The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-01-29
STATE MILITIA MUST
MEET STANDARDS SET
FOR REGULAR TROOPS
But Few Guard Organizations
Able to Meet Requirements
Of War Department.

Washington. Special: A clean issue
has been made between the war de-
partment and the National Guard as
sociation OF the United States on the
point of organization of the militia
forces Of the country. BY direction Of
Wood, as chief Of staff of h army
has issued q circular-No. Ian
nouncing the decision of Judge Advo-
cate General Crowder that the militia
must conform in organization to the
standards Of the regular army, else
they will be- deprived Of all federal
financial support. sHssA 49, a
This decision is of the greatest i'm
porfance to the militia as well as "a
the government, because few II any Of
the state national guard organizations
are now able to meet n require
ments and IL the government Is to be
able to make use of the militia in an
emergency, there must be a sweeping
change in the state organizations. or q
radical modification Of the existing
militia laws.
Where Militia Fails.
When the Dick militia act became eff
fective In 1908 a period of v years
was allowed within which the militia
Of the states was to reorganize to con
form TO regular army standards. In
most states excellent results were Sc
cured in the improved training Of the
militiamen and the better equipment of
the guards. But one important re-
quirement was ignored because imme-
dtate compliance with IL was not In
sisted on by the war department. That
was that the state militia should be or
ganized into brigades and divisions.
The brigade was to be COMMANDED
by a brigadier general and the division
by a major general, and when the war
department last August issued circular
No. 3, requiring the militia organiza-
tons to conform TO h above require
ment, It developed the fact that there
was a great surplusage Of high rank
ing officers in the militia and that
major generals were commanding mere
brigades, and brigadier generals simple
regiments.
Must Reduce Starts.
Enforcement Of the circular would
require many Of these officers to lose
their high rank unless they were able
to recruit the rank and flles sufficiently
to I'LL up the gaps in the organizations.
The National Guard association has
fatty refused to comply with this re-
quirernent on the ground that there Is
not sufficient authority in law for de-
f1ning the organization Of the brigadeS
and the divisions and that 'inasmueh
as 1t has been physically impossible to
secure these organizations In the
United States army, and as TX con-
ditions in many states make 1T also
physically impossible for these states
to comply with the provisions OF the
circular" the secretary of war was
requested to revoke the circular. -
v Judge Advocate General Crowder,
ruling on the legal point raised by the
association, fully s~ustains the right of
the war department to issue the cir
cular, and points out that the secre-
tary of war himself had no longer au-
thority to suspend the application Of
this requirement. Secretary Garrison
has adopted this view in publishing the
opinion. r.
The decision concludes that the state
authorities would be warranted in mus
tering out either a major general or
a brfgadier general and their staff IL
they were without the necessary num-
Der Of men to compose a division or a
irigade.