Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-02

maneuvers. target practice or field
services for instruction, or service in the
preservation of peace and days Of alb
sence while so engaged shall not be
charged against any leave with pay that
ID now or may hereafter be authorized :
The following named enlisted men OF
the National Guard were taken into GUS
tody by the United States marshal for
the District of Columbia last week. and
released upon the payment of fines i'm
posed upon them by summary court
martial, the charges against them being
dsobedience of orders, because of nom
attendance at drills: Pf1vates Grayson E..
BrandenburS, Company G., I'd Infantry,
50; Thomas King. Company B, I'd In
fantry, 81: Thomas O. Sheaffer, Company
G. I'd Infantry, 81; Raymond Stockman,
Company B. I'd Infantry, 81. and Sea-
mans Apprentice Edward L. White, Sd
Division Naval Battalion, ST.
4 Il
Important legislation designed to pro-
moe practice with the military rifle may
be enacted by Congress this winter. The
equipped with the new Springfield rifle,
but the expense of obtaining these wea-
pons from the government has restricted
practice among civilians. Some hun
dreds of thousands of Krags have been
retired, however, and If available for is
sue would doubtless be an incentive to
civilians to practice. Representative Hull
of Iowa. chairman of the House COM
mittee on military affairs, has introduced
a bill on the subject which has the ap-
prevail Of the Secretary of War, the as
slstant secretary OF war. the chief of
staff and chief of ordnance. as well as
of the national board for the promotion
of rife practice and the National Rife
Association of America. The bill pro-
vides that the Secretary of War be au-
thoriZed to Issue, without expense to the
United States. magazine rifles and APP
pendages. not of the existing service
model. These are to be issued to rifle
clubs organized under the rules of the
national board for prbmition of rifle
practice, and to schools having uniformed
corps of cadets. The Secretary of War is
authorized to prescribe regulations to
safeguard the United States against loss.
and for the proper care of the arms If
the bill becomes a law the limit of issue
would probably be fixed at about one
rifle to each ten members of a club in
good standing.
a second section Of the bill provides
for the promotion Of rife practice in
schools, colleges, universities and civilian
CLUBS by supplying ammunition and
prizes. by making provision for matches
and in other directions, for which the
sum of 100000 is appropriated
Up to the present time this country has
done nothing for its civilian rifle clubs.
which are comparatively few in number,
while in England it is estimated there
are nearly 5000, with a membership of
possibly half a million men and boys.
The work with the civilian clubs is de-
signed to reach the "unorganzed mill
tia" which would constitute the bulk of
our volunteer armies In case of war. On
this subject Gen. Bell, the chief of staff
of the army. recently said: THE en-
couragement of rIne practice among our
citizens and schoolboys is of the greatest
Importance in this country, where pre-
paredness for war is largely based on
the employment of an army of voIun-
teers. and wisely framed laws which
will give healthy stimulus to this
branch OF military preparedness would
receive the hearty support of the War
Department"