Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-08-13
VIRGINIA Volunteers
NOW BEING ORGANIZED
Ashland and Charlottesville Make
Requests for Recognition of
New Companies.
REPLACE NATIONAL GUARD
Each City and County Will Form
Units Which Will BE Utilized for
Homo Defense Purposes During
Emergency.

Requests for recognition OF COM
panies of the Virginia state Volun-
teers were received yesterday By Nd
jutant-Gcneral w. w. Sale from Ash
land and Charlottesville. The COM
munications were turned over to Lieu
tenant-Colonel 10 Lane Stern. inspec-
tor-general. Virginia National Guard,
who has undertaken the task of build
ing up a militia system to replace the
troops drafted in the United States
service.
Colonel Stern has received four ap-
plications for recognition from COM
panies in various parts OF the States.
From Cambria, Montgomery County.
he received the first. while the second
came from Hot Springs. All four of
the companies have secured the neces-
sary number of signatures to the pc
titions for recognition and have elect
ed tho officers authorized by law.
Enlistment papers have been sent
to each of the companies and as soon
as the forms required by law are COM
piled with, Colonel Stern will make an
official inspection and will make {.
recommendation either for acceptance
or rejection. AS responsible persons
are at the head of all companies or
ganized, 1t is hardly possible that any
Will BIO rejected.
STATE VOLUNTEERS WILL
REPLACE NATIONAL GUARD
The Virginia State Volunteers is a
militia force which will correspond
with the Virginia Volunteers before it
was Federalized. All members of the
companies must be duly enlisted and
will be required to take an oath SIM
liar to that required of militiamen
prior to June .. 1916, when the Vir-
ginia Volunteers was officially desiE-
mated as the Virginia National Guard.
and went under the joint jurisdiction
of the State and Federal governments.
Companies of the Virginia State Vol
unteers Will be subject to the call of
the Governor for the prevention or
suppression OF invasion, the prevcn-
tion or suppression of riots and in the
aid of the civil authorities The term
of enlistment will be for the existing
emergency. and all men will be re-
quired to take n physical examination
to show that they can perform the
required duties.
These home guard companies must
be formed in all sections OF the States,
as there Will be no military organi-
cations left to back up the civil au-
thorities. The State Council of De-
Tense has already issued a call for all
patriotic men above the military age
or exempt from military service to
aihiiatc themselves with the Virginia
state Volunteers for the protection of
their homes and communities.
~ les AMI SOON1lIIS AXE
SOLlDLY BEHIND MOVEMENT
Adjutant-General Sale has received
ia requests for permission to organ
ize companies. but since the promulga-
ton of the regulations which put the
companies on militia basis, only
Tour formal petitions for recognition
nave been received. Four companies
are organizing in Richmond however,
and other cities and counties are SOL
idly behind the movement Roanoke is
particularly active. and Mayor Brown
is working hard on the proposition.
The volunteers will be organized
unde:' State laws, and the Attorney
General has, therefore. ruled that IL
VIII be necessary for all officers and
men to subscribe to oaths similar 70
those prescribed for the old State
militia. They must take an oath To
support the Constitution of the United
States, and shall be enlisted to faith
fully serve the State in case of war or
invasion or in the suppression of riots
ana IN the aiding of the civil authori-
ties in the maintenance and execution
or the laws CT the Commonwealth.
me State has made no aDpropria-
ton or funds for the support of this
new militia. 1t is thought that this
VIII nave TO be taken care of locally
n1r the present at least, The present
plan is to procure old model army rifles
to be used for drill purposes. which
can De bought at small expense AS
TO the matter Of uniforms. it will prob-
ably be necessary for each individual
to provide himself with the regulation
uniform, the design Of which will be
prescribed later.
while no age limit has been pre
scribed for membership in the Virginia
state Volunteers. the officers arc ex-
pected to use their Judgment in select
ing the men. AS the compenie; mny
be ordered out for strike duty. or NAV
be called for duty which will require
some length OF time to perform, the
physical standard of the ,men should he
nigh. Each company will try to have
doctor enlisted in its ranks.