The Militia Pay Bill.

New York Times 100 years ago today, July 13, 1912:
    The payment guaranteed to the armed militia of the forty-eight States, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, constituting the National Guard, by the compromise Militia Pay bill, just reported favorably by the Military Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, is not large, but it is enough to meet the expenses of all civilians who enlist in the military service of their States, and thus to encourage enlistments. The passage of the bill will insure an improvement of the National Guard throughout the country. The civilian soldiery will now grow in importance as an adjunct of the United States Army. The bill provides for the transfer of militia regiments to the regular army in time of war, when their members, of course, will receive the same pay as the regulars.
    The National Guard now comprises about 10,000 enlisted officers and 112,000 men, a force to be reckoned with, indeed, when it is working in co-operation with the regular army, when its members have the advantages of training by experienced officers, and of taking part in manoeuvres in association with well-seasoned Federal troops. The modified Pepper bill, therefore, will serve to establish an important army reserve. The reduction of the term of enlistment in the regular army to two years would in time build up another reserve force of trained men, and help to place our military establishment on a sounder footing.