The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-06-29
Continued from Page 1


transferred to the First and Third COM
psnjes Of the First artillery corps.
The organization to which we be-
long" recites the petition. was es-
tablished in 1855 by some of the fore
most citizens of the state. who then
formed themselves into one of the
companies Of the historical vigilance
committee OF San Francisco, and our
members have ever since maintained
a. military organization-at times being
Independent military company, and
for many years being attached to the
national guard"
Sets Forth Fine Record
SETS FORTH FINE RECORD
Then the round robin tells OF the dis
tinguished services OF the organization
3n.t tie civil war and in the Philippines,
and. here in California during the
Kesrney riots. the railroad strike and
The days OF the FIRE and earthquake.
Tile First regiment Of infantry"
continues the address, with all it's
glorious history, was mustered out Of
the service, and since then we have
. been repeatedly transferred from one
branch of the service to the other
without consideration for our welfare.
we think the memories of the old
First regiment Of infantry should be
preserved.
1T has been well said that the men
in she ranks. the men who carry the
musket constitute the backbone Of all
armies, and particularly is this true
OF the national guard. It is easy to
secure men who are willing to accept
the: honor Of serving as officers. but
1t requires special effort to induce men
70 carry the rife. as even the govern
ment Of the United States well knows.
Entitled to Consideration
1--WE. as men in the rank and file, have
been struggling 70 keep UP the interest
and secure new recruits, and we think
that our organization is entitled to
special consideration, particularly when
II is realized that Of the Is or 30 COM
panies that formerly existed in San
Francisco only four now remain, OF
which we constitute two, but our
efforts seem neither to be understood
nor appreciated.
we have been giving our time to the
state without compensation, and the
Sutfes IN the coast artillery will take
more time then we can be expected TO
give that branch of the service call
ing for technical knowledge that can
best be acquired by long service in the
regular army under instruction of West
Point officers specially educated for
that duty.
we are ali free American citizens,
our patriotism and love Of liberty alone
--fr ka 2
guard. and, by every means IN our
power, we have always endeavored TO
cultivate and create a spirit Of 10y
atty and devotion to those principles
OF liberty and equality for the preser-
walton OF which this government was
established.
when formed in 1855 our forefathers
adouted the name Of The National
Guard" and when that name subse-
ouentlv came to be applied to the state
militia. as a whole, we were Familiarity
called The Nationals" and thousands
Of the best citizens in San Francisco
have Sofned our ranks during the 81
years Of our existence.
The annexed partial list OF names,
many Of whom are known from one
end Of the state to the other, shows
who have been associated with US.
VIEW FUTURE SADLY
Looking back proudly over the illus
trious past, we, with sadness view
the future.
No longer are our rights or wishes
considered We are treated merely as
50 MANY pawns. TO be moved about at
viii. and, as American citizens, we
Feeling as we do, weighing our his
tory and our deeds against whatever
NAV be said to impugn our motives or
our patriotism, and assuring you that
he assf~ fnH nv
the same love OF country as IN the past,
and piedEing ourselves that II our
country is ever in peril we will again
be among the first to volunteer, we do
hereby, with sorrow in our hearts, re-
specially ask that we be discharged
from q service wherein our efforts have
been ignored and our welfare disre-
garded.
Major Charles Tilden, who was Ions
in command Of the nationals and led a
company in the Philippines, was out
spoken in severe criticism OF the meth
DDS recently introduced.
The service has become top heavy"
he said. ct is used for politics We
have worked hard to build up our regi-
nenf. and now, rather than see il slow
IL killed. the men prefer 10 kill 1t out
right. There never were more loyal sol
diers. but they have seen their sacri-
fees made in vain. They are given such
treatment as Is accorded the regulars,
and national guard can not be main
Ttsined under that system. The officers
are all right. but they don't under
stand"
OBJECT TO CHANGES
When the government made the re-
quest recently for is companies TO be
used as an auxiliary coast defense
force the nationals were transferred