The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-27
INCREASE OF MILITIA IS
 NATIONS REAL SOLUTION
Citizen Soldiers Deserve and Are Entitled Consdera tion in View of Dependence That May Have to
 Be Placed Them
By M. HARvIE

for. in modern warfare, the untrained
 soldier Is almost worse than useless.
 The complicated war machinery of to-
 day cannot be handled by untutored
 amateurs The innumerable separate
 implements of the modern army re-
 quire men of experience to handle l them. So the effort of today in the Lational guard is train and learn"
 As an example of that fact, the gov ernment is bending every effort to train
 the national guard In it's duties Only
 few days ago the infantry officers of
 the state met in Montgomery for d
 week of training. And it was a week
 of real training, too. There was none
 of the frills that the average citizen imagines the militiaman indulges in. Instead there was plenty of real. ol6- fashioned. hard work. The regular
 army officers detailed for instruction
 saw to it that the national guardsmen had enough to do to keep them out of
 mischief. The week was filled with practical instruction. There were les
 sons in all the subjects that an in- tantry officer should understand and
 the officers who attended are already putting into effect in their own com
 nands the lessons learned Thus the organization as a whole is ever in creasing its efficiency and it's useful ness
 Birmingham was well represented.
 the following officers being present: Majors Cliff S. Price. R. O Mabry and Carl Seals Captains J. T. Evans. w. T. Wingo, T. w. Cole and Joel D. Carlisle. Lieutenants Hal Halstead. R. B. Kelly, John Trimble and Ravee Norris. From Bessemer came Capt. Lacy Edmundson | and Lieut. Albert Fitzpatrick.
 The great difficulty in the way of | creating really adequate citizen army
 of reserve is public indifference. Either the public does not know or
 does not care. The federal govern rnent and that of the several states is 1 doing everything possible, but very little can be done without public sup port. We expect too much of the na- tional guard and do too little for 1t in return. Here in Birmingham we do
 rot even furnish the proper quarters, leaving the organizations to worry along in whatever little hooks and crannies of the city hall they may be able to find available. The state ap propriates a small monthly stipend and the county a still smaller one, but no where in Alabama has the national guard been given worthy and suff- l cient quarters. Some of the states have | ealized this need and have built for | the various regiments armories worthy l of the organizations. In Birmingham
 the artillery battalion, by renting | warehouse managed to find storage for . l still roasting under the roof of the city hall in whatever place may be unoc cupied
 i Another crying need Is for Congress | to pass the much talked of militia l compensation bill This would mean | that every officer and man of the or ganized militia would receive from the government a small proportion of .ho amount received by the army and would thus have a means of support | independent of the state and county. | IT would be just enough to compensate | fer the actual time spent in drill and | instruction, but 1t would be enough to offer much needed announcement. | Why such bill has never been passed | is hard to understand.
 | Some day when it is too late the | people of this country are going to
 receive a rude awakening. There will tn desperate need of trained soldiers | with no time to train them. Then the
 men who have refused to allow their
 sons or employees to be members of the guard and those who have Ignored
 the needs so consistently urged, will be | the first 10 cry out against our un- preparedness. Then we will see the
 fruits of our present policy in a fright 1 full waste of life, in untold suffering and perhaps in national disgrace.