Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 284, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1916 — GUARD HEADS FEAR DISINTEGRATION [ARTICLE]

GUARD HEADS FEAR DISINTEGRATION

Fears Entertained That National Guard Units Will Have Hard Time ""In The Future. That disintegration will came through its inability to recruit its strength to the government requirements and through indifference or antipathv on the part of the public «s "the sum of assertions made by friends of the national guard, threatening the future of the organization of this state and every other state. The new “federal oath and contract,” binding national guardsmen to remain three years in reserve after their present terms of enlistments have expired, must ber subscribed to by all the sitate units November 30th. Grave misgivings have.been voiced as to the proportion of enlisted men who would sign the new contract —but, worse than this, is another situation: Recruiting both for the filling the places of those whose terms have expired and swelling the companies to re-! quired strength is at a standstill. Through the gloom faced by those : who have the interests of the coun-; try’s first reserve be in the regular army at heart there is one shaft of j hope. From Washington comes the tidings that President Wilson realizes the failure of plans based on volunteer system and that Secretary of War Baker has called on the army college to report the comparative advantages of universal and volunteer training. The average strength of companies at the time they went to the border was around 75 to 80. Expiration of enlistments not reserved is expected to deplete their strength at least 25 per cent, is declared by men who are in a position to know. The difficulty of obtaining recruits to bring the organizations up to the necessary strength is more pronounced since the return of some of the troops from the border, officers and men agree. Stories of hardships, sans glory gave deterred young men from enlisting who otherwise might have been attracted by the social and athletic advantages of the national guard. “Nine-tenths of our company will not re-enlist.” The Texas experience means that our company is going to pieces. I do not mind doing my bit, but why bind myself to three years more on the reserve when thousands of fellows better qualified are allowed to go scot free from such responsibility ? This was a sample expression gleaned from enlisted men from all organizations oT different states. The spirit was not that of rebellion it was unwillingness to contract for long terms of service and reserve m order that the majority of their fellows in civilian life might escape all patriotic duty. •» There is but one answer to the above perplexing problem that the military heads will some day be called upon to fact, and that is compulsory military training for all, and we believe that day <fts not very far distant.