The chronicle=news., 1914-07-16
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2. STUDENTS. MILITARY :
: s7a INSTRUCTION CAMP :
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my and Navy News:

Army and Navy News:
Let us read, mark and inward,
digest" the significance of the fol,
lowing:
Military Role Compiled.
Redwood City. July 15.-The mill.
tary roll for San Mateo county which
has been compiled by County Clerk
]. H. Nash has been accepted by the
board Of supervisors. 1t shows that
there are 4.312 men available for
military service in the county.
no That available" number is about
'ous-aeventh of the population of the
! 'cosnty: the one military orsaniza-
tion of the county numbers SO; 50
is about one eighty-third of 4373:
hence one In SO of those "available'
for military service in the county is
tai population of the county one in
every 5S1 is learning something as
to his military duties under the Con-
stituion of the United States. The
knowledge of military matters in
that county can easily be conject-
ured: and yet It must assurelly be
far better than in hundreds of coun-
ties in the United States in which no
military instruction is impaired.
In colonial timesr and in frontier
life since. the surroundings and the
necessities OF the situation gave the
average citizen the opportunity to
learn many of the elements of the
L..
American was often spoken of as
naturally" soldier In fact he
was not naturally" anything of the
kind. but by opportunity and envir-
onment some Americans learned of
necessity some of the elements of
the military life.
Not TenderfoOt.
Our first militia law, of 1892, was
based on that fact. The average
citizen whose name was on the
t"military roll" at that time, who was
required to drill at least once year,
to furnish his own musket and a GER
tain number of rounds of ammuni-
tion. was, In fact. in many inctances,
when he turned out on militia day
(however mOtely the garb) not a
"tenderfoot" However imperfect as
a military force In the aggregate,
here was at least reserve force,
which was fairly available for use
after few weeks training. for the
problems of that time. II is easy to
see that the average citizen, on the
military roll of today. with his en-
vironment and his daily life so far
removed from earlier conditions
must, In military sense. be greatly
different from and inferior to his
Of earlier times. The av-
eraSe American Of today is natural
1y"t ignorant Of a rifle rifle shoot
ing, marching, camp life. ETC., be-
cause he has never had a chance to
learn. In other words. he is what his
ancestor was not: "tenderfoot."
Just what he is liable to when new
ly recruited, in the way of disese of
campand Of a soldiers life. and what
can be avoided by discipline. knowl-
edge and instruction under trained
officers. n comparison of Camp Mer-
ritt, San Francisco. 1898, and Texas
City, Texas. in 1913. will show. The
engaged In modern wars.
and the complexity and difficulty of
the art Of war have greatly in
creased: modern wars come suddenly
and yet, as every one must admit, the
changed character Of our modern
American life has rendered the aver
age potential soldier of the constitu-
lion. whose name is on the military |
roll" of the country, less ut than his |
ancestor to fight the nations battles. |
And yet we hear always from some
quarters that 1t is the constitutional
and not the organized mill
Tia and regular army. that are to be
mr. m n ralla nna in Ntnr