The Monticellonian., 1919-10-17
B. JAMES P. HoRnApAY.

f~eo iHsNf 1cSofs VIII 5e S4Pplteo
 by War Department
 ey JAMES p. HoRNAOAY.
 Wash-nstou.-Good progress is be- Ing made with the work of rebuild ing the National Guard of the eoun- fry. Every state lost it's entire Ma tlenal Guard during the var 4 good many military men predicted that q National Guard organization would never again be formed. but events of the last tW0 E three months show Hat those predictions were wild Of the mark. Congress showed ifs friend sA3P f9E the National Guard ldea by making adequate financial provision for the reorganization Of the guard.
 Practically eYeEE state governor has also taken an interest in restoring the organization. and as a result the mil itaFg division Of the var department is now able to report that the work of forming guard units is making good progress in every state. By the end of tlis fiscal year. t is predicted. the organization win be back pracfl- cally where f was when the United States entered the war.
 The federal government. under the new system expects 10 retain a firm hold on the National Guard. but at the same time the fullest cooperation of fhe states is sought In working out the pIan. the division Of militia af- fairs says. it was recognized that the preservation Y the local units must be conserved and that the breaking ID of local organizations. as they were broken uP n 1917. would probably never he tolerated again For this req son the bureau determined that the tactical division should be the basis of the organization.
 Regular Army Plan Followed.
 EnGeF this plan the composition of the units that % to make Up the Ma tioual Guard organization must be the same as lint prescribed for the regu- lar army. subject 10 such general ex. captions as may be authorized by the secretary ef war. The strength of the regular company. in time of peace k 1Ge men. and that is The minimum strength the bureau has fixed for the National Guard There has been some objection to this from sparselY set ted sections Of the country, the ob- jectors saving the minimum strength should he fixed at G men. To meet this objection the bureau has sug. gested that In places where the 100 strong company cannot be raised two platoons of 5O men each be organized in nearby sections. the two forming a single company.
 But this suggestion has not been fa- vorably received and the prospect seems to be that the secretary of war will not change the ruling that every company shall have at least 100 mem- berS.
 With view to aiding the guard in It's reconstruction the militia division has taken pains to select high grade officers to act as inspector-instructors These instructors are now starting out on their rounds of duty They are without exception men who saw serv- Ice In France and the new National Guard will get from them the last word in military training. The fed eral government expects 10 be able to furnish instructors for every Ma tional Guard company in the country and in addition 10 these instructors there will. Of course. he q representa- tive of the war department associated with the adjutant generals staff in each state.
 So there is to be close union between the federal government and the states in building up the new state organlza- ton The war department has also selected thousand sergeauts from the regular army who are to be under instructions for three months at the infantry school of arms al Camp Ben nlngS. Georgia. These men. at the end Of the training course. are to go out as sergeant instructors for guard units.
 Rumored Changes in Supreme Court.
 The reconvening of the Supreme court of the United States always re- wives talk about possible changes in this tribunal The fall meeting of the court this year has not proved an ex- ception 10 this rule. Chief Justice Ed ward Douglass White and three of the associate justices, Joseph McKenna. oliver Wendell Holmes and William k. Day. are of retirement age The chief justice will be seyenty-four in Novem- her. Justice McKenna was seventv-sfx in August Justice Holmes was sey- enty-eight last March and Justice Dav was seventy last April Each one however. is vigorous, both mentally and physically. and not one of them as far as known has expressed any thought Of quitting work.
 If the four members of the court who are in the seyenty-year class. or any one of them. had keen desire to retire now would be an opportune time for the court H this fall session is confronted with one of the heaviest dockets II ever had 10 deal with. The war interfered seriously with the work of the court It did not serve to pre- vent litigation being started but if did result in the delay of much important litigation Tn the higher courts of the country and particularly in the Su-