Evening star., 1925-03-26

Guard is about $40, 900, 900. The State
adjutant generals brought the deficit
to the attention OF Congress, and the
War Department, upon request, gave
an estimate that 1t would amount to
$i,320,000. While the Bureau of the
Budget-whose power is advisory and
not mandatory--failed to include the
deficit in it's recommendation or ad-
wise Congress to make such an
appropriation Immediately available,
Congress, upon its own initiative,
added the sum to its appropriation
and applied IT to the specific purpose.
This is not the first time that Con-
gress. with the approval OF the Execu-
tive, has exceeded the amounts recon-
mended by the budget: last year It
added over s1,o0e,ooo to the Army
appropriation.
In the face OF the specific appro-
priation and the law for maintaining
the National Guard and the contract
with the several States to pay for
the drills, the order has gone forth
that the money shall remain in the
Treasury, unexpended. That would
result, 1T is alleged by the National
Guard champions, in stopping the
armory drills until after the new
fiscal year begins, next July /. But
IL any unit fails to hold the full num-
Der of drills in the year-48-the law
would automatically disband IL, un-
less the Secretary of War finds a
way to order the suspension OF the
drilling and possibly also of the
camping. Thereby, the morale and
general enthusiasm of the members
would be dampened.
Some of the military lawyers"
among the adjutant generals argue
that, although the President is COM
mander-in -chief of the United States
Army and Navy, he does not exercise
that authority over the National
Guard, which are State soldiers un-
til they are mobilized into the Fed
eral service in time OF war or threat
of national peril, and that the State
officers should ignore his order, con-
tinue the drilling, and then fight the
claim of compensation under the
congressional law, through the Court
of Claims.
A delegation of the Association of
the Adjutant Generals, after waiting
upon the President, express the be-
lief that the order having been based
upon misunderstanding, will be re-
voked. @".e
Y x
The National Guard, together with
the Regular Army, constitutes the
Nations first line of Defense" The
whole country is divided into nine
corps areas, in each Of which are
one division of the Regular Army
and two divisions Of the National
Guard. While that is the ideal plan
of the organization, 1t is not actu-
, ally developed, except that in Texas,
along the Mexican border, is a full
division of the Regular Army. and in
that corps area is the nucleus of two
divisions of the National Guard. with
all officers and equipment, properly
balanced between infantry, artillery.
cavalry, medical and quartermaster
corps. When the entire system ts
developed it will be possible within
two weeks after declaration of war
or other emergency to mobilize the
National Guard and have a trained
and equipped army of 100000 ready
for the field, in addition to the Reg
ular Army.
The increase of interest in all the
States, as shown by last Summers
| increase of enlistment in the National
Guard, indicates the success in ma
tion-wide awakening to the plan of
State and Federal cooperation. The
National Government does not stipu-
late what the several States shall do
with their National Guard units, ex-
cept that the force shall be an epit-
ONE of the balanced Army, with all
branches of the service, so that In
case of general mobilization, there
shall be no need to repeat the trage-
dies enacted at the start of the World
War of undertaking to force infan-
trymen suddenly to comprehend the
trigonometry of artillery practice or
be thrown out Of the service. All
| this Is aside from the other branch
! known as the Reserves.
tCopyrtSht, 1926. by PaasT. CoIlizs.,