Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-05
STATE MILITIA MAY
OSEFEDERAL AID
Must Conform to Standard of
Regular Army, Rules Judge
Advocate General.
CHANGES ARE NECESSARY
IN MOST ORGANIZATIONS
National Guard Association Flatly
Refuses to Comply With One
Important Requirement.

A clean issue has been made between
the War Department and the National
Guard Association of the United States
upon the point of organization OF the
militia forces of the country BY direc-
ton of Secretary Garrison. Mai. Gen.
Wood. as chief of staff of the army, has
issued a circular-No. 13-announcing the
decision of Judge Advocate General
Crowder that the militia must conform in
organization to the standards of the reg
ular army, else it will be deprived of all
federal financial support.
This decision is of the greatest i'm
portance to the militia as we'll as to the
government because few if any of the
state National Guard organizations are
now able to meet the requirements. and
use of the militia in an emergency there
must be a sweeping change in the state
organizations or radical modification of
the existing militia law
Important Requirement Ignored.
When the Dick militia act became ef-
fective in 1905 period of five years was
allowed within which the militia of the
states was to reorganiZe to conform to
regular army standards In most states
excellent results were obtained in the inn
proved training of the militiamen and the
better equipment of the guard. But one
important requirement was ignored. be-
cause immediate compliance with it was
not insisted upon by the War Depart
ment That was that the state militia
should be organized into brigades ana
divisions.
The brigade was to be commanded by
brigadier general. and the divisions by
major general, and when the War De-
partment last August issued circular NO.
S. requiring the militia organizations to
conform to the above requirement. it de-
ve!oped the fact that there was great
surplusage of high ranking officers in the
militia, and that major generals We're COM
manding mere brigadeS and brlSadler gen
erals simple regiments. Enforcement Of the
circular would require many of these
officers to lose their high rank unless
they were able to recruit the rank and
file sufficiently to fill up the gaps in the
organizations.
Guard Refuses to Comply.
The National Guard Association has
fatty refused to comply with this re-
uuirement on the ground that there is
not sufficient authority in law for de-
finine the organization of the brigades
and the divisions and that inasmuch
as it has been physically impossible
70 secure these organizations in the
United States Army. and as like con-
ditions in many states make it also
physically impossible for these states
to comply with the provisions of the
circular the Secretary of War was
requested to revoke the circular.
Judge Advocate General Crowder, rul-
ing upon the legal point raised by
the association, fully sustains the right
of the War Department to issue the
circular and points out that the Sec
retary of War himself had no longer
authority to suspend the application
of this requirement. Secretary Garri-
SON has adopted this view in pub
fishing the opinion.
The decision concludes that the state
authorities would be warranted in mus
tering out either a major general or a
brigadier general and their staff II
they were without the necessary num-
Der of men to compose a division or q
brigade.