The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1917-19??, 1917-09-20

sion, but it forbade each to maintain
troops or ships of war" except with
the consent CT the Federal Govern
ment
Thus, the States surrendered into
the hands of the Federal Government
the function of their defense, and in
return the Federal Government guar
anteed to each State security from
invasion or instruction.
To make good its guarantee of
security, Congress, in 1892, enacted
that all ab,e-bodied male citizens, be-
tween the ages Of IS and As, should
constitute the military forces of the
nation, and it made each liable to
military service within the confines
of the United States. This still is
the law, as peTusal of Section 81 of
the Act of June 3rd, 1916, will show,
IL order that universal liability to
service should he made effective, Con-
gress, under the law Of 1885 reenacted
in 1908, and widened in 1916 to in
- clude the National Guard and its
reserve. gave to the President the
power to call for service the entire
male citizenry of military age and
fitness in the event of invasion or
instruction This power the Presi-
dent may exercise without further act
Of Congress
Defense a Federal Function
Thus. the Federal Government was
created for the military purpose Of
defending the States, its President
was made Commander-in-Chief of the
army and navy, its first president was
a military man, and it's citizens of
proper age and fitness were bound
each to fight in the common defense
It will therefore be seen that at root
we are essentially a military nation,
in the democratic sense of the phrase,
and that we ere subject, today as
ever. to compulsory military service
within our own territory, upon call
of the Commandorin-Chief.
This is a sufficient answer to those
who claim that, in our making the
necessary modern preparations for de-
Tense, we are departing from non
military traditions, to become a mill
tarietic people
While the Act OF 1892 made every
man of military age and fitness liable
to Federal military service, It dele
gated to the several States the mill
tary organization of these men, and
It granted to the States the power
TO make exemptions
TIE history of New York, which is
in this respect substantially that of
all the States illustrates how badly
the States Fulfilled the military duties
laid upon them by the Federal Govern
ment. In Now York there was at first
an annual enrolment. In 1916 the
legislature granted exemption from
military duty to everyone upon pay
mont of a fee Of rs cents year.
Enrollments were then made to &C.
cur biannuallv; next, to occur at every
fifth year, and finally, enroIlment5
were to be had only upon call of the
Governor. No Governor, I believe,
ever has called an enrolment. Mean
while. the non-service tax was re-
duced to 50 cents. and shortly there
after 1t was abandoned. Thus died
the Federal Militia. which had been
created for the National defense,
Protest Against Military Laxity.
During the disintegration of the
Federal militia a volunteer force
sprang up, as a protest against the
military laxity Of the authorities. This
force was accepted and subsidized by
the States, and became what is known
as the National Guard. Having no
standing under the Federal law the
guard was body wholly local in
char1ct and was not recognized by |
the Federal Government until early |
in the present century.
The Constitution while forbidding
the States to maintain troops or ships
of war (without fhe consent of Con-
gress) had bound the Federal Govern