The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1907-12-14
CONSUMPTION Suggested.

ARMY contains an intimaton that the free govern
ment of the United States may be compelled to
sort to CONSUMPTION to keep its army up to the
Der of soldiers required under the new conditions.
The suggestion is that will CRATE harshly upon
public sensbility and we'll poised minds will recog-
nize situation somewhat menacng to Republican
institutions.
That there may be mlsapprehenS1on concerning
the drift of military thought it will be best to quote
the exact language of the Adjutant General of the
United States army After reciting the fact that the
government finds it difficult to procure recruits for
it's army in competition with the payers of generous
wages in civil life that official says in his report
IF present conditions continue, there will be moth
ING for the government to do but to meet this COM
petition by materially increasing the soldiers pay or
to evade the competition altogether by resort to
CONSUMPTION.
Here is the whole disgracefu proposition. It is
mildly put, being used entering wedge to de-
stroy system that is of the basic principles of
our government Consumption in the time of peace
would be retrogression that would go long ways
toward the abso1utism of governments of the past
Of what value would be the republic if its officers
could go from house to house and take son here
and son there and force them into a service that
exists only for the violent subjugation of people?
There is something than probability that
the Adjutant General of the Army is wrong in at
trbuting the decline in the army to the competition
of high wages in civil life though right, his argu
ment is untenab1e in land in which every citizen is
enioined to pursue comfort and happiness cardi-
nal principle of life
There are other annual reports from the military
establishment One, from General Barry, command
ing the army of Cuban pacification, says:
Aside from tactical and political considerations,
the proposed increase in the regular establishment
has become necessity in order to permit reason
able amount of home service, compared to service
on foreign stations.
From book entitled Casualties Among Commits
stoned Officers on Active List of the Regular Army
is taken this paragraph:
There are now on the active list of the infantry (to
say nothing of those already ret1red) about thirty
young captains and leuenants at the height OF their
usefulness professionally, but ncapac1taed physically
because of excessive tropical service. There is moth
ing further to do for these young men but to retire
them. Their marching days are over.
So the army destroys not only life, but youth, pre-
maturely ageing young of splendid mental and
physical equipment To supply their places from
the ranks of the young men of the country, the
Adjutant General of the Army would apply the old
1nonarchica1 brutality of CONSUMPTION.
Inspector General Ga1braith says in his annual
report:
The burden of foreign service falls with undue
severity on our IcSlluclIlS n
Join the infantry in the United States and serve with
it two years before he is confronted with this foreign
service prospect
General Greedy, commanding the department of
the northern division, makes this statement in his
annual report:
In the northern division the effects of extended
tropical duty evident in connection with return
ing commands Frequent recurrence of such service
impars discipline endangers health,
weakens family ties necessitates Indebtedness and
otherwise depreciaes and impairs the high standards