Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-11

1 ment, left Wash.
ington last night tt
represent the 10.
Mai Gen STEPHAN. cal organization a:
delegates at the
annual convention of the National
Guard Association of the United
States, which meets tomorrow at Hot
Springs, Ark, for four days.
While the previous conventions of this
organization have repeatedly passed
routine resolutions urging better arm
DRY facilities for the Guard in the
Capital City, they have done little more
than occupy a place in the official ar
chiveS of the association, but the dele
gates from here this time plan, it was
said by Col. hewitt, to make a strong
plea to have the organization to become
active in the efforts to have the meas
ures enacted into law. There is a bill
in each house for the same purpose.
The resolution which has been for
warded to the resolutions committee of
the convention asks that the executive
committee and the legislative commit
tee of the organization actively en-
deavor to have the measures passed
and to appear before Congress and
show that the other National Guard
organizations of the country desire to
see the local Guard have model facil-
ties for housing the troops and for
training purposes. It will be pointed
organization, and if the Federal Gov
crnment desires the States to appro-
pirate money to provide fine armories
Tor the housing and training of troops,
the Government should certainly set
the example by doing the same thing
for the National Guard of the District
of Columbia.
1t is believed that if the officials of
the Guard of the country will appear be-
fore Congress and indicate that the
people in the States are firmly behind
the efforts of the local Guardsmen
Congress will listen more to the appeals
for an armory.
Not even the ordinary comforts of a
soldier in barracks are provided for the
District militiamen, and the lack of ia
cilitieS for recreation are believed to be
somewhat responsible for the falling of
in attendance which has been indi-
Gated of late by the reports from unit
commanders. There has been a notice.
able decline in the attendance at drills
since the organization returned from
its annual encampment, and men form
various excuses to be relieved from at
tending drills, holding their places on
the roster principally for the privilege
of attending the annual encampmentS.
Large percentage of abSenteeS at the
armory drills also has its effect on the
training of the men, but the officers
have little to offer them as an induce
ment to attend regularly, because the
facilities are the worst in the country
for training, and when the men are
through their drills there is nothing in
the way of amusement for them to
hang around the armory for Organize
tionS in the States, it was pointed out,
have found that the successful Guard
organization always has available
large amount of recreation facilities to
keep up the interest of the men and to
encourage them to come to the arm
cries on other than their drill nights.
Most of these needed facilities could
be provided in the Pension ONCE
Building. This structure has an ideal
drill hall on-the- first floor, where the
entire regiment of Engineers could be
drilled, and it has innumerable large
looms in the tiers on the side where
the company organizations could carry
on their individual instruction. 1t also
has enough rooms to provide for the
storage of the large amount of Federal
property which must be issued to each
Of the organizations, and under condi-
tons which would insure its proper
protection The War Department re-
ouires a showing prior to the issuance
of property that the Guard organiza-
ton is in a position to give the best
of protection to the property that is
Issued for training, so that it can be
kept in the best of shape for field
service in time of national emergency.
As a further attraction, in addition
to using the building for the training
Ct the Guard, it is proposed to make it
available for the use of war veteran
organizations, giving them places in
which they can have their headquarters
md hold their meetings. Many of the
members of the present Guard are vet
erans of the World War and some of
them veterans of the Spanish-American
War, and their presence at the armory
at such times would encourage the
younger element to come more often.
Veteran organizations throughout the
city have voted in favor of the use of
the Pension Office Building, and even
the Grand Army of the Republic,
which regards the structure as sort
of shrine, has favored its use for
training the youth of the city to fight
for the Nation.
The delegates who are going to the
convention are hopeful that the re-
~ults of the efforts will be more fruit
ful than they have been in the past,
md the case will be put strongly up to
The convention, pointing out that the
Government hotel buildings which are
occupied by the local Guard for armory
purposes in the near future are in dan
ger of being torn down to make way for
improvements of the Capitol Grounds
between the present grounds and the
Union Station Should this event come
soon, the Guard will be faced with the
Af Co. Ia.,f1l -
rent. They couldn't find a suitable
building at the time, and there is little
possibility that the Guard officials
would be able to find one now, and
they couldn't get a private owner to
erect building for their purposes, be-
cause they are only allowed by law to
make a lease from year to year. In
order to make it attractive for a pri-
vate owner to put up a building espe-
cially for Guard purposes, he would
have to have some assurance Of a long
term contract. which would have to be
provided for by specific authority of
Congress. But this whole phase of the
question was examined into at the time
the Guard made its last transfer, and
it finally had to accept the Govern
ment hotels when the Attorney General
of the United States ruled that the
local militia was a Federal activity
and as such came under the jurisdiction
of the Public Buildings Commission to
find it home.
CarelessnesS about smoking in the
Government Hotel armories has been
called to the attention of the COM
mandS there by the brigade headquar-
tiers. 1T has been evident of late
says the memorandum, "as cigarette
butts thrown from windows and others
found in Railways show, that orders
against smoking are being violated
Attention of all is directed to the
fact that the occupation of these build
ings by the National Guard is contin-
gent on the prohibition of smoking