St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-08-02
PRESS COMMENT.
Decline of the Y. N. g.

ld1SDanded, following some three or
four others that have gone the same
way. One may we'll inquire, what is
the matter? when cities and towns
like Barre and Bennington can't keep
up militia company of fifty or sixty
men. The reason generally assigned
is that young men won't give up the
time for drills and service without
more pay, or unless the state pro-
vides them with armories. This may
be true, but doesn't explain it all. A
condition of mind is fully as respon-
sible. The average young man of to-
day doesn't take to the military as
his father did, and no compensation
likely to be offered will tempt him
into it. The glamor is gone. The
well dressed, natty lines of blue or
khaki, the sheen of arms, the per-
fectly ordered manoeuvers of the
field. interest him little. He can
think of other things he would rath,-
er do than drill and drill and drill.
The fun of it, is gone to the boy of
to-day. The call of duty does not
come to him strongly, either, as per-
haps it ought. He hears more talk
about peace and general arbitration
than about war, so that he is apt to
conclude he has no time to waste in
learning to be a soldier. AS a police
force, merely, the National Guard
never will be popular. We may de-
plore these conditions, but they ex-
ist. When a town like Bennington,
the cradle of Vermont patriotism,
cannot maintain a militia company
for lack of interest the fact speaks
for itself. There is a latent spirit
that would, if necessity arose, cause
our young men to flock to the sup
port of the government and state,
but it must be admitted the enthu-
si9sm for -in-and-year-Out SerV-
ice in the National Guard, with all
it entails, has Waned fast of late.
AS single contributing factor to
this end we should place the mistake
of holding the annual muster at the
same place, year in and year out,
instead of moving it about the state,
as formerly. In one way there is i'm
provement-the guard we have is
more efficient. But soon we shall
have no guard. In the old days, with
the movable musters, the enlisted
men didn't have the same unwelcome
grind, year in. and out, but rather
pleasant, if some times overdone, ex-
cursions to new spots that made
them want to go again and made
since 1t was a chance eagerly sought
to go to muster as a substitute
Now the regulars dodge it if they
can. Again, under the old plan, all
parts of the state got a chance to see.
the guard and what it was doing oc-
casionally. The encampment was
gala affair. Now it is pure business,
but volunteer military service can
never be made that and last long.
If there was some loss in efficiency
then, there was enthusiasm that made |
up for it, now sadly lacking. Mob
liking the guard at various fields |
about the state was more like camp
ing, more like real service, than TAX
Fort Ethan Allen every year for a
steady grind. When U. S. regular
troops willingly take every chance to
visit, as bodies, fairs, encampments
and the like at a distance from their |
usual habitat, and. when the U. S.
army makes a feature of modifying |
it's forces at various points yearly,
for the sake of the benefit to be de-
rived, may we not ask if Vermont /
has not erred in this particular? To I
remedy it, might not restore the
guard to it's former popularity but it
might help.-E Herald and News.
Good Word for His County.
little Essex" though one of the
smallest counties in the Green
Mountain state, does not lack one of +
the features and acquisitions neces-
sary to the condition of a desirable
county seat or all-the-year-round
dwelling place. Besides the pictur-
esque landscape to which art could
not do full justice, there is the in
estimab1e advantage of invigoratiHg
conditions, of which the
most beneficial is the frequent
heavy showers that refresh the YER
dant hillsides and abundantly replen-
ish the several lakes and streams
which are principal features of the
northeast section of the state. Then,
too, there is never-failing supply
of pure sparkling cold spring water
conducted by an economically and
well-managed system of
That is certainly an
to which we should point
with pride. Hunting the moose and
small game, fishing, boating and all
forms of summer pleasures are easily
available. And the commodious rail-
road system and good roads between
cities, towns and villages makes Es-
sex and the neighboring counties
easy of access. Then, too, there is
the favorable circumstance of sys-
tenn of taxation that makes for low
rates, comparatively speaking, and
in consequence much lower rents
than are demanded in states where
several factories are situated. That
alone should influence the choice of
a dwelling place. To the many who
find life the year round in manufac-
turing towns well-nigh intolerable
and who besides appreciate the ben
edts of country life for the children
the northeast section of the state ap
pea1s; the more particularly so when
the social conditions compare well
with any other section of the fine old
state, Vermont.
While there is no pressing neeessi-
Ly to sing the praises of our own
beautiful well endowed little county,
and neighboring localities equally at
Iractive the wish to do so need not
be resisted.-f Essex County Herald.