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Show jCOMPULSORY SERVICE IN GUARD IS RECOMMENDED j Adjutant General E. A. Wedgwood Files Biennial Bien-nial Report With Governor; Would Comply Com-ply With National Law. C' OMPl'LSORY military service in the National Guard of Utah for a!l youut; men between the ages of IS ami 27) is urged in the biennial report of Ad.jutnt General E. A. Wedgwood, tiled with Governor William Wil-liam jrv, connnander-iu-chief of the I'tah National Guard, yesterday. Recom-! Recom-! inundation that a law be passed to draw nier. from the body of the state in the -air.e fashion that mn are drawn for jury service v. as made. The report point.-d out that similar laws are already al-ready in force in New York and Massa chusetts. A law sueb as this is necessary, the report adds, if the National Guard of I'tah expects to meet the new requirements require-ments of the national defense act, which, within the next five years, fixes a total of -lr,0 Utah guardsmen in Utah. The polii-v provides that citizen soldiery, sol-diery, which is different from regular army organization, be organized by a systematic method of canvassing all the eligible men between the ages of 18 and 27 years who reside within 6ve miles of the center of any city in the state having 2-100 population. The list is to be submitted to the clerks of the boards of cotintv commissioners of the counties of the state. Upon the order of the governor locating a military organiza- tion at any city within the state, and after notice has been published for a period of ten days, calling for volunteers, volun-teers, in the event a sufficient number of volunteers shall not respond, the list may bo used in the forcing of recruits into the service. Problem Is Presented. The report declares that it is neither right nor fair to expect the volunteer service to fill the ranks of the citizen soldiery. The report also states that an appropriation of $189,000 is needed for the next two years. In regard to the compulsory service I law, Adjutant General Wedgwood says: The maintenance of the enlisted personnel of a national guard organization or-ganization at the required strength presents a problem that must be dealt with from the cold standpoint of reason rea-son and fact and free from all sentiment. senti-ment. I am of the opinion that it is not risht nor fair, either to the federal government, the state, the bodv politic, the citizen soldier service ser-vice or tho men who compote it, to depend upon volunteer service to fill the ranks of the citizen soldiery. Under Un-der the volunteer system of enlistments enlist-ments in tiie national guard some enter for the apparent novelty and excitement, many of whom are temper tem-per men tall v unfit to be soldiers, but must be retained in order to keep up the required strength. Some voluntarily volun-tarily enlist as a matter of duty, among which are men of all mental grades and degrees of education. Their membership in an organization where service is wholly voluntary-raises voluntary-raises problems in administration which are almost beyond the power of tact and judgment to properly and satisfactorily work out. Must Meet Requirements. In my judgment it is not only proper and right that the qualified citizen should be required by law to serve his term in the citizen soldiery, but that it is absolutely necessary that he do so in order to properly maintain main-tain individual military organizations as they should be maintained and aggregate ag-gregate organizations of the character and strength required, which, under tlio national defense act, will, within the next five years, reach a total of 4051.1 men for the state of Utah. 1 am frank to admit that the day has not yet come when compulsory service in the regular army is necessary, neces-sary, and I sincerely hope it never will. Nevertheless, 1 am strongly of the opinion that the day has come whn compulsory service in citizen soldiery is both proper and nece.-.-ary, anj thit such service would not be a detriment to ihe indi;dwals required re-quired to serve or to the body politic, hut, on the contrary, would lie a t:en-fit t:en-fit to both. The time re-juii'ed wouid be but une or more evenings of a week, depending upon the individual's grade in the servi.-e, and fifteen davs' camp duty in the year. This service would not interfere with hu;;ine.s or Personal affairs to any detrimental degree de-gree and uould be ' the foundation upon which a stable, dependable and phvsieally and menially qualified military mili-tary force. havin; t he present ability to do, could be founded. Makes Recommendation. I recommend the passage at the coming session of the legislature of a law embracing the following particulars: particu-lars: That upon tho designation of the federal military authorities of the branches of the military service it Is desired to be maintained with this state that the governor shall prescribe pre-scribe by order where such organizations organiza-tions shall be located within the state. That the county assessor shall list and enumerate every male citizen between be-tween the ages of IS and 3c