Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1911-07-13

|
wv the unprecedente mobiliza.
ton of the United states
army along the Mexican
| frontier there were many who cried
'militarism.' Perhaps they did net
know that under an unobtrusive enact
ment of congress every ablebodied citi
zen between eighteen and fortytve
years of age is enrolled as Il soldier OF
the United States. under compulsion I"
serve if called upon in time of war
BY the new system. copied partly
from Prussia and partly from Great
| Britain. there are now approXimatelN
| lG.OOO.O00 men Liable for field duty I'll
Ger control of the war department,
These are divided by law in,o tn e.
lines" The first line comprises
about 7S.0O0 regular soldiers. who MAJ.
be increased by enlisi N, ut to 1905 Oh
The second is the national guard
known under the acts of last year
1908 and 1903 as the organized militia
and now numbering 121.5S0, with no
limit on it's increase. The third. Great
ed by act Of congress. is the reserve
militia. including every citizen capable
Of bearing arms and estimated at TO-
100000 men. Most Of these probably
are unaware that they are officially
troops in legally constituted division
of the United States army.
| This vast body Of reserve militiamen
is not regarded by the war department
as part of the militia of the states. but
as federal citizen soldiery," supple
ment Of the regular army. This view
is taken to escape the provisions Of the
constitution which vest in the states a
large control over their organized ma
tional guard. In the opinion Of army
experts this divided control operates
against military efficiency. In report
made by the chief Of the division of
militia affairs this official conviction is
frankly expressed as follows:
1.-The conclusion is reached that.
while q federal citizen soldiery may
be made really efficient for field serv-
ice. state militia under existing cir
cumstances will always vary from
very satisfactory to very unsatisfac
tory. 1t can hardly be expected to be
uniformly efficient.
"A body of federal citizen soldiery.
organized by federal law. would have
to be organized under the power of
congress granted 10y the constitution
to raise and support armies. 1t could
not he any part of the militia author
lied by the constitution. Such re-
serve force might well constitute a
part of the regular army of the Unit
ed States-a reserve branch to supple
ment and combine with the active
regular army and the organized mill
tia for national defense in time Of
emergency"
Situation Like Prussia's.
In theory the army situation IN the
United States as well as in England
is now the same as that of Prussia
that is. all eligible citizens have been
impressed in Il body into the service
of the war department. The same
purpose has been served in the three
cOuntries-that in case of war the mil
itary would not be compelled to de-
pend upon volunteers.
The difference is in the manner in
which the various war departments
exercise their powers. In Germany
compulsory service means that every
citizen fit to bear arms belongs for
seven years to the regular army. for
five more years to the landwehr tcor-
responding to our national guard and
then until his thirty ninth year to a
second levy of the landwehr. During
this time from two to three years
must be spent in actual service "un-
der the colors without Interruption
In England it has been taken for
granted that ministry which at
tempted to enforce compulsory mill
tary service in time Of peace would
COLLAPSE. There is no doubt that still
more formidable results would follow
any attempt to Prussianize the United
States in actual fact.
According to the terms Of the law
adopted by congress in 1903 and
amended in 1908 and 1910. 1.-The militia
shall consist of every ablebodied male
citizen and every ablebodied male of
foreign birth who has declared his in
tenton of becoming a citizen"
The service began theoretically from
the passage Of the act There are no
exemptions save federal of1iceholders
and those who may be especially en-
cepted by state laws. Peace advocates
may escape If they can prove that they
belong to "anti-war religious sects.
churches or organizations well recog
nized at the time Of the passage of
this act" They cannot organize emer
gency ''peacp and good will'' societies
in order to evade military duty.
The reorganization of the military
system Of the United States was put
into effect during the Roosevelt era
and planned not only the formation of
mn immense reserve militia under fed
prnl instead of state command. but also
The extension of federal control by diff
'prpnt devices over the national guard
Militia Only ARMED Mob"
At first West Point inspectors wer