59 Presidential Addresses 



States, which are treated as militia in the appropria- 

 tions by the Congress, should be made identical with 

 those provided for the regular forces. The obliga- 

 tions and duties of the Guard in time of war should 

 be carefully defined, and a system established by law 

 under which the method of procedure of raising 

 volunteer forces should be prescribed in advance. 

 It is utterly impossible in the excitement and haste 

 of impending war to do this satisfactorily if the ar- 

 rangements have not been made long beforehand. 

 Provision should be made for utilizing in the first 

 volunteer organizations called out the training of 

 those citizens who have already had experience under 

 arms, and especially for the selection in advance of 

 the officers of any force which may be raised; for 

 careful selection of the kind necessary is impossible 

 after the outbreak of war. 



That the army is not at all a mere instrument of 

 destruction has been shown during the last three 

 years. In the Philippines, Cuba, and Porto Rico 

 it has proved itself a great constructive force, a most 

 potent implement for the upbuilding of a peaceful 

 civilization. 



No other citizens deserve so well of the Republic 

 as the veterans, the survivors of those who saved 

 the Union. They did the one deed which if left 

 undone would have meant that all else in our history 

 went for nothing. But for their steadfast prowess 

 in the greatest crisis of our history, all our annals 

 would be meaningless, and our great experiment in 



