The sun., 1916-12-29
The National Guard as Army ON
GERS See II.

The report Of the Chief OF the
Militia Bureau, Brigadier-G General W.
\. MANN. upon the mobilization Of
the Organized Militia and National
Guard for service Oh the border would
be more satisfactory II the names Of
regiments severely criticised for inef-
ficiency and unfitness were given In
the returns OF inspecting officers.
There are fairly good regiments In
the National Guard, even in the judg.
ment Of regular army officers. Why.
then, should credit not be given them
In the weller of structures that leave
an impression on the readers mind
that the organization rs n whole
would be only food for powder In n
campaign in the field. We should
even like TO see m admission here and
there that this OF that regiment has
sufficient training to render n good
account Of itself IL confronted with
Mexican troops.
occasionally Il regular army man
commcndS. Thus Major STEPHENS. in
reporting upon Battery -. Field Ar.
%tillery, says: Il consider this the best
National Guard battery | have in
spected. The captain is a real soldier
and he has fine control of his men
In about two more months,
provided an opportunity was given
this battery to work over a suitable
terrain and have target practice. I
should consider II ready for any kind
Of service" From what State did II
hail? The identity of the battery
should not he left to conjecture. 1t
is unfair to the Jealous officers and
men,. Praise. however. Is rare
in these inspection reports: even
with faint praise Is uncom-
mon; downright, sometimes savage
condemnation Is the rule.
One cnn sec the regulars throwing
up their hands In despair. We have
no doubt that organizations inspected
were utterly bad and worthless for
serious work but there were Keep
tons, as Is proved by testimony that
regiments would need n mini
mum Of further training to qualify
for field service. After inspecting
the - Infantry Colonel MORGAN
reported: 1T Is the best National
Guard regiment at Eagle Pass In
and general efficiency.
The Colonel Is Il regular. n good cx-
ecutive, and the regiment shows II.
Regiment will he fit for the field in
about two months" Was it a New
York regiment? Possibly, because we
read elsewhere that ".Ncw York Is
one of the two States having a COM ,
plete divisional organization. and 1t
Is we'll known that its troops are !
among the foremost In preparedness"
We hold that regiments good and bad
he designated in the report of |
the chief of the Militia Bureau. Other |
wise the best share the reprOach that
belongs entirely to the worst.
The reasons why the National |
In mobilization and border
camps made in the judgment of rcgu-
lar army inspectors n poor showing
he summed up: n considerable
number Of the enlisted men were re-
who joined in an emergency !
the medical examinations were by
no means thorough; often there was
A glnring deficiency Of equipment, and
equipment of some regiments had
been roughly used and neglected;
many officers were ignorant and In.
could not impart instruc-
ton and had M notion Of discipline:
III" liberalization Of the militia was
preclpitated by the national defence
net, causing Misrepresentation and ron
From any point Of view the
State s0ldicry vas unrcady AMI a
disappointment, but there were ex-
circumstances. 1t Is not to
be denied that they had the true