Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-20

| is reinstated as soon as he pays his
premium. the only reservation being
! that If he is dead his relatives cannot
pay premiums and collect the loss. II
! he is less than nine months in ar
| rears he must certify that he is in as
good health as he was when dis
| charged and pay his premiums If he
is unable to pay the full amount OF
arrears he can reduce the face Of his
| policy to an amount where the pre-
miums are so little that he ought
! to pay them. Hereafter his premiums
will meet the insurance without loss
! to the government.
The government is doing what it
| can to give the men who fought in the
| army the best that it can in the way
| OF insurance. The overhead charges
are heavy, but not in proportion to
, the 49,0O0, 100000 Of insurance which
! it is carrying.
+, The approval OF the Army appro-
F., priation bill put the Army bureau of
! military af-
New National Guard fairs in po-
Regulations Issued. s,s NO" s. w ~
important regulations which it has
! for some time had in readiness. The
| time has now come for the reorgani-
| cation Of the guard on the following
| basis:
The coast artillery will be continued
substantially as 1t existed before the
war The remainder of the National
Guard will, within the limits Of the
/ appropriations. he organized into six
teen infantry divisions. one cavalry
division and into separate regiments
and smaller units. At the present
time no National Gt:a-d army Or corps.
, troop or special service units. such as
aero squadrons or tank corps. will be
orga The infantry divisional
districts will be substantially the
same as those in which the National
Guard was formed for service in the
L. s. Army. but the numbers that
changed. Hereafter the numbers will
begin with 81 and run up to 66. the
old numbers. under direction Of the
chief of staff. having been reserved
for the divisions of possible expan-
sion OF the Regular Army.
The federal laws do not regulate
the size of the militia force of any
state. except by way of the federal
aid which they may grant. The APP
preparations for the new fiscal year
will permit each state to receive this
aid for force based on 200 men for
each senator and representative in
Congress; and on this basis the total
strength of the National Guard en-
titled to such aid is 10000 enlisted
men with the proper complement of
con fnissioned officers. While the plan
contemp1ates sixteen divisions it is
evident that until the guard is in
creased numerically it is impractical
| to organize on the basis of filing that
number.
The War Department requests the
co-ope-a ton Of the, states in making
! the National Guard an effective force
during the period of reorganization
and to achieve that end it advises that
| it will be necessary to comply fully
with the militia regulations and that
/ the requirements for the admission to
| the guard of both officers and men be
| fully observed 1t asks especially that
all who will not be able to participate
| completely and fully in a federal call
| be not accepted for the reason that
| the admission of such material, how
I, tendency to lower the efficiency OF
| the guard when it is called into ac-
ton.
There are other regulations which
| the bureau will give out little later.
The upbuiIding Of the National
Guard is one o fthe important mill
tary problems of the moment In two
months it is now expected that the
Regular Army will be reduced to ap-
pr;,ximately 225,o00. No one has a
definite idea of where al that time
the bulk of it will be placed. Perhaps
considerable part will be in Ger
many. From 10000 to $4,000 should
be in Panama. the Philippines and
other outlying possessions At the
present time the enlisted strength of
the National Guard does not exceed
$4,000. In event of trouble with very
troublesome neighbor on the SOUTH the
federal government might find it's own
difficulties to raise an emergency
army of strength to move to the Dor
der and end the troubles there with
neatness and dispatch. In 1915 the
National Guard formed good nucleus
about which to form quite a respect
able force.
X + 4
With the question seething, but I'M
determined, by the War Department