OCR Text |
Show MATTER OF PRIDE. The people of the various states which compose the federal union have always taken great pride in the home regiments in war time and such units have borne the names of their states. In the present war the national guard regiments were given new numbers, but these numbers were bunched, and it is very easy to distinguish between national na-tional guard, national army and regular regu-lar organizations. The guard, however, is fast losing its individuality and in tho course of time there will be more drafted men than volunteers iu its ranks and the term national guard will lose its chief significance. It was remarked re-marked several months ago by one of the higher officers that we would not be in the war very long before the troops would no longer be divided into three separate classes, but would one and all be known as members of the American army, without any explanatory explana-tory designation. The time for the change seems close at hand. The "N. G. " has been cut from the coat collars col-lars of the national guardsmen and the "N. A." from the coat collars of the national army soldiers and they can no longer be distinguished from regulars. regu-lars. But the state pride still exists and there will be some effort upon the part of the officials of the various commonwealths com-monwealths to maintain the present organization of the .units as far as possible pos-sible and there will be many protests if they are to be broken up. According to recent advices from Washington, one if not more of the national guard divisions, di-visions, which expected to go overseas intact, has been turned into what is known as replacement divisions, which means that such organizations will i'ur-uish i'ur-uish men for filling up divisions going to France and make good the wastage at the front. In such case the guardsmen guards-men will be scattered throughout the entire army in active service, while their officers will remain in this country coun-try and drill draftees, the process being be-ing continued until the end of the war. Governor Burnquist of Minnesota has learned that the war department has put the guard units from the northwestern north-western .states on a replacement basis in the federal service, or contemplates taking such action, and he is preparing to move on Washington, after Bending messages to the executives of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to join him in making protest. It is quite .natural some feeling should be aroused, for it has been the general expectation that drafted men would be used for replacement replace-ment purposes and the guardsmen, by reason of their larger experience as soldiers, sent to the front at the earliest opportunity. It may be, however, that only one draft will be made upon the northwestern division and that when the new men taken in to replace those sent oversea are sufficiently drilled the division will go to the front, but many other states will be represented in addition to the four mentioned, unless un-less the various regiments are filled up by drafted men who hail from Minnesota, Minneso-ta, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, which may or may not be allowed. The other guard divisions similarly situated have the same prospects as the one above mentioned. |