The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-12-23
DEFENDS THE GUARD.
THE ADJUTANT GENERAL CON-
MENTS ON STATEMENTS BY
GEMS. SCOTT AND WOOD,
Says That Militia Companies Came
y Nearer to Having Full Quota of Men
Than Regulars-DOcs Not Believe

OF MAJOR Gems. WOOD, COM
handing the Department of the East,
and of Hugh l.. Scott, chief of staff
of the United States army, that the
National Guard is a failure only pre-
Sents one side of the picture and
measuring the regular army by the
same ward stick the South Carolina
adjutant general thinks thai it is
much more of a failure than the Nat
iOnal Guard, and he does not agree
that the guard is by any means a
failure. He thinks that Gems. Wood
and Scott and other regular army Off
GERS took the stand in the beginning
that the National Guard would prove
a failure and they are refusing to
Ichange their position because Of their
prejudice against the guard, and thus
are justifying their own predictions.
The National Guard regiments were
nearer the quota of enlisted men than
the regular regiments, said the adju-
tant general, and still the regular
army officers are always talking about
the quota Of men in the Guard regi-
ments. He says that figures will
show that there are many companies
in the regular army with as low as
forty men and some even smaller, but
Gems. Wood and Scott never said any
thing about them. He pointed out,
too, that the defense act had just
gone into effect and that the National
Guard had not had time to be tried
out before the call came for them from
1.-THE president. Also, he said, when the
cal, came the citizens began enrolling
promptly. but it was soon apparent
that they would not be needed for war
but only for patrol duty on the border
and many men did not feel hat the
occasion called for the sacrifice which
they would willingly have made if
WAR had been imminent and therefore
the enlistments dwindled. He also
mentioned that the regular army Off
Gers took the recruiting out of the
hands of the local companies and put
1t in the hands of people who were
not in sympathy with the Guard and
cared nothing about it.
The adjutant general pointed to the
sAEle record WhIcn tire NarIUua1 r.~.a
hstd made on the border from the re-
ports Of the regular army men and
many of them are not in sympathy
with the Guard and are secretly if not
openly hostile to it's continuation.
This record, in the face Of the unsym-
pathetic attitude Of the regular
army thinks the adjutant general,
proof enough of the efficiency of the
Guard.
II universal military training is
necessary for the National Guard.
then what is the matter with the reg
uiar army, he asked? The regular
army can't get the recruits sufficient
to bring them up to the required
strength and their companies on the
average are lower in enlistment than
the National Guard companies, he
stated.
Another matter which he mentioned
was that the regular army is for pro-
fessional soldiers and those who yo
into the National Guard do so from
patriotic motives and are not attract
ed by any desire to make a living as
is the regular army line and crowd.
Moore and many Of the Nat
lional Guard feel that the regular army
authorities. or many Of them at least,
started out to make the National
Guard a failure because they were 3D.
posed to it from the first and that they
have refused to give it justice. They
have on every occasion rushed into
print with condemnation of the Guard
I'M charging it with lack Of efficiency
and yet the general believes that man
for man and considering the situation
as between the professional soldier
and the citizen soldiery the Guard is
more efficient than the regular arny.
In palmer words he and many others
feel that the regular army needs more
attention right now than the Guards
men.
Gen. Moore does not believe there is
any danger of abandonment of the
National Guard, ever though the high
army officers are fighting it. He
thinks Secretary Baker will see that
it is given a square deal and a fair
chance.