The Holbrook news., 1911-02-24
IA FEDERAL MILITIA
Plan to Make Citizen SoIdiery
 Part of Regular Army. z
Colonel Weaver Would Have Control of National Guard Taken From States-Scheme of Mobiliza-
 tion for War Drawn Up.

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
 limits, 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-
 tion 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-
 tion that at present exists only on paper.
 1 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, S. 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 it is impossible to provide a 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 a satisfactory solution of the problem.
 'The conclusion is reached, that while a federal citizen soldiery may be expected to be made really satis- 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 it 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 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 a view solely to developing discussion. it is suggested that body of citizen soldiery, such as that contemplated, might be ere ated as reserve for the regular army; that congress might provide such force as a part of the United States army, a reserve branch, to sup plement and to combine with the active regular army and the organ ized militia for national defense in time of emergency.
 Part of Regular Army.
 Such a reserve force might we'll constitute a 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 mobilized and filled 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 l army, and constituting. in time of | peace. a body that would receive l trained soldiers, both commissioned | and enlisted, from the active regular | army on one side and from the organ | ized militia on the other.
 Tt 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 | service in time of national | danger; it would keep such in hand, for war service. in appro- priate military units.
 "In case such force were created, it would lend itself admirably to the of the national forces in time of war. With the regular army as it does. for war pur- poses. of 100000 men, with a force of national reserves of, say, at first. 100000, throughout the United States. and with force of 100000 organized militia, which, it is believed, will | eventually be possible. the first line of defense would consist of a mingling AL T.