Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-01-27

ysV' Ia Insurance question was = mat
Ter that >hs also wishsd to taxa UP witt
the Govefnor and Council.
Hne proposed special appropriation o
vA'0O0 for steel lockers for Nationa
0uasd armoriss preeipisatsd . genera
discussion Of the loss OF supplies fur
nishsd the Not,onai Guard and methods
OF preventing this loss. whish branchst
also into other subjects.
Councillor st. Clair. himself q vetera,
Of the Civil War. asked II 1t would no
work to make company commanders re
spousible for losses.
General Presson then. explained a new
! system of distributing 'the supplies
| whereby they are transferred from thf
federal government to the State. to q
distributing officer and. to the company
commanders
There's a lot Of property that is sup
posed to be lost every time they mo-
bilize.' said General Presson. TITS
burned or something. OF course we're
not at the encampmeht all the time and
we don't know about It,"
Rep. Barnes OF Houiton. who has had
experience as company commander
asked II the only way to absolutely pre-
vent loss would not be to make company
commanders financially responsible and
settle for all losses. General Presson re-
piled that he was introducing a bill pro-
posing the bonding OF company COM
manders to cover their company's sup
plies.
Still, General Presson said. the depart
ment does not feel like being too hard
on these company commanders, realizing
the difficulties under which they labor.
Theirs is labor OF love-" said Gen.
eral Presson. They give their time ~
the State. 1t is q voluntary service.
When they come to the end of the year
they usually find their loss accounts
pretty large. The adjutant genera.
knowing what the company commander
has to contend with, is usually disposed
to be lenient"
The company commander doesn't get
pay enough said General Presson.
The supplies are furnished by the fed
eral government, he explained. which
holds the State responsible for losses.
There is a certain dropping allowance,
however, and accounts with commanders
are sometimes dropped.
do you think steel lockers would
make any difference in the losses?"
asked Governor Milliken. to which Cen
eral Presson replied, YES" The Cover
nor also inquired if General Presson
thought the municipalities wrere com
panies are located would furnish part Of
the cost If the State offered help, and
General Presson said he did not think So
In reply to a question by the Governor,
General Presson said he had estimated
for 1900 steel lockers, and there are al
ready installed several hundred. The
strength of the National Guard, under
federal regulation. must be 1900 this June
and AO0 next June, with more increases
for several years following.
General Presson said he hoped, how
ever. that he hoped the men required in
the future could be raised within the
next two years. sit seems to me-" said
he, THAT after the European war closes
ing to be hard to get men. 1t Is the
opinion of other adjutant generals also
that we ought to get the men when
they are in the harness and the mood.
Governor Milliken asked when federal
control began, at the time of the mobili-
zation last summer for service on the
Mexican border. $751;. -. ....
when that telegram arrived, at II
o'clock, June IS. the troops were trans
ferred from State to federal control.
said General Presson. Therefore, he said
IN response to further questions. the
federal government was responsible for
that went wrong after that.
There had been various complaints from
different sections of the State about the
treatment of the troops, he said, and In
his regard quoted something that Cen
,ral Wood said recently to a friend that
The quartermaster's department Of the
'egular army fell Nat and rolled over"
Asked If the State Of Maine had all its
supplies ready at that time. General
Presson said; yes, and more toe"
Governor Milliken asked when the
roops came back under State control.
md General Presson replied when they
cached their home stations. so that the
ederal government was responsible for
osses in that time.
And IL there was laxity in discipline
,efore they got back to their home sta
ions, who was responsible for that, the
ederal government" asked Governor /
Iilliken.
Eyes, the commanding officer who was
n federal service replied General .