The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-04

duty without reduction of pay. They Iurther announce their intention to fa- Nor the promotion of men who have secured full and honorable discharge rom the Texas National Guard. Need less 10 say that the result of this ac- ton will be most gratifying.
 such an attitude as that on the par of the business men of Birmineh would work wonders in increasing the efficiency of the local militia What Is most needed is recruits. and these could be easily obtained if the employ CTS Of the district would only lenu their aid and encoura cement. It is a well known fact among militia offi- eeFS that many of their most prom is'ns men are prevented from partiel- pating In the various drills and ei- oampments by the refusal of their em- ployers to give them leave of absence. et these very business men would be tle very ones to howl loudest over our Inpreparedness in case we were sud denly hurled into war. They would demand that the government produce trained soldiers at once unmindful of the fact they themselvase have been instrumental in preventing the train- ing of soldiers.
 the corporations and business houses of Birmingham have always been ready to avail themselves of the services of the national guard Tn fact, the memory of man runneth not To the tune when any corporation of this district failed to ask for troops when its property was in danger But no man has vet found one that was ready to assist any commanding offf- cer to gain recruits among the young iaen In it's employ In all the history or Birmingham no man can find a sin gle instance in which the national guard failed to do it's duty by the state and by the people when called upon, and no man can find any instance in which it did not acquit itself with oreIst. And vet, with the usual calm indifference to danger after that dan scr has passed, the alleged hard headed. business men. with short siShtedness that is hard to understand have pursued the same old policy of neglect if not actual hostility. It IS d well known fact that many firms and corporations will not employ men who belong to the national guard. Many a man has had cause to regret his service to his state while contemplating a lost position. The law requires that mem- bers attend the annual encampments tut what commanding officer cares to force his men to attend when he knows that by doing so he will cause then to lose their jobs? For this reason hundreds of. men who would be only too glad to enlist are prevented
 
 Commerce of Birmingham would fol- low the example of Dallas and If it's members would live up to the spirit of it. they would do a great thing, not only for this district but for the coun- try.
 Another great need of the National Guard is that 1t be relieved of the DOS siDility of having to do riot and strike duty. Aside from the disagreeaDle feature of being liable to call at any time. there Is nothing the militiaman dislikes as much as this being required . go out against his own friends and kin. The natural result is that many forget that the militia is maintained for national defense, and gain the idea tiat it's chief function is the break ing of strikes and the putting down of unions. For this reason. if for no other Alabama should follow the ex- ample of Pennsylvania and organize state police. Not only would such an organization be far more efficient for such duty than any body of national elardsmen but It's services would in the long run cost far less. The splen- did record of the Pennsylvania incunted constabulary has shown that a small body of picked men, trained and equipped for the one special duty Is many times more efficient than 10 times It's number of untrained men whose hearts are not in the business. Here in Alabama many minimizing people associate the guard with the corporations, ignorant of the fact that of all the friends of the guard the corporations do least If the state would establish a police force of it's own it would not only gain in efh- cieney, but would add greatly to the efficiency of the militia.
 The law requires that any recruit unoer the age of 21 years obtain his parents consent before enlisting. In iaany cases this parental consent is impossible to obtain. The parent Is