The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-07-20


Echoes of the deplorable affair have
been heard all over the state, all over
the northwest, at western army
headquarters at San Francisco, and
even at the nations capital
1t is unfortunate that the governor
could not rise to the occasion. The
limitation of his conception of the
fact that the requirements of the &C.
casion were overwhelmingly for un-
selfish patriotism and that personal
preferences should have been relin-
quished for the good of the regiment;
his failure to grasp the higher duties
and obligations of his office, and his
stubborn insistence on carrying out
an announced intention coupled with
his resolve to try to break" those
opposed to him, have had lamentable
results.
Had the governor evinced the same
spirit shown by Colonel Edelblute,
whose attitude was that he would
surrender command and take a sub
ordinate position, even a captaincy,
with efficient officers over him, rather
than be at the head of the regiment
with an inefficient second in COM
mand, there would have been no trou-
BILE.
There has been but one big issue,
OF should have been but one: WHAT
IS BEST FOR THE REGIMENT,
AND WHAT is OWING TO THE
BOYS WHO ARE MAKING EVERY
SACRIFICE AT THE COUNTRY'S
CALL
For the good of the regiment Col
cnel Edelblute offered to resign in
order that regular army officer
might head the troops, stipulating
only that he in turn be made lieuten-
ant colonel, or even captain. He want
ed to serve, irrespective of rank. From
the first the governor favored having
Edelblute relinquish command, but
from the first he also insisted that the
place of second in command go to
P. H. Grow, now lieutenant colonel.
The officers of the regiment stood
loyalty by their colonel, and refused
to listen to his offer to step down
to the rank of captain. "If you can
not be made lieutenant colonel, we
want you to stick to your present
job" was in effect their decision
Edelblute Is popular, and has pasesd
the required officers examination for
the rank of colonel with distinction.
II happens that he is a republican.
The governor would not listen to
the wishes of the regiment. Edel-
blute, he insisted must give way to
captain from the regular army, and
Grow, formerly adjutant general, must
be made lieutenant colonel. 1t hap
pens that Crow is a democrat
The governors insistence on the
elevation Of Grow to the place of Sec
ond in command is remarkable for
three reasons
First, Crow has never passed an ex-
eHilHdlloH qudliIy lIlS hllIl W NC d llSuI-
enant colonel, major or even a cap
tain. He has never handled COM
pany as company commander.
Second, Grow has never before rank
ed higher than a first lieutenant, and
his advancement to the grade of lieut.
eHant colonel was clearly in violation
of the state law, which declared that
when the post of lieutenant colonel is
vacant the senior major of the regi-
ment shall become lieutenant colonel,
and the post of major shall be filled by
the promotion of the senior captain of
the battalion affected.
Third, Grow during his years as ad-
ministrative head of the guard when
he was adjutant general did not sue
coed in bringing the Idaho regiment
up to a state of efficiency II the
governor had kept track of national
guard affairs he must have known
that two hours before the presidents
call for mobilization reached Boise on
the afternoon of Sunday, June IS, a
conference was held at the adjutant
generals office at the state house at
which the deplorable disorganization
of the guard was admitted.
Conditions, as confessed to then,
were that despite the fact that Crow
had given out interviews for several
weeks saying that the guard could
mobilize at peace strength within "a
hours, in truth the guard was be-
tween four hundred and five hundred
men under minimum peace strength.
Many companies, Grow admitted then,
were from thirty to forty men under
the minimum peace strength Of 65 men
EACH
At that conference Crow asked for
and was promised support for a re-
cruiting campaign, which was design
ed to bring the guard up to peace
strength before July 1. Had mobili-
cation not been called for by the presi
dent these facts were to have been
made public, together with an urgent
plea for enlistments, for Idaho's re-
giment would have ceased to exist on
July / when the federal militia law
went into effect had it been under
peace strength on that date.
Publication of these facts was not