Arizona republican., 1920-08-30
BY COL. J. J. BONiFACE Cavalry Inspector Instructor, National Guards of Arizona and New Mexico

Guards of Arizona and New Mexico
 The great war having come and | gone, our men home and engaged in | their various time aVocations l the crashing throb of driving energy | stilled at last and our minds more and i more consumed with Industry and | trade, the farm and the field, the col- lege and the foundry the ranch and | the home, we are prone to forget that, l ever while human beings create great i states within certain territorial boun- | daries, ever so long as the impulses of men are reflected by national acts, ever so long as nations encounter one another on the great highways of com l merce, finance. dominance and political 1 and racial and religious differences. just so long as blood pulses within the men of this world and they are en- dowed with red blood and self respect l courage and manhood, feeling thelr convictions and their different views with all the power they possess as strong men and powerful nations, we risk further war. We may wish it otherwise, we may pray that it may never again come to us or to our ehil- dren's children, and few men live with out that deep prayer in their hearts and in the souls of our women, the world over, ever breathes that silent. agonizing prayer that their men may not again have to march forth into the fearful vortex called war
 Yet we are sane, and we have read the history of mankind and found therein much to cause us all to feel further war may some day come upon the world; who can say we should bask in such a belief and cast away the weapons and the vigor of men and relapse into unfitness, insecurity and husband to our breasts the belief that war has ended for all time? Has the thief departed from the earth has the murderer at last ceased to be among us, has the highway. robber, the rapist the liar, finally vanished from society have our jails and our penetentiaries been so long empty that they are now but idle wastes of brick and stone that appal us by memories2 Have the detective and police forces of our cities now become unnecessary? Until all these things in the midst of which hu- manity lives throughout the world are no longer present, who shall say that We are now able to lie down at eternal peace with mankind? Until that time does come, certain sane and effective preparation we must not only admit but We must take a real understandIne part in that preparation. know why it is, the cost of maintaining some degree of, preparation and the greater cost of having none at all. weigh the two thoughts well and determine on what and how much personal support each shall give to the decision of his land Loyalty is imperative in this thing and maturity and wisdom bring us the an- swer As one of the great nations of this world, We are not free to forget that to ourselves and to our posterity we owe duty, the duty of reasonable and sane preparation, that this nation shal ever be ready to protect itself. It cannot be done over night and with rushing, driving preparation through out the land, the financial burden sweeps into untold sums. monumental even to this great country wherein wealth has been so marvellous.
 Some months ago the congress of the United States saw fit, following the wishes of their citizens. representing every locality in the country, great and small, to pass certain definite laws as to the military policy of this country and those laws look to the prepared ness of our land; many mil-ds, many bodies, many hearts full of the realiza- tion that the carrying out of those new laws is imperative and demanded by our people, are at work seeing to 1t that those laws are made effective and as soon as possible The brains the bodies and the souls of these work CTS are among the best in our whole land; forgetting the possibilities Of greater salaries and the thousands of opportunities for men of this type. these men are striving to serve their country and giving of their very best that We shall ever stand ready for whatever sudden strife the future may bring to our doors. It is we'll to have sympathetic and understanding atti- tude towards these men; they deserve It. they need it. they look for it and they have the right to expect it from every fellow citizen. Not one time in the wonderful history of our country have these men done aught but serve NiN nfa1f tisr to the utmost of their abilities: they are doing so now. today. Who are these men, where are they and what doing? Let us see.
 First, they are men in the regular army and behind them the laws create voluntary officers reserve corps and an enlisted voluntary reserve corps and our national guard and our na- uonal guard reserve and still behind these We are building up, in the high schools, the colleges, the universities Of the country, what we call the re- serves officers training corps of trained students for the future In figures. our regular army will. when completed, contain some 17000 officers and some 300,000 enlisted men: the officers reserve corps today has a list of some 25.000 names of capable men who have served as officers during the war. Many of the officers of the reg
 
 states. working with the national guards, with the reserve officers train ing corps, with recruiting offices. with special branches, taking special and unusual courses required in these days of modern inventions in many lines essential to protection. When you meet these men, often alone in their work of furthering the public interest. remember they are working for your interest, for the safety of the family you are bringing into the world and help them, if only with your smile Sometimes it is uphill work, and they all need your work and your help and your friendship and understanding They are endeavoring to build finer citizens, they are trying to encourage better health, cleaner habits, purer minds, evident loyalty in everybody and a national expression through service of our Americanism in our daily lives Tn their army posts they are now teaching some PA vocational courses to those who enlist, as we'll as training thousands of men physically. mentally and morally and. if xOu are