Weekly journal-miner., 1916-04-05

usual request of the governor for an inspector-instructor to put the guard in shape for the next inspection. Cap tain Cromwell Stacey, an officer of the regular army was assigned to thIs post, with full charge of the guard until after the following Federal in spection, which was held in March, 1915. When that time came the com panies all passed the inspection. This year all but three, it is said, have failed to come up to requirements, and the guard has lapsed back to the condition 1t was in before.
 Practically no drills have been Ileld since August, 1915, when the guard returned from camp, and those that have been held have been poorly at tended. When the Clifton trouble came in October, although it had been known that troops might be sent, a number of the company commanders were on their way to Florida to attend a rifle shoot. Governor Hunt. instead of sending one or two companies as units, decided to send a small detail from almost every company in the state, "so tnat men from all parts of the State might see what conditions were at Clifton" Those men whose company commanders were absent broke into the armories and equipped themselves. No records were kept of the equipment they took, and now guns, blankets. and other valuable Federal property is missing Part of the equipment was worn out at Clif- ton and at least 30 per cent of it is unserviceable. No State funds were available to pay the guardsme1 for strike duty at Clifton, where most ot their time was spent in idleness. In stead of making the Clifton camp one of instruction, the officer in charge declared the men are too damn well drilled already" Naturally the guard returned even more demoralized than before.
 In December. when it was seen that the guard could not possibly pass the Federal inspection, the governor wrote Captain Stacey. offering to con fer on him the same powers and con trol of drill as he had when he took charge of the regiment in 1914 Stacey refused The governor then wrote the war department, urging the secretary wire his approval Of the plan at once. This Acting Secretary Breckenridge refused to do. He wrote to the governor that the guard had lapsed into its former inefficient hope less condition, and furthermore stat ed that the attitude of Harris toward the department had always been one "of poorly yelled hostility" He as serted that Harris had opposed every rule and regulation of the department designed to fit the guard for national service.
 The guard Is notoriously unprepar- cd to take the field if called out for service. Membership, equipment. nor ale, all are low. There is no enthusi- asm, and with the mastering out O! whole companies and the arbitrary dismissal of officers, no man feels safe. Captain J. E. Noble of Com. pany D at Mesa has been notified that unless he recruits his command to war strength within 20 days he and his lieutenants will be placed on the unassigned list. It is understood that ln order placing the commissioned officers of Company C at Tempe upon ,he unassigned list is in course oi preparation.
 At the last meeting of the general staff. when the possibility of the withdrawal of Federal aid was con sidered, it was decided to appropriate S50,000 for the continuance oi the guard as State organization. Ii the Hay bill becomes a law this cannot De done, although it would be pos 5ible under Arizona's peculiar military code. Just before he issued the order placing officers on the unassigned list the adjutant general informed officers of the three Phoenix com panics that they were to receive no more instructions from the Federal instructor.