East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-03-20
LOCAL BOYS
ARE EXCITED
Members oi Company L Thrill
at Prospects OF Being Call
ed to War.
ORDERS TO RECRUIT TO
FULL STRENGTH RECEIVED
PendIetonG Soldiers Drill Every Night
This Week-AIl Furloughs and
Leaves of Absence to be Terminated
Officers Will Prepare Men to
Take the Field on Instants Notice.

Officers Will Prepare Men to
Take the Field on Instants Notice.
Following the receipt Saturday by
Brigadier General William E. Fin
ger, adjutant general of the Oregon
National Guard, of instructions from
Chief -of-Staff Leonard Wood to re-
cruit the Oregon militia to a war foot
ing and the receipt this morning by
Captain Fergusin of orders from Gen.
eral FINER, excitement in local mil
itary circles is intense and on every
corner there may be seen groups dis
cussing the why and wherefore OF
this move. Veterans of the Civil and
tie Spanish-American wars are get
ting the fever again while the young
guardsmen are hoping fervently that
they will be ordered to the Mexican
frontier for service.
Meanwhile Captain Ferguson and
other officers of Company L are maxi
ing preparations to comply with the
instructions received. Active recruit
ing to bring the company to full
strength will be commenced immedi-
ately. Recruits will be enlisted at
the ArmOry Tuesday night and at
drills which will be held every night
this week.
Non-commissioned officers school
| will also be held regularly from now
/ on and it is hoped that within a short
! time the company can be placed in
condition to take the field on instant
notice if necessary.
uraID ETarcr1rEnn ara
I several non-commissioned positions to
be filled at once and these will be Sc
lected from those passing the highest
on examinations. 1t will require about
65 men at once to complete the roster
of company L.
All furloughs and leaves of absence
are to be terminated at once and work
will be taken up in earnest.
Orders have been received for an
inspection and muster to be held at
the Armory on the last Tuesday Of
the month and it is the intention of
the officers to have the company re-
cruited to full strength by that date.
General Activities.
The same activity exists in every
| city in the state where there is a
company of militia. At present there
are 5S men to company. The maxi
mum fixed by the war department Is
$50 men to a company. General Fin
zer states he will recruit his COM
panies to los men each unless special
instructions come asking for the
maximum enlistment.
The instructions received by Gen.
eral Finer were mailed from WASH
matters, a rigid trimming down Of
staff officers so as to secure only
those best fitted to serve in a hard
campaign, the formation of mounted
scout corps to consist of one sergent,
three corporals and II privates and
for a detail of four mounted officials.
Sent to Every State.
Instructions similar to those sent
the commander of the Oregon Nation
al Guard were mailed to the adjutant
general of every state in the Union
and were so timed as to arrive in each
instance Saturday afternoon. Those
received by General FINER were mail
ed from Washington March IA.
General FINER said that. in spite of
the fact that the orders to place the
national guard on a war footing have
come at the height of the Mexican
Japanese war talk, it was the inten-
ton of the department to issue this
order long before any crisis arose at
the Mexican border.
THE order has nothing to do with
talk of war with Japan or any other
power" said General FINER. 1T has
been brewing long time and simply
happened to be issued at this time
The Oregon National Guard num-
! bers 21 general and staff officers, 81
regimental officers. and 1411 enlisted
men. The reserve militia, unorgan-
lied is estimated at about $780, 900
What Law Provides.
The militia law of January 81,
1908, provides: THAT the militia shall
consist of every able bodied male citi-
zen of the respective states and every
ablebodied male of foreign birth who
has declared his intention to become
a citizen, who is more than IS and
less than 45 years of age, and shall be
| divided into two classes-the organ
lied militia, to be known as the ma
tional guard; the remainder to be.
known as the reserve militia"
\ meeting of the general staff Off
GERS under General FINER has been
called to meet at once and discuss the
changes mentioned in the orders is
sued by General Wood 1t is said that
as result OF the order for trim
ming the staff officers that a number
or those now holding commissions will
have to resign. The governors staff