Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-05-08
NATIONAL. GUARD
 oN DUTY OFTEN
ARKANSAS MILiTlAMEN HAVE DONE GOOD SERVICE
 FOR STATE.
ENFORCE RESPECT FOR LAW
If Guard Were Abolished Arkansas Would Be Only State Without
 Citizen SoIdiery.

IHo AlhdilStS NdllOnaI Guaru con- sisting of two regiments of about fiji teen hundred men and officers, was or ganlzed by Gen. w. H. Haynes under orders of Gov. Jeff Davis soon after his first inaugural.
 The Guard as it now stands is made up of the very best young men in the state, carefully selected in each com- munity where a company is organized
 They are Arkansas boys, the sons of men who saw service in the Confeder- ate and Federal armies. Many of them are veterans of the Spanish-American war.
 In so large an assemblage of men some few may not be what is desired in citizen soldiery, but the per cen tage is so small as not to be consider ca. These men are sworn into the service of the state for term of three years, and are subject to the orders or the governor at any and all times to enforce law and order, and they have no volition of their own: when ordered they must go. The pay of these men while in active service is from fifty cents to s1.25 per day while their officers receive the regular pay of the United States army when on duty.
 Uusually the Guard is ordered on duty ten days of each and every year for rifle practice, and the same length of time ln a 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. ha
 At one time the Guard was called to protect life and property in Argen- ta, during 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 protect the courts and to arrest crimj- nals and to support county officials in enforcing law and order. Thsy have been called to protect the levees along cur rivers, to prevent cutting of the levees, and 10 labor in repairing treeches and to raise the levees in or. der to prevent overflow of waters which would have proven very destruc- tive.
 h 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 to citi- zens who have invested money in com. mercial ventures within it's borders to know that there is a power behind the courts to enforce it's orders and 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 $1O.00 for every $1 paid by the state, and the reason for this is that the National Guard is sub. ject 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 be relied upon with certainty, for, under the Dick Bill, the National Guard is required 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. bard and t'us advertise the state ;.s being the only one in the union with out citizen soldiery.