{ title: 'The Rio Grande rattler. ([McAllen], Hidalgo County, Tex.) 1916-1917, November 08, 1916, Page 3, Image 3', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87030234/1916-11-08/ed-1/seq-3/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87030234/1916-11-08/ed-1/seq-3.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87030234/1916-11-08/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87030234/1916-11-08/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: New York State Military History Museum
THE RiO GRANDE RATTLER PAGE 3 HELEN’S PALM CAFE ’ We came to MeAlten to feed the boys of the 6th Division. Morning, noon and night we feed them. Here is a sample meal. iSteafcsi la lilen, W cents; Delicate French Fried, 10 cents. Civilian Coffffi an 1st, 5 cents; Pie yum yum, 10 cents. Meady-^to-eat Di^es as Well # fiankin-Hill Co. Inc .Wiholesale Groceries. Branch office-M cAllen jJisst across the tracks at the Station WE, ARE =EEECT1) TO m to r n SUPPLIES ©oriffcO^er-Stock Yaiir Exchafjge or Commissary ffhone vyour wants in tke morning .and-receive them before n i^ t by express or the next day by freight. -have what you want in stock ©ur store and stock are open for inspection today. 0 rJR M O T T O --SE 2 R V IC E '■ P \ (■ Now Serving Hot Drinks PALACE s SWEETS MSSSIOSI MISSION Co®ie here on cold nights for a hot chocolate. Repilar Ice Cream Drinks as well. n ii • _ - * - - 1: n i \ CHARGES PLOT TO KILLN. Y. AVIATION He!! With the Hatioiiai Ouard is Alleged Remark of FROM THE AERO CLUB OF AMERICA Here on the Border good soldiers are good soldiers, whether they are Eegular Soldiers or U. S. National Guard Soldiers. No one ever stops to determine whether an officer or enlist ed man is elementally one or the other. Kegular officers and soldiers are serv ing with and as part of units of the National Guard, and N ational Guard officers and soldiers are serving with and as,a,p a r t of the Eegular units. All constitute a big m ilitary family. It apparently never occurs to any one on the Southern Department that there is or should be any distinction between these two classes of soldiers, and noth ing disturbs these relations. The a t titude, for example, of the Army and Navy Journal, which persistently de picts every regular officer and soldier as superhuman and all N ational Guard soldiers and .civilians working unavail- ingly, is regarded by officers on the Border as a harmless obsession. The Aero Club of America has been one of the most loyal supporters of army efforts for expansion particular ly in the field of aviation, and when it makes charges that there is a mili tary element in W ashington active in discrediting ;the National Guard, its statem ents are at least interesting. The charges take the form of a let ter from Allan E. Hawley, President of the.A ero Glub of America to the Hon. Newton D. Baker the Secretary of War. The following extracts from this letter are quoted, the letter in its entirety being too Jong for publication. ‘ The Aero Club of America has again ibeen appealed to by a National Guard officer, who, having applied to the Aviation Section of the Army for training in aviation for the members of his company, and having been told that the Army had decided to limit to $76;000 the expenditure for training National Guardsmen, appeals to us for financial assistance, to pay the train ing of his men. This officer inquHed from Major William Mitchell, assistant to the Lieu tenant Colonel George O. Squier, head of the Aviation Section, whether ad ditional training could not be provided for, pointing out that Congress has allowed $9,640,800 for training N a tional Guardsmen and organizing twelve Aero Squadrons for the twelve M ilitia Divisions of the United States, and Major Mitchell told him th a t while it is true That l^he plan to organize twelve Aero Squadrons for the twelve M ilitia Divisions was used as a basis for getting tbe appropriations, the Appropriation Bill does not specify what it shall be spent for, and th e of- fieers qf the Aviation Section have de- of the Army reg.arding the control of all m a tters pertaining to aeronautics under the Defense Act. This document shows th a t the Aviation Section has full control over everything pertain ing to aeronautics in the National Guard. The Aviation Section of the Army not only approved this movement, but it subm itted estim ates to Congress for the appropriations necessary for the formation of the twelve M ilitia Aero Squadrons. In answer to our letter of June 10th, 1916, addressed to you. Limit. Col. George O. Squier answered on June 26th giving the estimates which had been jjreiiared by his office, and these included the following: “ Establishing and maintaining for one year twelve M itilia Squad rons for the mobile arm^y and for coast defense, $7,200,000.” As the above did not include a provi sion for training civilans in aviation, and it seemed advisable to make such a provision, so th a t men with aeronautic experience who could not give the time required to perform continuous National Guard duties could be connected with the national defenses, the Aero Club, after