Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-27
District National Guard


| crowded and huddled into unsatisfac-
tory quarters where they cannot be
given the, maximum Of armory drill
training, and there Is no room for
others. -. ~
The local Guard has been allotted ~
companies or similar units, with, a total
peace strength of 1879 officers and 2,602
enlisted men, and a total war strength
of ITO officers and 4,026 enlisted men,
There now are organized II companies
or similar units with total strength of
, 81 officers and 918 enlisted men. Ar
tillery troops heretofore allotted to the
District of Columbia and organized in
accordance with law, were denied Fed
eral recognition as National Guard by
the War Department because suitable
armory facilities were not available.
Thus this lack of armory facilities has
prevented the District Of Columbia from
contributing ts%proportionate share to
national defense. while at the same time
the Federal Government has. eneour-
aged the individual States to organize
National Guard and maintain it at a
high state of efficiency.
Among the organizations which the
District is expected to have, in its Ma
tional Guard ready for emergency, and
the numbers are: Medical Department
Detachment, Goth Division special
troops two officers and IS men peace
strength and three officers and a. men
war strength; 104th Motor Cycle Com
pany, two officers and SO men peace
strength and two officers and IS men
war strength; 104th Ordnance Mantle
nance Company. two officers and 48
men peace strength and seven officers
and los men war strength: Hath AM
bulance Company, two officers and As
men peace strength and two officers
and Sc men war strength; 1l2th Hos
pital Company, six officers and 70 men
peace strength and eight officers and
90 men war strength; 1920 Engineer
Battalion, auxiliary, II officers and 270
men peace strength and Il officers and
1872 men war strength, and the First
Battalion, 372d Infantry, colored troops,
Is officers and 1913 men peace strength
and Is officers and 739 men war
strength. None OF these has been
organized. H&..ts..fa
The arnory problem in the present
Congress is still an uncertain quantity.
Although it was announced at the local
brigade headquarters that officials of
the National Guard Association of the
United States were going to bring pres
sure to bear on Congress for the pro-
vision of an armory for the local militia
at the present session of Congress, J 1t
appears now that the present Congress
will die rs have others during the past
20 years without even getting the bills
out of committee. It. Is likely that the
Guard will have to continue for ,some
time to occupy the present hotel
buildings on the Union Station Plaza,
but the complication in this is that
Congress may, at any time order the
razing of these buildings in connection
with the proposed improvement of the
area between the present Capitol
grounds and the Union Station. When
this event occurs, the Guard will he
without home. as the statement has
been made by Guard officials that
there is not a building now erected in
Washington which Is suitable for
armory purposes which could be OBJ
tanned on the small rental allowance
given the Guard each year by Con-
.greSs.
Guard officials have for years tried
consistently to get this idea before
members Of Congress- but 1t seems to
have fallen on deaf ears so far as re-
suits have been shown. During the
past Is years. it was pointed out, ap-
proXimately 100000 has been ex-
pended for rental for armories for the
District militia and it was added that
had an appropriation of this amount
been made that many years ago, the