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Show NATIONAL GUARD SHOOK UP. The governor 1ms taken a hand In the National Guard matter and has "relieved" Adjutant-General llowmaii, accepted the resignation of Brigadier-Park, Brigadier-Park, appointed Colonel Joseph Geog-hegan Geog-hegan acting adjutant-general, and Is apparently ready to accept the resignations resig-nations of any more ot tho officers who may desire to send in then- communications. com-munications. Colonel Geoghegan Immediately gave out an interview In which he stated hi3 intention to endeavor to bring tho ofilces of brigadier-general and adjutant adju-tant general into harmony; declared this a critical period in tho history of 1 the guard; announced that he was go- Ing to get some man who knew how 1 to run the affairs of the adjutant-gen eral's ofllco and turn over tho pay ; therefor. Of course Colonel Geoghegan will a not continue in tho office; ho Is sim-a sim-a ply taking hold In order to get things I in running order ponding some further H action. I Tho resignation of General Park car ries with It tho resignations of his staff: Although each member filed a written notice. Tho staff is composed of: Lieutenant-Colonel .T. O. Nys-trom, Nys-trom, assistant adjutant-general; Major Ma-jor C. M. Benedict', assistant surgeon-general; surgeon-general; Lieutenant-Colonel Frank L. Moyle, Inspector of target practice; Major J. F. Grant and Major A. L. Thomas Jr., aides-de-camp, and Major las. Ingebretson, judge advocate. Whether tho line ofllcers will follow, remains to bo seen. The guard Is all shot to pieces and It will require some able work on the part of those in charge to save it from being a total wreck. It Is lamentable that such a thing should have happened, yet it is In the power of tho governor to save tho organization or-ganization by taking tho proper steps. It will not do to court martial everybody, every-body, because in that event there will bo no guard. It is thought that tho best thing to do is to patch up mat- Iters. Truth has a few suggestions to offer tho governor, which it hopes ho will 1 accept in good faith. First: Select an officer for tho position posi-tion of adjutant-general who Is fairly well versed in military matters. Don't pick out a man because ho has been a bank clerk, or a successful vendor of groceries, but in whatover walk of llfo Invaded get a person with somo Ideas I of military affairs and one who Is not ashnmed to wear his uniform on all occasions. oc-casions. Don't wait until a mnn is fifty or sixty years of age before giving giv-ing him the place; take a young man if ho fills tho bill. Second: Cut out tho brigadier-gen-orM entirely. There are not two full bnttalions In the state now all told. Actually Ac-tually tho troops of tho stato amount to just about what would grace a major. ma-jor. Until two battalions of Infantry are recruited to normal strength, lot the senior major command tho guard; when tho two are so recruited, call an election" for a lieutenant colonel. When three battalions are recruited, elect a colonel. Third: Reduco tho organizations in this city to one battery, two companies of Infantry and the signal corps. Trans-rer Trans-rer all enlisted men belonging to others to either tho artillery or the battery, as thoy may elect, and thus bring tho companies and the battery up to something approaching normal strength. Fourth: Lot tho adjutant-general know that ho Is not tlio commander of the guard, but simply the military sec-rotary sec-rotary of the governor; outline nls work and keep him hard at it. Let tlio acting commander of the guard un- i i dorstand that ho is not the adjutant-general adjutant-general and compel him to hustle in matters of drill and theoretical in 3truction of troops. Fifth: Immediately begin an onslaught on-slaught on the ordnance and quartermaster's quarter-master's departments of the general government and by all means available, avail-able, got for the natlonnl guard of this state the best equipment that can bo procured. Keep the adjutant-general everlastingly rustling until the last article has been delivered to this stato. Sixth: Cut out politics. Play no political po-litical favorites, and don't turn a good man down, no matter what his political politi-cal beliefs are, so long as ho Is a good citizen and will make a good soldier, Tho history of tho National Guard of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and other states where the Natlonnl Guard amounts to something shows that where politics Is avoided the organization' organiz-ation' is a success. Thomas J. Stewart, Stew-art, adjutant-general of the stato of Pennsylvania, is a Democrat, but a Republican administration keeps him because he Is a valuable man. Other general and field officers aro Democrats Demo-crats and thoy aro valuable men. Wherever politics has boon permitted to enter the guard disaster has followed. fol-lowed. Seventh: Secure as good quarters for tho various subdivisions as can bo procured and don't give the city everything, every-thing, at tho expense of the outside, as was done when John Q. Cannon was tlio mouthpiece of the governor. If a company commander asks for something, some-thing, don't let his communication got moldy before answering, but compol the adjutant-genoral to attend to it. either favorably or unfavorably, at once. El;:1ith: Don't forget that the men composing the gunrd in times past aro the ones who have kept it going, and remember their work with grateful nosx A tew men kept tho guard up prior to tho war with Spain, and sev-e-al of them wore forgotten when tho time for reward came, while others who bad done nothing wcro pushed to the front. Truth believes tho governor wants to do the right thing, and believes he will be guided by bis best judgment. But the history of the National Guard of states that maintain large and very successful organizations Is a mighty good thing to go by In this emergency. |