ascertaining that the Aviation Section of the Army was in favor of creating such a reserve, recommended the creation to President Wilson, who authorized the organization of the Aerial Eeserve Corps on July 13th. While our Committee was in W ashing ton on this mission, an officer of the Aviation Section of the Army gave us a copy of revised estim ates th a t had been made since the letter of June 26th had been w ritten, and these estimates included the following item: “ For the organization, equipment, aaid maintenance of 12 aero squad rons for the 12 militia divisions ordered into service, either in the Militia or from the Regular Army Reserve-and the Officers’ Reserve Corpg, $9,640,800.” It was understood that the increase from $7,200,000 to $9,640,800 was to take care of the training and organi zation of the Aerial Reserve Corps. Congress appreciating the importance of providing funds for the National Guard and Aerial Eeserve Corps; like wise the value of having all these de velopments under the control of the Aviation Section of the Army, allowed the $9,640,800' as a part of the general appropriation for aeronautics, as the Aviation Section of the Army requested. During one of our visits to the A v ia tion Section of the Army, there was ex plained to us the advisability of hav ing appropriations to be granted for the N ational Guard combined wdth the ap propriations for aeronautics for the army, and we approved the procedure, believing best to leave expenditures to the discretion of theW a r Department. We have on file a carbon copy of the lU'ovision for aeronautics, w ritten by the officers of the Aviation Section, for the Army Appropriation Bill. It reads as follows: “ PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That not more than $13,981,666.00 of the foregoing appropriation shall be used for the purchase, manufacture, maintenance, operation and repair, of airships and other aerial ma chines and accessories necessary in the aviation section and for the, purchase, maintenance, repair am* operation of motor-propelled, pas We realized th a t since M rjor M it chell was practically in charge of the details pertaining to such m atters. Colonel Squier having just returned from a four y e a rs’ duty as m ilitary attache in London and was not fam il iar with the current trend of events in W ashington, this attitude of mind might interfere with the carrying out of the plans. But nothing was said about the m a tter until Major Mitchell, dui’ing a visit to the Mineola Aviation center, during a conversation regard ing the N ational G u a rd’s anxiety to develop in aviation, exclaimed “ Hell with the National Guard! It will never amount to anything. ’ ’ I was one of the three people pres ent w'hen Major Mitchell so expressed himself, and was incensed to hear such derogatory expressions from an Army officer, at a time when thous ands of N ational Guardsmen were at the Mexican Border protecting Ameri can lives and American property at a great sacrifice to themselves, their business and their families. I consid ered it my duty to jirotest to Major Mitchell and to bring the m a tter to the attention of Colonel Squier, which I did, first in a letter dated July 28tn. Receiving no answer, I wrote again on August I4th. I received no answer to these letters until September 11th, when I received a brief acknowledg ment. We have already given close to $22,000 from the N ational Aeroplane Fund to the F irst Aero Company, New York N ational Guard, and had loaned $7,500 to the commanding officer, in addition, with which to purchase an additional aeroplane, to make up for the Aviation Section’s failure to sup ply aeroplanes. We could go no fu r ther. In the meantime, throughout these many weeks, the Aviation Section of the Army failed to supply the aero planes needed for training the hund red N ational Guardsmen at Mineola, and it was only when we offered to guarantee the payment for $50,000 worth of aeroplanes for the Guards men if the Army would order them th a t two aeroplanes were sent to Mineola. The need was for at least thirty aero planes. Subsequently, when these condi tions created general protests, the First Aero Company, New York N a tional Guard asked to be mustered out and the Second Aero Company, New York N ational Guard, was being dis banded, two more machines were pro vided. A few more machines were sent after the publication of the de plorable conditions, following the mustering out and disbanding of the F irst and Second Aero Companies. No steps were taken to provide aviation training for the hundreds of N ational Guardsmen who were anxious to join the air service, and finally, on Sep tember 8th, the M ilitia Bureau issued order No. 5807, addressed to the ad jutants General of all States, stating th a t the present Congress had only appropriated the sum of $76,000, and that not exceeding fifty National Guardsmen could be trained in avia tion. *~\Ve hoped th a t this was a mistake, but as no action was taken to rectify it, on September 13th I wrote to you pointing out th a t it was vitally im- T)ortfl.nt that the limitation inmhsted on
