St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-02-17
PRESS COMMENT
COngressman's Greene's Notable
Speech.

The feasibility of the taking over
of the National Guard by the federal
government was brought squarely
before the House on Jan. FL by Re
preventative F. l.. Greene, Republi-
can, of Vermont, who made alto
gether one of the best speeches of
that day of oratory on the subject of
national defense. Speaking as
former national guardsman of II
! years experience, he said that the
| progress in the present organized
militia has practically reached a
point where further advance is near
| ly impossible, and that the states
! should consent to turn over to the
| federal government the control of
the National Guard. He believed it
| impracticable for the government
ever to summon and compel the at
tendance at the colors of any consid
cradle number of men who at one
time may have served an enlistment
in the regular army. The country is
too large, he asserted, and the
American habits of travel and So
journ are too free to make it pos
sible to keep thousands of men
chained to the demands of a card
system reserve in Washington" By
the states giving up their local state
|
there would at once be a nationaliz-
ing of the entire force that is now
divided into 48 units under different
systems of training. The states
would be giving up constitutional
prerogative, it is true, but that pre-
rogative is today of doubtful value
to them. In such a system of a ma
tionalized militia, the men who had
served their terms would remain in
the very place where they were re-
cruited Such a National Guard
would be territOrialiZed and 'the
element of local pride in the tradi-
tions and history of a local military
organization is a factor in discipline
and morale superior to all laws and
higher than all officers" Mr.. Greene
assrted that far better results could
be obtained under the supreme con-
troll of the national government from
the $6,000,000 spent annually by the
states and the $7,5OO,O0O contribut-
ed by the federal government for the
support of the present unsatisfactory
organized militia. He did not wish
to be understood as rejecting upon
the personnel of the National Guard,
as the defects he saw he admitted are
due to the faulty system which seeks
to make a National Guard out of a
force that the law keeps a strictly
local and state guard.-Army and
Navy Journal.
Better Things In 1915.
Nine. Thebes, who predicted that
1914 would be year of disaster for
the world, now comes forward with
her predictions for 1915, and they
are a pleasanter assortment. Here
are the chief facts she predicts: The
sosA
renaissance of nations and liber
ton of oppressed peoples; Europe
will be finally pacitied; order will
come out of disorder; Italy is destin-
ed to unsheath the sword and will
play an important role in the war;
Germany will survive after fashion
but the house of Hohenzollern is
doomed; the Crown Prince will never
be Kaiser; Austria is doomed and
the scandals of Francis Joseph's pri-
vate life will become public; Bel
GUM has not entirely emerged from
her trials but her future will be mag
niicent; England has saved herself
and will continue to WELD supreme
power; Russia will go forward and
Poland will be free; Turkey will dis
appear from Europe and the Balkan
states will not gain thereby in the
long run. While the world in gener-
al shrugs it's shoulders at sOOthsay-
erS and the like, we all have secret
feeling that there may be a hidden
possibility of truth and the reading
of the future has its fascination. If
Nine. Thebes' predictions prove true
to any extent, the world will wonder;
if they don't hit the mark, we will
have forgotten her.-United Opinion.
Don't Regulate Too Much.
Senator Powell's bill making it
compulsory to have all communica- |
tions printed in newspapers have
the name of the writer signed to the
article has real merit. This cation
has caused many newspaper pub
fishers no end of trouble. This pa
per would like to see Mr.. PowelPs |
bill become a Waterbury Rec |
ord.
1t looks to us as though a per-
son with sense enough to run a news !
paper is capable of regulating the !
matter of communications, as far |
as his own paper is concerned, and |
should be allowed to use his own
Judgment in the matter. All ed |
1tors require the names of the con-
tributors of articles or communica- !
lions before printing them, reserv-
ing the right to withhold any ar
ticle from publication that in their |
judgment it is not advisable to pub
lish. In our opinion the law in |
question would infringe on an ed |
ftor's personal rights. Do not all |
our leading magazines and period
icals use any amount of articles |
from which, for various reasons, |
their authors name are withheld
Then why should the Vermont leg |
n Z n hof
an editor shall or shall not print in |
his paper so long as he publishes a |
clean sheet Gazette.