Evening star., 1940-08-25

DARING the formality Of President
- Roosevelt's signature, the first peace
time draft of the National Guard in the
history of the United States is now
provided by law. After both chambers,
by large majorities. had passed a bill
authorizing the President to induct the
National Guard into Federal service
for years training a conference re-
port was approved Thursday by the
House and on the next day by the
Senate
Once before but in time Of hostilities
instead of peace, the National Guard as
a whole was drafted into Federal service.
This was in August. 1917, four months
after the United States entered the
World War. Because the word draft
bore All unpopular flavor. it has since
been replaced by the milder term, or
der There has also arisen what ap-
pears al first glance to be curious tech
nical distinction between the vocables
"order" and call"
President Wilson called the National
Guard into Federal service in 1916, when
about 200 officers and men of the
organization were summoned to duty
along the Mexican border and in State
encampments President Roosevelt will
be empowered to order the National
Guard into Federal service
Under Wilson's Call
Under a call" the various States re-
tain authority over recruiting appoint
ments, promotions and discharges. In
Difference to State sovereignty, Wilson
took care to dispatch no National Guard
units across the Rio Grande. But with
an order the Federal Government as
sumes complete control So informed
jurist as Representative Hatton w. Sum-
ners of Texas argued during the House
debate that. under the current bill. the
President, as commander in chief of the
Army would have the same liberty to
send National Guard units to any part
OF the earth as he enjoys in respect
to the Regular Army, the Navy and
the Marine Corps.
As one division of the National Guard
after another passes into Federal serv-
ice. an organization Of which few lay
men have ever heard and which till
now has existed only on paper, will come
progressively into actual being. This is
the National Guard of the United
States" as differentiated from the Ma
tional Guard. The latter is under COM
mand of the Governors Of the respective
States. The former is defined by law
of Jo;t
States Army" and is commanded by
the President 1t consists of such units.
officers and enlisted men of the National
Guard as have been "Federally recog-
nized." Needless to say, most of them
have been, or soon will be, thus "recog-
nized."
Guards Dual Nature.
The singular dual nature of the Ma
tional Guard is exemplifed in the two
fold oath required of enlisted men and
officers Enlisted men swear not only
to bear true loyalty to the State in
which they enter service, but to "obey
the orders of the President of the United
States" Commissioned and warrant Of
ficers of the National Guard take an
oath to support and defend the Consti-
tutions both of their States and of the
United States, against all enemies, for
eign and domestic" Therefore Army
spokesmen deride the contention of some
Congressman that National Guardsmen
have contracted to serve only within
their own State limits, or at most within
the boundaries of the continental United
States and its overseas possessions.
The Constitution of the United States
provides that Congress shall have power
to provide for calling forth the militia
in three cases only-to execute the laws
Of the Union, suppress rebellion and
repel invasions. BY an act Of Congress
in 1875, which has been held constitu-
tional by the Supreme Court, this power
was delegated to the President. From
that time, authority has been vested
exclusively in the President to deter
mine when an exigency rises that de-
mands calling out the militia, and his
determination on this point is conclu-
sive. A statute of June 3, 1916, defined
the militia as consisting Of all able
bodied male citizens between the ages
OF l8 and IS years, and divided 1t into
three classes-the National Guard, the
Naval Militia and the Unorganized
Militia.
At present there exists neither rebel
lion, invasion nor violation of the laws
of the Union on a scale beyond usual
police control. Therefore, the order"
in the National Guard bill is inter-
preted as q device for enabling the Pres
ident to effect in time Of peace all that
he could accomplish without further
ado II Q full national emergency were