Evening star., 1936-12-20
GUARD ADJUTANT
ORDERED AWAY
Col. R. P. LemIy Directed
to Command 10th US.
Infantry.

Of Columbia, but not until after the
Inauguration. will get new adjutant
general. Orders were received at
headquarters last week ordering the
detachment Of Col. Rowan p. Lemly,
U. 8. Army, the present adjutant gem
eral. He will report at Fort Thomas,
KY, about February IS to assume
command Of the 10th United States
Infantry.
While Col. Lemly will not be ON
cially detached until February IS,
nevertheless he will 60 on leave Of
absence about December IL and will
not return to his local assignment.
The local militia, under the law, Is
entitled to the assignment OF q
Regular Army ofhcer here to be as
signed as adjutant general, and while
serving here he also holds q commits
sion in the local militia to give him
the necessary authority to carry out
his duties.
Col. Lemly has been at the local
post about a year and q half, but it
was explained that he was due for
command Of an Infantry regiment and
that when the vacancy occurred he
was relieved here.
The assignment here by the Regular
Army OF an ofiicer to act as adjutant
general is one OF the features OF the
organic act Of the local militia which
Is still carried out. The change now
impending again raises the question
as to when the local militia will have
another section of that act carried out.
and that Is the appointment OF
commanding general The War De-
partment, 1t was pointed out, very
promptly nils the vacancies In the
post OF adjutant general from among
its own officers, but for more than
two years the vacancy of command
ing general has been left unified. The
local Guard Is the only militia which
has Regular off1cer periodically as
signed here to assist in handling its
affairs. In the States, where the
militias are controlled by the Gov
ernors, the adjutants general are the
military heads of the States and have
considerable authority in directing the
an airs Of the militias.
Every effort has been made by trade
bodies and individuals to have the War
Department recommend an officer to
NIL the long-vacant position OF COM
manding general here, but it is un.
derstood the department has taken the
position that the tables Of organiza-
tion OF the Army do not call for a
commanding general for the force
here. This Is on the theory that there
is not a brigade of any particular arm
OF troops here. although in numbers
there are sufficient men to form
pea ace-time brigade. While contend
ing this point against the militia, it
YVES said. the Army has, nevertheless.
named commanding general for the
District Of Washington to command
all the troops in this vicinity The
Regular Army does not have a brigade
Of any particular arm in or around
Washington, but 1t was said that 1t
was done to give prestige to the organ
ization in dealing with affairs involv-
ing the movement Of troops for various
purposes.
1t Is the view OF the trade and other
civic organizations and leaders that an
organization of the size Of the local
militia and with a record for service in
all wars is entitled to have a COM
manding general to direct It's affairs
The appointment OF a commanding
general here, it was added. also would
give the organization considerable
prestige in Its fight for an armory and
other needs for its training.
The organic act directs that the
President of the United States appoint
a commanding general for the local
militia, and it says nothing about a
prerequisite Of having q brigade Of
troops. For nearly quarter Of GEN.
tury the Guard has had q command
ing general. and 1t has never had
brigade as such, although the troops
here have been classified into q provi-
sional brigade such as has been done
in the case Of regular troops in and
around Washington, now headed by
brigadier general.
Under the present set-up the COM
manding officer Of the Guard also
commands q regiment Of troops. In
addition to carrying out and looking
after the training Of this body Of men
and keeping In close touch with the d.
visional affairs, he Is required to handle
the affairs of other units in Washing
ton and to direct its fiscal affairs.
When Commissioner Melvin c.
Hazen was addressing the troops last
week, in connection with the presenta-
ton OF medals to men who won them
in the recent National Rifle Matches
at Camp Perry, Ohio, he disclosed to
the assembled militiamen that he Is q
former Guardsman.
After the address one Of the soldier.
clerks sought to ascertain when the
saw service, and brought
cut from the dusty files his original en-
listment papers. They disclosed he en-
listed on May ~, 1895. and served
with Company B, 1st Battalion. He
was honorably discharged in 1895 un-
der the terms Of q special order issued
by the commanding general. At that
time he was in the Engineers once Of
the District Government.
The Headquarters Detachment.
Special Troops, 2sth Division. led all
the other organizations in the local
militia last month. For the period
covered by the report 1t has q perfect
attendance, that is. 100 per cent.
The other organizations, with their
respective percentages, follow: Head
quarters Co.. 104th Quartermaster
regiment. ss.42; Headquarters De-
2sth Division. 95.62; 2Sth
Military Police Co., s4.1s: Headquar-
ters and Service Co., 121st Engineers,
o1 "a. atate Detachment. 1854: Medi-