The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-19
BLAME WAR DEPARTMENT
Officers Place Responsibility
for Delay Mobjlizing
Border Troops.

Washington, Jan. Blame for de-
lay in mobilizins the national guard
for border service was placed square
~ on the war department today by
Major General John T.. Organ, COM
manding the New York division of
the state forces In testifying before
the senate sub committee on universal
service. .
Adjutant General Louis w. Stotcs-
bury OF New York and Captain James
I. Burns of the Third Illinois infan-
try. joined in defending the guard
All three officers agreed in favoring
universal service legislation, although
they had differing ideas of how It
should be applied.
General O'Ryan outlined plan un-
der which boys would be required IN
their nineteenth year to elect tho
course Of service they preferred,
whether in the regular army, national
guard or in some civil capacity. In
| common with the other two officers,
he declared that complete federaliza
ton OF the state troops must be Of
| fectcd to insure efficient service ana
believed this could be accomplished,
| by a simple amendment to the national
! defense act.
Generals O'Ityan and Stotesbury de-
! clared the report on the national
guard mobilization prepared by the
militia bureau was unfair to the state
service. They disciaimed any thought
that army officials had issued Ut for
the purpose OF discrediting and break
.irE down tho guard. General Organ
sdyiRE the action was due to "con-
servatiye prejudice and ignorancs Of
real conditions"
The national guard was treated by
the war department as n volunteer
force. not under the scheme contcm-
plated in tho national defense act
said General Stotcsbury..
Both generals said the greatest diff
ficulty was the fact that under dc.
partmental regulations the equipment
to be provided by the government was
not on hand IN the mastering places
Senator Chamberlain asserted tina,
congress was also TO blame, TO,
recommendations TO the department
for this equipment had been repeated
ly rejected"
General Stotesbury added that the
people. too. were to blame because
they did not approve proper prep
alton. =
General Organ told the committc,
that the 1900 men of the New York
division had been mobiiized within
less than 20 hours. complete as to
numbers ana all equipment they were
expected to furnish.
| Delay was caused, he said. by tho
process of mastering. ruled by the
war department to be on the basis OF
volunteers and by physical cxamina
tions Of 10000 men by only two med
ical officers
AS to the condition of other national
guard regiments, General O'Ryan said
that he had changed his previous view
that the New York troops would be
shown to be much superior. The
Third Tennessee regiment and some
Of the Indiana and Minnesot1 troops
fc was familiar with he DECLARED were
fiW. efficient organizations
General Organ thought the uni
versal service plan should provide an
optional training of one year with the
regular army and five years In tho
regular reserve, sor six years in the
national guard. three on active service
and three In reserve or six years In
some industriar pursuit. He said this
plan was only tentative in his mind.