residing within a distance of five miles from the approximate center of any city within the state having a population of 2500 or more, and shall return said list yearly to the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the county coun-ty wherein such city is situate. Upon the order of the governor locating lo-cating a military organization at anv city within the state, notice shall be published for a period of ten days. In such manner as the governor shall prescribe, through the adjutant general, gen-eral, calling for volunteers for said organization of men within the above limits of age, hut that volunteers may be received, at the discretion of the proper military authorities, exceeding the age limit of 25. That in the event a sufficient number num-ber of volunteers for membership in such organization shall not respond, either upon the organization of the unit prescribed or at any time thereafter, there-after, then the governor, by order or-der through the adjutant general, may require the county commissioners commission-ers to place the names of t lie men of military age returned by the assessor in a box suitable for such purpose and there shall be drawn from said box, by the county clerk, under the supervision of said commissioners, from time to time, a sufficient number num-ber of names, either to complete the strength of the organization at its inception or to maintain it at its proper strength during the period of its existence, and that such drawing shall be fairly done, without prejudice or favor to anyone. Suggests Punishment. . That upon such drawing the county clerk shall 'forward a list of the names drawn to the commanding officer of-ficer of such organization, or the officer of-ficer in charge of the organization thereof, promptly, and such officer shall notify the persons whose names appear upon said list when and where to report for physical examination and for duty; and the persons so selected who are found physically incapacitated in-capacitated for military service shall be given a certificate of disability by the examining surgeon and thereafter such persons shall be exempt from future fu-ture selection for a period of two years. That if any person so selected shall fall to respond at the time and place stated in the notice advising him of his selection for military service, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor misde-meanor and shall be prosecuted in any court having jurisdiction of misdemeanors mis-demeanors and upon conviction shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. That if any person so selected shall refuse to perform military service, or take the oath required by law, he shall be guilty of an indictable misdemeanor mis-demeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for the period of one year. Regularly appointed summary courts, and courts-martial, shall have the power to fine and imprison for non-attendance at drill or other military mili-tary duty and other military offenses, and such sentences shall be carried out by the sheriffs of the respective counties as in cases of sentence by civil courts and as upon execution. Must Get Furlough. Upon leaving the state a member of any military organization shall apply ap-ply to the proper officer for a furlough, fur-lough, and the same shall be issued to him, and during his absence from the state he shall be relieved of all obligations of military duties and obligations ob-ligations under his oath during the time of bis absence, unless ordered into federal service by the president of the United States. That if a memher of anv military organization within the state shall remove his residence from the home station of his organization he will he transferred by proper orders to the organization whose home station is at his new place nf tesidence, and it-there it-there be no military organization there he shall be furloughed to the national guard reserve by proper orders, or-ders, and any soldier who fails to secure se-cure such furlough or transfer, or who fails to report under such transfer trans-fer to the organization to which he is transferred shall be guilty of a military mili-tary offense and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, such punishment to be enforced en-forced by the sheriff of any county where he may be found. While upon a casual reading of the foregoing the suggestions made may appear drastic, it is believed that careful consideration will show that the daily life of men qualified for military duty would be interfered with but little, and that the provisions which appear to he harsh go no further fur-ther than the enforcement of t lie obligations ob-ligations of service and necessary discipline. dis-cipline. It may be well to stnte that the enactment of the foregoing provisions into law would not be an innovation, for there now exist on the statute books of the. states of New Yor!-: and Massachusetts laws of similar character, char-acter, and within our own statute a provision empowering the governor to draft at anv time it may hf n r s -sarv to conform to the request "" the president for troops from the state. |