The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-09-03
AND NAVY NEWS
Best Service Colun. in city.

The Secretary of War recently sent to
Brig. Gen. Enoch II. Crowder, Judge sd-
Ivocate general OF the army. for decision
on the question as to whether the adju-
tant general of a State. Territory or the
District of Columbia was an officer of
the National Guard within the meaning
lof the national defense act of June 8
last. Gen. Crowder replied that an adju-
tant general was not member of the
IlnilitiB, and his decision has been APP
proved by the Secretary of War The
decision says, In part:
THE National Guard is to be a national
army. composed of men who, while nor
mally engaged in civil pursuits and avail
able to the states for the purpose Of local
government are nevertheless Federal SOL
oilers, under a special obligation to the
Federal government and subject to its
paramount control, organized, trained
and equipped to engage in warfare
promptly and effectively whenever &C.
casion shall require. Congress has sought
thus to provide an effective fighting force
for the nation.
Although such functioning of local
government may be necessary to the ac-
complainant of the national purpose
and certain state officials may be ever so
intimately related to the National Guard,
| 1t does not follow that such an official.
though at local law he may be regarded
rs a military Official acquires under this
act the status of an officer Of such ma
tional army.
He is appointed by the governor. as
other officials are. and is not generally
Required to be chosen from the organized
militia, nor is he necessarily regarded as
an integral part thereof. Like other
heads of departments of State govern
ment appointed by the governor, he gen
orally holds once at the pleasure of the
governor appointing him and goes out OF
office with him."
The detention barracks of the naval
training station at Newport has adopted
the army method of fitting shoes. Prior
| to this little attention had been given
| by the navy to this important subject
The question of fitting shoes had been
left entirely to the individual.
| At a training station, where there Is
| continuous marching and infantry drill,
IT is considered advisable to have prop
erly fitting shoes. To that end a study
was made of the report of the army
board. and the methods recommended by
that body have been utilized In the naval
service.
There has always been more or less
trouble at training stations and else
where in the service on account of abra-
| sions of feet, which cases have now been
!
Is carefully fitted with shoes when he
receives his first outfit. and when he is
transferred after detention this record is
available for the issue of his new shoes.
In the meantime, he has three weeks Of
hard usage Of his shoes TO determine the
necessity of any change in size.
1t il hoped that this method OF exam
ination may extend throughout the serv-
ice. At the naval training station also
the Swedish system OF physical exercise.
inauSurated there by Surgeon J. +. Muir
ply, L. s. N, in 1872. has been carried
on continuously. 1t has been observed
that the development Of the recruit in
physique and weight is remarkable I'M
der the influences OF this system. Tn
recruits OF one company after six months
at the station averaged a gain of from
twelve to fifteen pounds.
Naval authorities have made but little
progress during the past few months in
the demonstration of an entirely salts
factory system of Coaling at sea. Addi-
tional experiments are in contemplation
however. and the Bureau of Construction
and Repair is engaged on preliminaries
to the work of installing the Spencer
Miller design at Norfolk. 1t is planned
to conduct tests of transferring coal from
a collier to battleship, both under way
under various weather conditions