The Citizen Soldiers Rewrite the Rules of the Guard

The commissioned officers of the First Regiment, N.G.W., last night continued the work of revising the proposed military code drafted by Lieutenant Fassett Joslin, and will probably complete it today.

A provision that a majority of the members of any company might by petition recommend the discharge of any member for the good of the service was stricken out, and the company commander vested with that power. This provision is intended as a summary way of clearing a company of worthless members without the expense and difficulty of a court-martial, and in Pennsylvania it works well.

The section providing for a board to consist of the adjutant general, quartermaster general and commissary general, who shall have power to adopt and purchase all arms and other military property, was agreed upon. The adjutant is to have custody of and issue all state property.

The allowance to companies for armory rent, $50 per month, remains the same as at present. The sum was thought entirely too meager for companies in cities, while in small towns it was ample, and that the place to make the greatest economy was at the summer encampments. The pay of enlisted men while in active service was left as at present, except a small increase for men who had served one enlistment.

The most important measure, perhaps, of the whole bill was the provision that whenever on duty the guard should be under the regulations and articles of war of the United States army. The acts of all the states recently passed have this provision. The law at present contains no such provision.

Another important provision adopted was that when in actual service the guard should receive the pay of the regular army, to be paid from the general fund. A provision is made following the state constitution for the immediate payment for such services. For the service rendered during the riots last summer the men have not yet been paid, which has a bad effect on discipline. Careful provision is made for state encampments, and the excessive cost will be greatly reduced. No action, civil or criminal, should be maintained against an officer or enlisted man for damages occasioned while in actual service.

The jurisdiction and powers of courts-martial are clearly defined and promise to be very effectual in maintaining discipline.

It was determined that before a recruit shall be enlisted he shall be subjected to a physical examination. It was provided that a private can be transferred from one company to another by consent of the captains, and from regiment to regiment by consent of the regimental commanders. The salary of the adjutant general was fixed at $1,600 a year, payable quarterly, with the expenses of his office and the necessary expenses of his department, and he shall be required to file a bond of $2,000 and devote all his time to the duties of his office. It was decided that the militia auditing board should consist of the commander-in-chief, adjutant general and state auditor.

The method of removing a commissioned officer was next taken up. The section describes in detail how an officer may be removed for certain causes by the commander-in-chief. It is provided that the commander-in-chief may at any time order a commissioned officer to appear before a military board in order that he may be examined as to his moral capacity, military qualifications and general fitness, and if he is found wanting he may be discharged from the service. Any commissioned officer who has served for five years may be placed on the retired list kept on file in the adjutant general's office, and shall be subject to detail duties, such as court-martial or other service.

Enlisted men shall be discharged only after they have served the term of enlistment or by the regimental or brigade commander for promotion by commission, removal, for infamous crime, etc. For the good of the militia a majority of the members of any company may petition for the discharge of any private, and after giving the man a hearing he may be discharged for the good of the service.

It is provided that commissioned officers within sixty days after their election shall provide themselves with uniforms. Lieutenant Joslin thought that the state should provide the uniforms for the officers, as the cost of an infantry officer with uniform and accoutrements fit for a mounted officer was considerable. He thought it a shame that the state should be so niggardly as to make the men buy their own uniforms. Major Ingraham coincided with Lieutenant Joslin, but thought that the present was not the time to put such an idea to the legislature, that the ruling motive was economy.

The discussion was very thorough, and the laws of the United States were constantly consulted and the best provisions adopted, with many additions. When finished it promises to be the most complete military code of any state in the Union.