Now that the organized militia, the National Guard, has been
incorporated with the Army as a part of the national forces, it
behooves the Government to do every reasonable thing in its power to
perfect its efficiency. It should be assisted in its instruction and
otherwise aided more liberally than heretofore. The continuous services
of many well-trained regular officers will be essential in this
connection. Such officers must be specially trained at service schools
best to qualify them as instructors of the National Guard. But the
detailing of officers for training at the service schools and for duty
with the National Guard entails detaching them from their regiments
which are already greatly depleted by detachment of officers for
assignment to duties prescribed by acts of the Congress.
A bill is now pending before the Congress creating a number of extra
officers in the Army, which if passed, as it ought to be, will enable
more officers to be trained as instructors of the National Guard and
assigned to that duty. In case of war it will be of the utmost
importance to have a large number of trained officers to use for
turning raw levies into good troops.
There should be legislation to provide a complete plan for organizing
the great body of volunteers behind the Regular Army and National Guard
when war has come. Congressional assistance should be given those who
are endeavoring to promote rifle practice so that our men, in the
services or out of them, may know how to use the rifle. While teams
representing the United States won the rifle and revolver championships
of the world against all comers in England this year, it is
unfortunately true that the great body of our citizens shoot less and
less as time goes on. To meet this we should encourage rifle practice
among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the
military services, by every means in our power. Thus, and not
otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving the peace of the
world. Fit to hold our own against the strong nations of the earth, our
voice for peace will carry to the ends of the earth. Unprepared, and
therefore unfit, we must sit dumb and helpless to defend ourselves,
protect others, or preserve peace. The first step--in the direction of
preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it
should come--is to teach our men to shoot.