New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-26

Of May s. 1892 and you will perceive
here that the act is based upon the
principle of universal compulsory prep
aration for public defence. The quaint
old phrases OF the act may serve 10 I'M =
press upon your minds the changes OF
condition 10 which the principle is 10
be applied, while they may serve 10
enforce the memory OF the prlnelpis'
These are its provisions:
Every able-bodied male citizen OF
the respective states, resident thereln'
who is of the age of eighteen years
and under the age of forty-iive years,
shall be enrolled in the militia.
and shall appear armed, ACQUIRED
and provided when called out to eX-
ercise or into service.
"A system of discipline and field
exercises which is ordered to be OBJ
served in the different corps OF IN
fantrv. artillery and rihemen of the
regular army shall also be observed
in such corps respectively of the NIL
lita."
Return to Basic Principles
Now. what we are talking about IN
the meetings that have led up to TINS
congress is return to the original
basic principle upon which this gov
eminent was founded.
ON all our wars we have suffered
dreadfully from the fact that, outside
of the small regular army, our volun-
teers had to be ofiicered by men taken
out of the workshop, the law office, the
store. the farm good men, but wholly
Unframed in military life and military
duty-and no one can measure the loss
of life which occurrc IN our Civil war
because the young men who were sent
onto the battlehelds were led by ON
GERS wholly ignorant of their duties.
United for Modern War
80 we find ourselves in this situa-
ton. that we haven't yet secured any
real substitute for ,he old universe
service that is adequate 10 any very
great military operation. War has be
come conflict of entire nations
against each other, and we see to-day
the whole people Of England and the
whole people of France and the whole
people of Germany and Of Austria en-
gagged i'm actual participation IN the
conflict.
"Now. with that kind Of war, our
little provision of a small regular army
and small National Guard is entirely
incompetent TO deal. We have already
discovered that we can't get through
volunteering any considerable increase.
There aren't enough. with all the IN
terest in preparation for defence, able
TO I'LL up the ranks of our regular army
or to fiji up the ranks Of our National
Guard. The reason is that the spirit
Of adventure isn't adequate to furnish
the soldiers.
"War is changing in another respect.
1t has become vastly more scientific
and the instruments Of warfare have
gone out of sight from the old hanger
and spontoon of the act of 1892. This
volunteer million which is going to rise
up when the President calls for the
defence of America stands no more
chance against disciplined and trained
army than the poor MeXicans did against
Cortez when he went through Mexico;
than the poor FuzZy-W uzzy, that first
rate fighting man, stood against the
British square, or the American Ind
ians. with their bows ana arrows, stood
against the regulars that drove them
step by step from their ancient posses
slOns.
Why British Took Capital
1T isn't necessary to come even to
this time for that, for here we should
remember, when we are talking about
the defences of country, we should
remember how here the British troops
captured Washington and burned the
Capitol and White House, marching