The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-01-20
A FEDERAL MILITIA
Plan to Make Citizen Soldiery
Part of Regular Army.
Colonel Weaver Would Have Control
Of National Guard Taken From
States-Scheme Of Mobiilxa-
tIon for War Drawn Up.

States-scheme Of Mobiiixa-
tlon for War Drawn Up.
| Washington.-Shou the United
States become involved in q foreign
war, the country. including the Ha.
waiian Islands and Porto Rico. would
probably be divided into seventeen
military divisions, in which the regu-
lar army troops on duty within their
lin Is, together with the national
guard of the states comprising the
division, would form the backbone OF
the great army that would have to be
recruited to defend the country.
The war department has already
carried the plan of combined mobiliza-
ton of regulars and national guards
men into effect in the New England
states and New York, which makes up
the first, second and third divisions in
the plan of national mobilization.
When the full plan Of mobilization Is
realized it will include every national
guard organization in the United
States proper, and in Hawaii and
Porto Rico, and some day, perhaps,
the great national reserve organiza-
ton that at present exists only on
paper.
Of the proposed national reserve,
the creation of which has been the
| dream of army officers for SO many
years, Col. Erasmus M. Weaver, U, 8.
A., chief of the division of militia af-
fairs in the war department, in his
annual report, after referring to the
limitations of uniformity in training
the organized militia, as enforced by
the special conditions existing in the
different states and territories, adds
that these limitations need not neces-
sarily lead to the conclusion that 1t is
impossible to provide satisfactory
uniformly trained body of citizen SOL
diers for the defense of the United
States.
Lack of Uniformity.
IF the best conditions found among
the organized militia of the States
he says in his report, could be made
uniform throughout the United States,
it would be satisfactory solution of
the problem.
1.-THE conclusion is reached, that
while a federal citizen soldiery may
be expected to be made really salts
factorily efficient for field service. a
state militia under existing conditions
will always vary from very satisfac-
tory to very unsatisfactory.
"The question arises, therefore, as
to whether 1t would be possible to
bring into existence such a federal
citizen soldiery as here indicated. It
Is possible that the present organized
militia would not approve of such a
body of citizen soldiers, and it would
be useless to attempt to provide such
force If the organized militia should
oppose it.
"A body of federal citizen soldiery,
organized by federal law, would have
to be organized under the power of
congress granted by the constitution
to raise and support armies; it would
have to be a part of the army OF the
United States; it could not be any
part of the militia authorized by the
constitution.
with these thoughts In mind, with
a clear understanding that the pro-
posal is at the present time purely
academic, and with view solely to
developing discussion, 1t Is suggested
that body of citizen soldiery, such
as that contemplated, might be Gre
ated as a reserve for the regular
army; that congress might provide
such a force as part of the United
States army, reserve branch, to sup
plement and to combine with the
active regular army and the organ
lied militia for national defense in
time of emergency.
Part of Regular Army.
Such reserve force might well
constitute part of the regular army
Of the United States; that is, the reg
ular army of the United States might
be considered as divided into two
branches, an active branch kept con-
stantly modified and filed to the
limit now authorized by law, and that
reserve to be called, say, the national
reserves, to consist of body of citi-
zen soldiery, supplementing the active
army, and constituting, in time of
peace, body that would receive
trained soldiers, both commissioned
and enlisted, from the active regular
army on one side and from the organ
lied militia on the other
1T would serve as body to receive
all who had had military training In
the active regular army and organized
militia. but who, while wishing to
give up active training, would desire
to make themselves available for
military service in time of national
danger; it would keep such In hand
organized for war service. in appro.
pirate military units.
In case such force were created
It would lend itself admirably to the
mobilization of the national forces in
time Of war. With the regular army
consisting as 1t does, for war, pur
poses, of 100000 men, with q force .,
national reserves of. say, at first
10O, 900, throughout the United Stata.