Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-01-26
ST|MS0NUPHOLDS
GARRISON Plan OF
MILITARY RESERVE
Former Secretary of War I'm.
der Taft Says Scheme is
Next Best to Un!yer-
sal Service.
OPPOSES NATIONAL GUARD
Militia Valuable Chiefly to
States. He Says, and Sug-
gests They Are Valuable
us Secondary Line.
OPPOSES NATIONAL GUARD

Military Conditions ny Elihu Root,
former secretary of state. ana an ad-
dress. Endorsing the administrations
continental amy plan. by Henry L,
StimSon, former secretary of war. were
features OF the program OF tha fina!
session today OF the national Security
leagues congress. a number CT othes
addresses were also delivered.
The congress viii close ton!sht with
3 banquet. at which Senator Lodge and
former Attorney General Wicisersham
Wer" t" be the principal speakers.
Senator Roots letter indorscd Sec
.etary Garrison's contention tha- the
national guard could not be depended
upon for. the army increase.
Can't Depend on Guards.
~ is Idle" wrote MI. Root. ito talk
OF developing the national guard Itself
into an adequate army foc national! de-
Tense and any such attempt would m
evitab!y result in the failnre OF the
whole movement and the waste of all
the energy and effort deTnted TO it. The
There are good things In Secretary
Garrison's plan. The doing Of them
WOULD be progress i'll thc right direc-
ton. But, liz the meantime. lei us take
that. is directed toward a trained q
tion;il citizen soldiel?. under the In
%st.uction n administrator n FORM
atlve leadership of an adequate. though
small, regular army"
Declaring himself IN favor o. COM
pulsory universal military service as
the true solution of the defense prob
lem. Mr.. Stimson said he regarded the
program now advanced by Secretary
Garrison as h sound initial step.
IF congress is not ready tc sanction
universal training" he said, the meas
lircS which are enacted ShOnj1 ha those
Who. so far as they go. are i'm accord
with this great fundamental duty and
which. as time passes and experience
i1pe!is. will lead most naturally TO tho
establishment of such q system.
g " One of the propositions be-
ing seriously urged before congress is
that VIC should pay our state militia
from the naticnai treasury aud should
attempt to develop them into our fed
eral citizen army while they still re-
tais, their legal character as a state
Under the federal constitution. the
national guard or organized militia is
primarily a state force instead of g
national reserve and l do not believe.
that n effective national citizen army
can he created out Of a force dominated
by IS separate sovereigrties. For near
is 10 Years renuo efforts have been
made by the federal government as
we'll as by the state authorities to in
&tSAoS Tx JJStI11DGl Ol II EudTQ, vel
1t has remained nearly stationary.
Objections TO Guard.
1T seems to me that these defects can
be traced directly to the fact that the
national guard is 1n fact 8 state mill
tary force WhicE We are also requiring
to 90 duty for the national government.
So long as such forces exist the states
are tempted to slur their police duties
and to rely wholly upon citizen SOL
diery for that rpcse
What is even worse, there has grad
ually grown up among our iaboring
glasses the FEELING tina, the only SOL
acquainted represent a different class
OF the community and are maintained
Tor the purpose of being used against
them.
Instead of regarding the militia man
rs q citizen training to perform
his duty of defending the cunt in
ease of real war. the !aboring man mas
come to regard him as a representa-
tive IF capital. being trained as a po-
iicellan against labor.
Finally. this liability 20 state police
DUTY has tended to shape the term of
enlistment ana the training Of our mill
TIA to the disadvantage Of their func-
zion as national troops. Instead of be-
!ngt trained through brief. but continu-
Gus periods Of intensive work will, the
coio-s and thereafter being left COM
paratiVely free as reservists, the mill
tia men are held to comparatively Innr
Periods with the colors under a system
OF weekly army drills; a system which
ls not only the least effective way of
teaching d man to be u soldier. hut
also tends, from the length of time dur
ing Wh1cF II imposes a continual though
slight upon him. to discour-
age enlistment.
"The national guard is. other Than
the regular army, our only present force
or even partially trained soldiery. Moth
ing should be don to DISCOURAGE it's
work. hut, on the. contrary. everythin.
to stimulate and encourage it.
Referring to the recent Mexican nor.
dc- troubles and the demands of many
Tor a punitive expedition. Mr.. St.nson
said: Ut is conceivable that at almos.
any time the hands of cur government
may be forced by some suca emergeo-
cy. yet at the present ,in,n. with tie
great bulk of our arm. massed oion.
Tie Mexican border. ~ i.are only 90
200 troops there av.i'.,hle en,. s,,ch an
expedition, and. under s,l,.,. calculation.
the McS:cans have FAR more armed mel,
and rYaiEeN troopg available fer n prn;-
tiv'. expedition into our :%c::i.or., than
we into theirs"
particularly. to grant te.i":ni ,,,v
20 Inc individual militia l,an TO-: !,is
weekly service rendered 50 IL. state.
seems TO blur tie erea. its:S,s Which
y emerging from the Eururca. war.
1t 10 to yield again 20 the theory ,i.at
We can Induce men tO serve tir:.. ,-..n.
tey, mol 0e = 6utv Of i~lntriO.:.r, ,,,i in,