Evening star., 1914-04-23
GUARD IN SHAPE
FOR ACTIVE DUTY
Organized Militia of the Coun-
try Dependable in Case
of War.
benefited BY TRAINING
DURING PAST TWO YEARS
Tribute Paid the Organizations by
Gen. Mills-Statement of
Strength by States.

/ improved in training. since the SPAN
ish-American war, through better methods
iof instruction. and having reached a
higher standard than ever before known
the national guard of the country VIII
furnish the Gibraltar in any hostilities
that it may be called upon to engage in
| This was the opinion of regular army
/ officers expressed today. and while they
| declare that no steps have been taken
| to call the national guard into III. scrv-
ice. 1t Is well known that they have not
peen left out of the plans for the move
ment of troops southwark to the Mox!-
can border and the gulf coast.
| Early to take notice of the apparently
impending hostilties in which it is OK
pected that large force will most Ger
tainly be needed. press dispatches from
all parts of the country carry the infor-
NATION that organizations are making
preparations to answer any call for theIr
services that might be made. The time
necessary to get the various orSanlza-
uons together has been estimated at
from SIX to twentyfour hours but it
was declared this morning that if II he
comes necessary 10 call upon this ctI-
zen soldicry they will not be needed
upon a moments notice" but will 4,e
informed in reasonable time
Brig. Gen. Alfred l.. Mills head of tho
| DIVISION OF militia affairs, has been in
| many conferences with Maj Cen Moth
srspoon' chief-of-staff and the military
director at Washington Roth .:on
| " otherspoon and Gen. Mills have denied.
however, that they had gone over anv
plans Tor the movement of the national
| guard.
Fixing the Time Limit.
The estimates of the time needed by
the various states to get their national
guard in the field is taken at the War
! department ha
| their forces in the arnories and in uni
FORM To get the field equipment-such
IS kitchens, wagons, tents, etc.-togetler
would require a longer time However. ir
is declared the question of transportation
OF troops and baggage probably has been
arranged by the regular army quarter
master corps for the national guard as
| it has done for the army.
I The national guard. at this time in the
opinion of Gen. Mills has never been
better equipped or better trained for
| service than it is at the present time
due to a large extent to the instruction
which they have received from the req
| ular officers.
1T is believed said Gen. Mills. that
during the past two years there has been
greater advance in professional knowi-
| edge on the part Of the organized militia
/ than during its entire previous history,
and that this marked Improvement can
be directly traced 20 having on duty With
each state as advisor and instructor u
| trained officer of the regular army. whose
duty it is to assist in every way in bring
| ing the organizing, training and equip
mert of the organized militia in harmony
with that of the regular army. and TO the
presence with each arm of the service Of
a regular officer of that arm to imnart
! its technical instruction.
| The national guard has had the benz
| eft of instructions under service cond-
tons, when camps of instruction have
been established by the government
Should the national guard be called upon
to take the field it Will not be 4 lot OF
green men confronting conditions with
which they are unfamiliar. Those now in
the guard have had it drilled into them
from Iaon;h 20 month. and have had long
marches with pack equipment under srrN-
ice conditions. eating on the march. They
will be able to take care of themselves
from every standpoint. in the belief Of
officers of the regular army.
Trained Officers in Service
The officers are better trained than
they ever before have been. Camps OF
instructions for officers have been cstab-
lished where theoretical courses are used
practically. Perhaps it is not too much
TO say, said Gen. Mills. that these camps
are the most valuable means of training
afforded tine officers OF the national
guard, inasn,uch as the instruction deals
with practical conditions, in which every
thing but troops is present. The instriC-
ton has been direct to the individual Of
icer, and is more in detail and exact
than would be possible in the limited
time allowed were troops present.
From a health standpoint there has
been great improvements, and this is d
long step in the right direction when
one has in mind the terrible amount OF
sickness which prevailed during the
Spanish-Amelican war The strength of
the organized militia of the various states
is given at the militia division as 3,l:3o
officers and lil.6t2 men. and it is tho
opinion that the greater amount of these
can be depended upon to answer call
to the colors The estimate is made that
the actual number that can be depended
upon to answer the first call is taken
from the number actually present at the
annual inspections. This number is con
tanned in tabulated table at the militi..
division of the War Department.
Tabular Statement, 1913
The table follows. showing the numb
present at the annual inspections coz