The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-04-24

this Immediately may entail resorting
10 the draft.
! Under the national defense act the
states are required 10 increase their
National Guard TO zoo enlisted men
for each senator and representative
in congress from such state and that
I that increase shall be continued in
each subsequent year not. less than
fifty per cent until at least 500 en-
listed men are attained for each sen
ator and representative in congress.
This would yield 1900 officers and
100000 men in the National Guard,
but. the federal government cannot
! force the states to comply with TINS
requirements and there is every reason
TO believe that no such numbers can
be obtained through voluntary enlist
lment. However, the national defense
act empowers the president to draft
into the military service OF the United
States all members Of the National
Guard and the National Guard re-
serve. BY such 4 drastic method the
desired number may be attained, but,
on the other hand, such procedure
would be in direct violation OF the
principle OF universal liability 10 fed
eral service. Too much emphasis
cannot be laid upon the fact that such
procedure would deprive the various
states OF their militia, the sole means
which they have to- preserve domestic
ipeach and order within their limits.
The only state TO which this criticism
docs not apply is Pennsylvania which
alone possesses a copstabulary, and
this fact demonstrates all the more
the necessity for each Stale 10 organ
ize 4 cOnStabulary independent Of lis
military and other police. Most i'm
pOrtant Of all is the fact that The
members Of the National Guard ASSOC
citation in Il recent meeting in New
York voted almost unanimously TO
abolish the National Guard system
and expressed their wish to pass out
lot state control and into an organiza-
ton under federal control exclusively.
| This in itself ought To be sufficient
10 sound the dealh.kncll OF the funda-
mentally unSound system TO which we
have chung since the beginning Of our
national career. in spite of the unnec.
csSary bloOd$hcd. cost ad pensions
which II has rntailed, without proper
ltionate results from the standpoint OF
u military asset.
Another method would be TO call for
volunteers. VIII" would be raised under
the bill originally introduced by Sen
ator Henry 4. du Pont of Delaware,
then chairman Of the Senate Commit
tee on. Military Affairs and which WAS
subsequently embodied in law ap-
proved April %. 1914. This measure
was one Of the most admirable ever
enacted in our military legislation and
would produce troops comparable to
those splendid volunteers who sup
pressed the Philippine lnsurrcction. In
case such method is rcSorled TO. the
officers and men must be selected
with the utmost care. as was done. IN
1893, and no greater folly could be
committed than to encourage indivi-
dualS 10 raise coluntCCr regiments in
their own communities. Our own mill
tary history offords innumerablc in
stances of the inferior troops pro-
duced by such encouragement. Too
much emphasis cannot be laid upon
the fact that all troops. whether reg
ular, volunteer or otherwise, should
be under the exclusive control Of the
federal government and should have
nothing whatsoever to do with grO-
graphical divisions or local aflllia-
tons.
|. have pointed ont at considcrahl"
length the various methods by which
the land forces necessary for war can
be raisecd. In the light Of our own
blunders on the subject Of military
policy and history since the begin
ming OF the revolution, ard more par
ticularly In view of extraordinary OBJ.
ject lessons Of the present European
war. the only proper solution has
been indicated by President Wilson
that is, that men who arc 10 contrib.
ute. on land and sea, to national de-
Tense should be chosen upon the
principle nf universal liability TO ser
vice"
If every patriotic American will
exert his influence 50 that congress
will institute such system Of Ma
tional defense based upon universal
liability 10 training and service like
that recently proposed by Tho general
staff. the future power and safety of
the United States during the war
about to be undertaken will be
assured.