Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-10-08
Vermont'S National Guard.
Speakers Says Its High Efficiency
Should Be Maintained.
BECAUSE OF THE COUNTRY'S SMALL
STANDING ARMY THE MILITIA OF
THE STATES WOULD BE
NEEDED IN CASE OF
WAR

~ IHCCIlIS laoC evening W IHS III 81
of a series of meetings which are to
be held by like associations all over
the State of Vermont in the inter-
ests of the Vermont militia. The
meeting was an unprecedented
success, about 120 members of the
association and invited guests sitting
down to dinner in the main dining
room of the Van Ness House at $50
O'Clock. Simon L. Platka, presi-
dent of the association, presided
over the after-dinner speeches, dur
ing the course of which authorities
on the subject of the state militia
brought out many points of interest
which are not generally known to
the laymen of the state.
The first speaker was Adjutant-
General Lee S. Tillotson, who point
ed out some of the reasons why the
militia should be supported by the
business men of Vermont. Assum-
ing that his listeners were convinced
that the country needed fully as
m UGH preparation for war at the
present time as at any time in the
past, he pointed out that the stand
ing army of the country numbered
80, 600 officers and men, 10000 of
whom were in the coast defenses
and therefore stationary, which
leaves a mobile army of $4,000. A
little more than one-half of that
number are scattered over the
world, in China, the Philippines,
Hawaii, Alaska, the Panama zone
and the like, which leaves less than
$4,000 in actual defense of the
United States, which number is
about twice the size of the police
force of the city of New York.
There are in the organized militia
l25,0G9 officers and men; which,
assuming that they are fully
equipped and properly trained,
would bring the national defense up
to 100000 men. In case of a dec
laration of war it has been estimat-
ed that from 100000 to 100000
men would have to be placed in the
field. Some way must be provided
for the training Of these men. 1t
is for the business men and all
others to think the proposition over
and to find a method of best using
the material we have. 1t has al
ways been the policy of this country
to depend upon its militia, not in
the sense of the organized militia of
to-day but on the citizen soldiers
who are ready to fight but who
must be trained.
The great difficulty in the success
of the militia of the state is to keep
the men in its ranks, which may be
partly due to the lack in it's person
mel, but which is largely accounted
for by the fact that the employers
are not willing in many instances to
allow the members of the militia
their time off to attend the state
camp, which duty they must per-
form if they are to serve. Some
employers are willing to give the
men the time to go to the camp if they
will use that time as their vacation,
which is not always what the young
men desire to do with their vacations.
General Tillotson made a special
point of this feature and asked the
employers to see that their employ.
es were given an opportunity to at
tend the state encampment, citing
instances where large corporations
made rule that every man who
wished to become a member of the
militia would have the time to at
tend the encampments held each
year. In this way the bushes!
men are given an opportunity to as
sist in The building up of the nationa
defenses.
Colonel H. T. Johnson of Brad
; ford, commander of the Vernon
regiment of militia, laid especia
, stress on the need of public senti
J ment to build up the militia. Th
young men should have every in
t huence for joining the state defense
the chief reasons for the sentimen
: against the militia being indiffer