The Prescott daily news., 1913-05-10
NATIONAL GUARD
 ON DUTY OFTEN AHkANSAs MILITlAMEN HAVE DONE GOOD SERVICE
 FOR STATE. ENFORCE RESPECT FOR LAW <" Suard Were Abolished Arkansas Would Be Only State Without
 Citizen soIdiery.
ENFORCE RESPECT FOR LAW

The Arkansas National Guard con. sisting ot two regiments of about fiji. teen hundred men and officers. was or. saniEed by Gen. W. H. Haynes under orders of Gov. Jeff Davis soon after his first inaugural.
 The Guard as 1t now stands is made up or the very best young men in the s'aee' carefully selected in each com. muhlty where company is organized. lhey are Arkansas boys, the sons of men who saw service in the Confeder. ate and Federal armies. Many of them are veterans of the Spanisb-American war.
 ln so large an assemblage of men some few may not be what is desired m citizen soldiery, but the per cen. lage Is so small as not to be consider. eu' These men are sworn into the service of the state for a term of three years, and are subject to the orders or the governor at any and all times 10 enforce law and order, and they nave no volition of their own when ordered they must go The pay of these men while In active service is from flfty cents to $1.25 per day while their ofilcers receive the regular pay Of the Unlted States army when on duty.
 Cusually the Guard is ordered on outy ten days of each and every year for rifle practice, and the same length Of time in camp of instruction or maneuvers in which case the United States meets all expenses and their pay. The state is only called upon to pay the salary of two officers at the adjutant generals headquarters. and the rent of company arsenals and in- cidental expenses.
 At one time the Guard was called to protect life and property in Argen- ta, during a general strike. They were called for duty along the Arkan. sas and Louisiana state line and at i'm portant points along the railroad to protect the state from an epidemic of yellow fever, They have often been called in squads and by companies to
  nals and to support county officials in enforcing law and order. They have been called to protect the levees along our rivers, to prevent cutting of the levees, and to labor in repairing brooches and to raise the levees in or der to prevent overflow of waters which would have proven very destruc tive.
 In every case the Guard proved itself to be very efficient in service.
 At all times, it has been latent force, ready to move and to act if properly called to preserve order and enforce law in any and all parts of the state. This may account for the fact that the soldiers were not needed of tener, an ounce of preventative being better than a pound of cure. It is Of no small value to the state and 10 citi. zens who have invested money in com. mercial ventures within its borders to know that there is a power behind the courts to enforce its orders and a respect for law.
 It is not believed that the people will sit idly by and see the National Guard of Arkansas disbanded because of the want of few dollars to meet actual expenses, which cannot be paid by the general government
 The federal government is ready, and willing to pay 5000 for every $l paid by the state, and the reason for this Is that the National Guard is sub feet to the orders of the War Depart ment and the president of the United States and they cost the government less than 10 per cent per man as com pared with regular army and can bc relied upon with a certainty, for, under the Dick Bill, the National Guard is reouired to be up to the standard of the regulars In equipment, efficiency, drill and rifle practice. It is not be- lieved that the patriotic people of Ark ansas will permit the Guard to dis hand and t'us advertise the state cs being the only one In the union with. out a citizen soldiery.