New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-03
Tile cIIARD AS THE BASIS OF A NATIONAL ARMY
Act nd Responsibilities Amagamaton-h National
" o"'" lta-OH

serious difference Of opinion among milit.r,
mon as TO the availability Of the Nations
/ Guard Of the United States as the nuelsu,
with the regular army, Of national army
supported by mandatory service. The two
real points at issue are tie method Of an.
pointing officers for such force and the rigs.
Of the states to use suca part Of the force a,
may be stationed within their confines, N
the interests Of law and order
As TO the first Of these points, the new M.
tional defence act copied the German arm,
system Of providing for a safe check sgalns,
possible military usurpatjon, By yestng n
the states the right 20 nominate FOR that /,
all II amounts to- the officers, subject :,
qualifications prescribed by the central goy.
eminent. Il is not generally known, bat n /,
the fact that in the German army the Of
GERS are largely appointed By the German
states, subject, however, TO meeting the in
perial qualifications Under such system "A.
/ interests OF military efficiency are sst
guarded 20 the limit, but the possibility o.
controlling the selection Of officers BY cen.
trail power and In pursuance OF an unworthy
motive is prevented.
The Rights Of the States
/ AS to the second point, many officers Be-.
/ lieve that IL the National Guard OF tss
United States is TO be organized, maintained
governed and disciplined b. the Federal Gov
eminent there is no reason why the states IN
return for local support should not have he
use Of the troops for the suppression Of In.
Isurrection, az ia the case with the states con.
posing the German Empire. Such plan would
avoid the necessity Of the states maintaining
additional troops, for it is known 10 ever
military man OF any experience that no con.
stabulary is competent 10 suppress efficiently
real insurrecton. The subordinate obigs.
ton 70 serve the state In such contingency
would necesstate the maintenance Of small
state constabulary only. II would constitst.
a businesslike and economical plan The
national army would be more homogeneous
and efficient under Federal Government and
therefore more effective when used by ths
states under the authority Of the federal Av
As 20 my "irrestrainable optimism" ne
foregoing think viii make clear that share
with The Tribune the belief that the existing
law requires some amendment, and tha, mill.
tarv service should be made automatic By
mandatory legislation. But my admiration
for the zeal and efficiency Of the National
Guard Is in a measure irrestrainabls, ard r
is shared By most Of the regular ofeers
met on the border. and these are The officers
who saw the Guard and served with u From
my observation the admiration Of the rsgu-
lars on the border for the efficiency Of tbs
Guard was more unrestrained than that o.
the Guard officers
The remarkable efficiency shown was nc.
limited 10 the New York troops. On several
occasions / reviewed the troops from other
sections Of the country. While some Few o.
them were below par, the majority we're sz-
cellent, and some Of them j. would be diff.
cult to surpass in physical fitness zeal and
fighting effectiveness. Always &c Is 20 be
remembered that the service on the border
demonstrated nothing in connection with the
Hay act, or, as 10 properly called, the ma
tional defence act, because the National
Guard on the border was the product Of tie
old militia law.
The Militia Made Good
More accurately, it made good in spite o.
the shortcomings Of the old militia Law
There will be no test of the national &C.
fence act so far as the National Guard is
concerned unti two Or three years haze
elapsed; but It should be supported by man.
datory service. The places of the older e..
listed men with family and business respo,
sibilites would then be taken by the young
men, who could afford more readily 10 submit
to two months Of field training in the sun.
mer, supplemented by The evening drills. Tar.
get practice and instruction the balance o,
each year Of service
JOHN F. ORYAN,
Major General
New York Dec p, 1916.
The Tribune editorial was based on an
interview in The Tribune dictated by Gen
eral Organ. We have no reason 10 think
that either it or the editorial misrepre-
scented his views. Nor do we think that
calling a militia body a federalized or na-
tional militia changes its character as an
element in the national defence.-ED.l