The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-28
'HOWITzERS REPLY TO
EDITORIAL CRITICISM
Willing to Walt, TO Fight. or to Die
In Country's Service, but II Not
Needed Should Be Relieved.

Feeling aggrieved by certain edito-
| rial comment on the national guards
men appearing in the Richmond
Times-Dispatch recently, members of
the second section of the Richmond
HowitZers prepared a communication
to that newspaper setting forth their
views on the questions discussed.
The Times-Dispatch having failed
to print their communication reply
ing to its editorial, they appealed to
The Virginian to print 1t. AS a matter
OF courtesy to them 1t Is given below:
Richmond, Va,
September IA. 1915.
Editor Times-Dispatch.
CITY.
Dear Sir
We read with interest and con-
! Germ an editorial in your paper of
September 13, urging that all the
national guardsmen now held in mob
ilization camps throughout the coun-
try be sent to the border for two
months more of intensive training. We
| also wildly recall another editorial Of
earlier date which attacked the ma
tional guardsmen who complained Of
certain hardships and injustices to
which they were being subjected. and
stated that soldering was not for
weddings or molly coddles. or words
| to that effect; therefore, we wish to
express our regret at the apparent at
| titude Of your influential paper and
we request that you publish this our
syllabus of self-defense:
ION June 10, approximately one
hundred thousand young men of the
national guard. answering the call of
! country in distress, left their work,
their homes. their families and their
obligations and volunteered to pro-
tect the remaining ninety-nine mil
lion nine hundred thousand citizens
of these United States These young
I men as whole represented very
/ high type of citizenship, coming from
varied walks of life. some leaving
/ their own business. some their pro-
LESSONS, some salaried positions in the
face OF heavy personal loss They
numbered among them many school
boys. college men and men from Of
| fees and stores banded together as
home defense organizations to be held
and used only in times OF national
peril and no, professional soldiers.
men whose very occupations made the
sudden transition to field duty a hard :
ship and the rigor OF heavy physical
labor and exposure to extremes OF
weather sometimes a danger.
They have faced this sudden tran
sition. given up gladly their personal
liberty for the good OF the service.
and worked at drill and certain other
| little inflicted diversions all summer
| until they are fairly well hardened
| and seasoned, More than two months
ago the war cloud was dissipated and
| that urgent need for us seems To no
longer exist. We are needed at home
and needed very badly. Now when
| there seems to be some hope OF de-
mobilization you publicly advocate
that We be packed off to Texas for
two months more. Why?
If our government needs us we
are willing to wait or to fight, to sac
rifice homes. incomes. even life We
have said no word criUcising the gov
eminent or the army. but we are bit
| terly distressed because so many OF
the people of our home city fail 10
! appreciate what we are doing and be-
| cause one of it's leading papers seems
] to feel that since we were fools
| enough 10 Join, we should be held and
| trained up to the standard of "regu-
lars" Do you advocate putting a pre-
| MUM on the Stacker" who STAYS
behind? Do you think 1t right to put
the entire burden OF preparedness on
one-half OF one per cent of the twenty
million men In this country who are
| OF military age?
In one battery at Camp Stuart
there are sixty three college graduates
and the standard of other organiza-
! tons elsewhere is likewise high The
people at large should realize that
there are gentlemen In the national
| guard: that we are not dogs. that we
have homes. ties and obligations like
other human beings
We have about passed the stage
OF expecting appreciation. but we do
resent ridicule and imposition. II is
bad to ride a free horse to DEATH
therefore. to the author OF the edito-
rial cited above and TO all others who
hold the same opinion we should like
to PROFOUND the following questions:
"O) Have you any close relative
held in training in time of peace?
/ CD Are you bearing any hardships
| or dangers of field service?
| "(3) Are you yourself contributing
any money to the national defense i?
| "t4) Is your personal itfc's future
jeopardized by your being held in mil
1 /. sN