"Company K" LeMars Sentinel News Articles, beginning year 1917 Contributed by Linda Ziemann

LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel newspaper
Dated Tuesday, March 20, 1917
(Headlines on the front page read:)

CO. K STAYS AT DES MOINES

A telegram received by the Mayor Smith from Adjutant General Logan late
last evening says:  "Mustering out of Second Infantry indefinitely
postponed."  This cancels all preparations of a homecoming for Co. K
this week and probably means that the Iowa guardsman are being held for
service in the war with Germany which yesterday's dispatches declare is
inevitable and drawing near.

CALL IOWA TROOPS
MUSTERING OUT OF GUARDS IS SUSPENDED
DUE TO THE ACTION OF GERMANY
New and Aggressive Action Will Be Taken To Protect American Shipping As
a Result of Sinking Unarmed Merchantmen

A Des Moines dispatch in last night's Sioux City Tribune says:
"Major Sturdevant, in charge of mustering out of the Second Iowa
regiment at Fort Des Moines received an order from the war department
late Sunday directing that the regiment be held until further orders."

The order came as bitter disappointment to the men, who had served eight
months on the Mexican border, and were within two days of home.  The
work of mustering out was practically completed, and the men were to
have left for home stations on special trains Tuesday afternoon.

Gossip at the fort is to the effect that the other Iowa regiments will
be called back in service within a week. 

Even thought the order is countermanded within a day or two, it will
require another week to muster the men out since everything has been
checked up to Tuesday night and all the paper work based on the
supposition that the men would leave for home on that day.

Last night's papers declare war with Germany seems inevitable and that
United States is preparing for aggressive action by striking at German
submarines which sunk three American vessels Sunday.  The dispatches
say:

"New and aggressive action to protect American shipping against German
submarines appears certain as a result of yesterday's sinking of three
unarmed merchantmen, with possible loss of American lives."

Calling of congress in extra session before April 16, loomed as the
strongest possibility, although President Wilson was understood to have
other courses under consideration.

With American ships already being armed, the most probably step would be
an active campaign to clear submarines out of the shipping lanes.  There
appears to be no plan to have the United States enter the war in the
sense that the European nations have entered it.

The fact that some American ships are on the other side of the ocean
unarmed is a factor in the situation, and as large warships are
ineffective against submarines, the problem for the government is to get
small submarine chasers.  Most of the American fleet is needed at home
to guard against operation of German submarines in American waters.

SUBJECT TO CALL
Obligation of Guardsman Under the Federal Law

Webster City Journal:  Owing to the many misinterpretations placed on
late laws dealing with the national guard, many people, and especially
the guardsmen themselves are at a loss to explain definitely the exact
status of the troops after mustering out.  Thorough information obtained
from acts of congress, enables the Journal to publish the facts
concerning the matters most under debate.

All national guardsmen are subject to a call of the president, to defend
the nation, until their enlistments expire.  This applies to all men,
whether under the federal oath or not.  In case of war, every man,
civilian or military, would of course, be subject to a call for
volunteers, but the guard units would be called first, and would go as a
unit wherever the president sent them.

The take of the federal oath known to army men as the "dual oath" places
men under federal jurisdiction, and they participate in federal pay,
which is more than the state pays.
Under this oath a man pledges himself to three years active service and
three years in the militia reserve.  Those not taking the oath are not
in the reserve, except those who enlisted after the June movement of the
militia.  These men, enlisting after the movements, are automatically
under the dual oath, by virtue of the law going into effect at that
time.

The dual oath does not, as its enemies have claimed, prescribe any great
amount of responsibility onto the civilian soldiers.  They are subject
to special calls of the president, while those not taking the oath are
not.  Special calls, however, involve only duty for defensive purposes,
and in such event it is very improbably that the federal oath men would
be called before any other guard unit.  An advantage of the dual oath is
that when under jurisdiction of the federal government the pay is much
more, and the men are not subject to call to put down strikes and riots
of local natures.  The state troops are subject to such calls.

In case of another call those companies declining the dual oath would be
compelled on the first call to go through the red tape of another
mustering into federal service, the same procedure which took up so much
time at the call to the Mexican border.

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