New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-27
ROON@ AND AUTHORS REVIEWS AND

Ii was said in the course Of an elabo-
rate argument for radical reorghhi5,a-
ton of our military system and oe-
tailed oxplication OF practical pans 10.
efTectinC il. To this subject MI. ROOT
has given much of his best thought
perhaps more than to any other pubic
topic save the promotion of interna,
tional arbitration, adjudication ana
peace. In connection with IT nearly
fourteen years ago he made an ADDRESS
which should effectively dispose oil the
twaddle and rubbish Of this day about
universal military service being "eon.
trarv TO the traditions and genius OF
America" The truth is, Of course, that
IL is in exact accord with them. Shid
Mr.. Root;
The original idea Of the Foun-
ders OF the Republic was that the
entire body the male population
of the country should constitute
the militia: that we should rely
very little upon a standing army
but that the able-bodiCd male citl-
zens of the United States between
the ages of eighteen and forty-hVe
each one OF them should be
member Of the militia; each one OF
them should keen in his own home
the gun and powder horn and the
bullets and the various accoutre-
ments necessary 20 enable HIM 10
20 out and defend his country
when he was called. Inc eA-
pectation failed 10 be realized III
practice. Almost Immediately after
the passage Of the original militia
bill. in 1872 the Presidents Of the
United States, seriatim, commenced
TO ask Congress for further legisla-
ton regarding the militia; Wash
ington asked for IL; Jefferson asked
for il; Madison asked for IT, ana
almost every Administration since
has sought 10 strengthen IT.
That should sufficiently dispose OF
the pretension that universal military
service is undemocratic and un-Ameri-
can. OF course, the corollary is obvi-
Gus and convincing. Every man then
was expected TO possess and to know
how to use all the military aceoutre,
ments of an army in those days. Oi
course. every man should to-day be
similarly equipped and familiar with
the much more elaborate military ac-
coutrements which are indispensable
to the army of these days, and as eN-
pert in the discipline and tactics OF
to-day as men a century and a hall
ago were with the simple evolutions
of training day" If that does not mean
universal military training, IL would
be interesting to know what 1t does
mean.
The numerous and earnest recon-
i Il paaf "a Secretary OF
War. now many years ago, on the sub
iect of militia reorganization and de-
yelopment led logically and consistent
lv down to one of his latest utterances
on the subject quoted in his book. dat
ing back only about year, IN when
he said:
II is idle to talk of developing
the National Guard itself into an
adequate army for national de-
fence, and any such attempt would
inevitably result in the failure OF
the whole movement and the waste
Of all the energy and effort devot-
ed to it. The National Guard are
primarily state troops for state
purposes, and they must continue
TO be so. The idea that these
forty-eight different bodies Of
troops, with officers appointed by
forty-eight different Governors,
can be made the basis for develop
ing an effective mobile national
army is quite absurd. 1t seems
perfectly clear to me that any eff
fort in the direction of developing
a National Guard into the required
national army of defence will be
worse than thrown away, because
IL will result in the miscarriage OF
the whole effort.
II that had been written after in
stead Of before the "denaturing" of the
militia and the appalling demoraliza-
ton Of the National Guard in the slack
Bakered flasco on the Texan Mexican
frontier it could not have been more
perfectly fitted to the event. For IT was
written by a man who, without ever
missing Il, could have forgotten more
about military affairs than was ever
known by the author of the law for the
Generalization Of the militia, and yet
who was a far more efficient friend and
promoter of true peace than the pacitist
Secretary of War.
There have not been recently issued
from any press many textbooks OF gov
ernmental administration and policy in
military and colonial affairs more valu-
able than this for present reference
and study, whether for facts OF record
or for argument. 1t has another pre-
cious quality, too often lacking IN com
pilations of public papers, to wit, its
literary charm.