The Arizona copper camp., 1916-03-31
STATE MAY LOSE GUARD;
DEPARTMENT bLANES HARRIS;
HUNT TAKES NO ACTION

0edtcS WiAl Hceu every man aVdl1dDle
for military service. Arizona stands
In gravest danger of losing her ma
| tional guard organization.
The national guard of Arizona now
comes far from meeting the require
ments Of the federal militia law. If
the Hay bill, with it's much more
rigid requirements, becomes a law
the Arizona militia must quickly be
brought UP to a new standard Of eff
cheney or be mustered out entirely.
Plans Of the general staff to con-
tinue the Arizona militia entirely
with state funds If federal aid is
| withdrawn must be abandoned when
the Hay bill becomes effective, for
one of the provisions of that meas
ure prohibits the maintenance of any
purely state militia organization.
Adjt Gen. Charles w. Harris is
held responsible by the war depart
ment for the present demoralized con-
dition of the guard, for the apparent
lack of interest in military matters,
for the small membership of the vari-
Gus companies and for the limited
attendance at drills. For two years
the department has been urging Gov.
Hunt to remove Harris but the gov
ernor refuses to do so.
Charges are being freely made that
the national guard is being made
Hunt political machine If the guard
can possibly qualify under the re-
Quirements of the Hay bill, captains
will receive $500 a year and men
will be paid by the federal govern
ment for attendance at drill. Guard
officers who have been summarily
discharged for slack of interest" de-
clare Harris is planning to build up
a powerful Hunt political machine,
distributing this patronage to men
who will support his policies Criti-
cism Of the miserable way the guard
was handled at the time Of the Cliff
ton strike brought about the dis
missal of the commissioned officers
Of Companies A and B. In explana-
ton Of their dismissal they say the
present condition of the guard is due
solely to the incompetency of Harris
and his activities in state politics.
They declare the guard is today be-
coming rotten with political intrigue,
and that no such thing as real mill
tary efficiency exists in the organiza-
tion
The present controversy between
the war department on one side and
the governor and the adjutant gen.
eral on the other dates back almost to
the time when Harris, then sergeant
in Company c, Tempe, was made
adjutant general by Hunt. In letter
written last December, Henry Breck-
enridge, assistant secretary of war,
told the governor that the attitude of
Harris toward the department has
| always been one of poorly yelled hos
| tility." Furthermore the assistant
secretary asserted that Harris had
opposed every rule and regulation
of the department designed to make
the guard efficient for national serv-
ice in case of need, instead of merely
for state service.
| In 1914 the war department notified
| the adjutant general and governor
that federal support for three COM
panies which failed to come up to
the standard had been withdrawn.
The governor wrote protesting against
that summary action" He suggested
that a regular army captain be de-
tailed to the national guard of Ari-
zona as inspector instructor and Of
fered to place the guard entirely
under the direction Of the captain till
after the following federal inspection,
scheduled to be held In March, 1915.
Up to that time all the Inspector
instructors detailed for service with
the Arizona militia had been ieuten-
ants
| The offer although it was a very
unusual one, was accepted by the de-
partment. Capt. Cromwell Stacey was
detailed and under his direction there
was a marked improvement in the
Arizona militia organization. The COM
panies passed the federal inspection
with a fair average, all coming up
to the requirements. A property
shortage amounting to about $4,000
was investigated, accounted for in one
way and another, and marked off the
books.
After the March inspection the in
spector- instructor turned the organi-
zation over to the adjutant general
A controversy then arose over the
general appropriation bill passed by
the legislature. 1t seemed likely that
there would be no annual encamp
ment. Capt. Stacey recommended to
the department of war that the
militiamen be given regular army pay
for attendance at the camp. An
order to this effect was issued and