The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-10-18
NATIONAL GUARD
CRITICAL OATE
Appropriation Cut Off if Mill
tia Is Not up to the
Standard

Washington, Oct. 1S.-January 1
next will be critical date in the his
tory of the national guard for there
after no portion of the money appor-
toned by congress for the support of
the militia can be paid to any organi-
zation that fails to conform to the
standards of the regular army. The
Dick bill of 1908, Originally pre-
scribed a period of five years for the
bringing about of the considerable
changes necessary to place the
guardsmen in uniformity of organiza-
ton and equipment with the regular
soldier. But as that time Anit ap-
preached it was found that very few
OF the states had been able to con-
form, SO an extension was granted
until January q, 1919.
AS that date grows near, the officers
of the war department. who are direct
ly charged with the administration of
the laws governing the relations of
! the department with the militia are
taking stock of the work accom-
plished and calculating the percentage
of the national guard as it stands to-
day that will be thus qualified to OBJ
tain governmental support. Through
its system OF inspection of militia or
ganizations by regular officers. the
war department is in possession of
somewhat exact information regard
ing the conditions. The detail results
will be made public in the forthcom-
ing annual report Of Col. +. NJ. Weav-
er. chief of t. G division of militia
affairs.
1t may be stated that on the whole
the war department expresses great
satisfaction in the prospect and the
apparent success attending the work.
ings of the Dick bill. Next year. for
the first time in its history. the militia,
or so much of it as remains under
the caption of "the national guard"
will he found armed with the latest
pattern of military rifles: clothed from
head to foot in regular army gear:
supplied with all regular equipment
and with ranks filled to the require
ments Of the law.
The task has been one of consider
able magnitude. and that the difficult
Ties have been met and overcome by
so many of the states and territories
of the union is held by the department
as rejecting much credit upon the
national guard officers. In many
cases the companies and regiments
were mere skeletons--twenty-tiv men
made up an average company in many
states. Some organizations had snowy
dress uniforms for parades but lacked
the homely. business like khaki out
fits required for field service. Still
others had only fragments of any kind
of uniform-perhaps a soldiers cap
or coat which with some discarded
style of rifle was supposed to indicate
membership in the guard.
The Improvement in conditions has
been general but markedly so in the
south, which had formerly been re-
garded as a weak spot by the strict
disciplinarians of the regular army
who felt that in that section undue
prominence had ,been given to the So
cial and club features by the militia
men at the sacrifice of military quail
ity. Though lacking the massive
brigades and divisions of the more
populous northern states, the militia
companies in number of the south
ern states are now reported by the
inspecting officers to he in a very
satisfactory condition of conformity
to army standards. The west also is
doing we'll. though there are some
spots regarded as weak, notably in
Nevada, where il is said there is not
a single company of the national
guard able to establish claim to a
dollar Of the large annual appropria-
tions made by congress for the sup
port of the militia