Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-07-26

years OF age and under forty-five, you
are a member Of the militia. Unless
you are one OF the small minority
who have a uniform and place In p
regular company, and assemble In
the armory upon stated occasions you
probably are inclined to doubt the
accuracy of the statement. While
almost all OF the adult men In this
country are members Of the militia
under the law, few Of them know 1t.
The status Of the male citizen as
members Of the militia Is fixed by
Act of Congress Of 1903. amended in
1908 and 1910. Under 1t all able
bodied male citizens between the
ages of eighteen and forty-fiye, with
certain limited exceptions, comprise
the militia Those who are enrolled,
uniformed and equipped by the
states comprise what is known as
he Organized Militia The remain.
der, which includes the majority OF
rs, are known In the War Depart.
ment and stand before the law as
members OF the Reserve Militia.
No active duties are impe sd upon
this vast unorganized body Of Re-
serve Militia. They are simply a
,ody that may be forced to become
members of an organized militry
force. AS the draft during the civil
war was brought home the liability
II citizens to serve the country un-
Ter arms, whether they desire to or
not, this does not impress US as
.lovel.
Under the law which was passed
in 1892, and which was In force for
over a hundred years, every able.
bodied citizen Of suitable age was
not only member of the militia, but
presumed to be . member Of the &C
tive militia, and the theory under
which the founders of the Republic
enacted the law was that every such
person should and would be enrolled
as an active militia man prepared for
instant, active service by equipment
and training. Under this law, which
was in force until comparatively re-
Gently, every man was presumed to
be a minute man. OF course, uni
versal service, while the law Of the
land, remained but theory and was
never enforced. The law was a
dead letter.
The Constitution of the United
States provides that 'The Congress
shall have the power to provide for
calling forth the militia to execute
the laws of the Union, suppress in
surrection. and repel invasion; to
provide for organizing and disciplinine
the militia, and for governing such
part of them as may be employed in
the service of the United States, re-
serving to the states respectively the
appointment of the officers and the
authority of training the militia &C
cording to the discipline prescribed
by Congress.
Under the present law it is the
organized militia that is organized and
disciplined and to whom we look to
support our scant regular army in
the event of war. Until universal
peace is a reality instead Of a hope
and a dream we must recognize war
as possibility. The development Of
the science and the equipment Of war
renders an unframed soldier, what
ever his natural bravery and capa-
city, OF comparatively little value,
and this is especially true since the
development Of our civilization leaves
fewer and fewer citizens who are in
any way familiar with the use of fire
arms. So 1t is that the matter of our
citizen soldiery Is one that IL Of the
greatest import. and the laws which
regulate the militia should be of inn
mediate concern to every citizen.
Primarily the organized militia la
body OF state troops. In forty
three of the states the militia is
known as the National Guard. In
Arkansas and Kentucky 1t is known
as State Guards, In Florida as State
Troops, In Massachusetts as Volun-
beer Militia, in Rhode Island as Mil
itia and in Kentucky as Volunteers.
These bodies Of citizen soldiery are
organized under state law and upon
the state falls most Of the expense
sor the support OF its troops. The
state provides uniforms, equipment,
tents and many hundred smaller
items that are necessary to the sol
der in the various branches of the
service. 1t is the state which pays
the officers and men for special
duties, and 1t Is the state or a sub
division Of the state which provides
the armories In which the guardsmen|
drill and in which equipment Is stor-
ed. Quite generally the county Ia thel
particular unit that constructs the arr
mory. but now, some Of the states are|