opposition
 to encounter, prejudice to combat and
 jealousy to overcome. To succeed he
 required the suavity of the diplomat
 as we'll as the directness of the sol- dier. It soon became clear that Gem eral Cole was single-minded in his purpose and sincere in his aims When these facts were recognized by the members of the general assembly and by the members of the C.. N. C., the accomplishment of his purpose be- came comparatively easy matter,
 It Is interesting to recall the sessCn of the general assembly at which the first radical change was made in the c. N. c. The bill was reported by the committee on military affairs of which Herbert c. Baldwin of Beacon Falls, the father of Alfred c. Baldwin, the clerk of the last senate, was chair man. Mir. Baldwin was an old soldier and he understood what was required of military men. but he had not the gift of eloquent expression. The speech in explanation of the bill was made by Capt. Jerome Donovan, who was one of the representatives of New Haven. William A. King of Wind ham was a leader of the house and without the slightest whimper of dis sent from anyone the bill. that took our military affairs out of politics and started the movement for a militia that would be in very truth a body of soldiers having a soldiers instinct and a soldiers ambition, was passed.
 Edward E. Segur, who has been ap- pointed by the comptroller to take charge of the administration of the new state pauper law passed at the last session of the general assembly, spoke very interestingly the other ay in his office in the capitol on the op- eration of the law. There are to-day. probably, about 1000 state paupers in the state; that Is. there are that num- Der of dependent poor supported by the towns, but for whose mainte- nance the towns will be reimbursed by the state. Since last october, when the law went into effect, the number of state paupers has been increased by about 1,700. The relief that has come to the towns from this law Is very much appreciated by the local authorities. It Is impossible at the present time to even estimate the ex- pense which this new law will create for the state as no uniform rate of charge for support can be fixed. Local conditions largely regulate the ex- pense of maintaining paupers in towns and on this account it Is difficult to determine from the expense in one