The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1916-05-24
PREPARING FOR PREPAREDNESS.

The agreement by the senate
and house conferences and the eul'
innate passage by congress OF
their bill for the increase of the
Army and the National Guard
will not constitute immediate
preparedness against war by
any means, although a great
many people thoughtlessly as
sumo that it will do so.
It is merely the taking Of the
initial step toward preparing
for preparedness.
The bill agreeded upon by the
conferees the standing army to
2O6, 900 in time of peace, with
authority given the president to
expand this force to approx
mately 275,o0o at his discretion
in the event of the imminence OF
war.
The National Guard is to be
federalized and increased to 425
600 officers and men. It will re-
main under the immediate con-
troll of the several States in time
of peace, with the exception that
each officer and man must sign
an agreement to serve the gov
ernment whenever called upon
by the president. This will
give the president power to or
der the National Guard out at
any tune for service either with
| in or without the borders Of the
United States. It Therefore dig
nifes the guard and makes it a
federal force instead of merely
a State militia. It will oe arm
ed and equipped in precisely the
same manner as the regular
army.
Majors and all officers above
that grade: according to the bill,
will receive $500 a year from the
government in time Of peace.
Captains of companies Will re-
ceive the same, while captains
of the staff corps and depart
,,ments and lieutenants receive
from $3.50 to $500 wear, accord
ing to grade. They are also
paid for camp duty each year.
In all probability the govern
ment will have difficulty in re-
cruiting the regular army
up to the required standard: but
1t is more than probable that the
National Guard will be raised to
the 425, 900 mark in short order.
Any country town of a popula-
ton of 500 or more and with a
reasonable farming population
can recruit a company OF the
finest kind of young men Tor
service in the guard. It would
be worth s48 a year and more to
any young man to join such a
company, as they receive one
dollar for each attendance at
drill. the number in any one
year not to exceed forty-elght'
They are also paid for camp
duty. In addition to the hnan'
cial consideration, each man
would receive fine military ed
ucation and training which
would be Of incalculable value
to him in his future business
career. The benefits of the
physical training would also be
great.
But as we stated before. the
recruiting of this great force
will by no means constitute I'M
mediate preparedness against
war. It is only the beginning
These companies, and regiments
and brigades must be armed and
equipped and trained for a long
period of time before they Will
be in shape to take the field IN
the event of war. With drills
but once a week and their an
nual camp duty it will be sever
al years before this new force
can be actually depended upon
for immediate service in the
face of an enemy. Should they
be called out prior to that time,
it would become necessary tc
send them to a concentration
camp for six months or so o1
steady drill and instruction be-
fore sending them to the front,
And yet it is a good begin
ming. 1t is serving notice upon
other and more aggressive ma
tions that while the United