Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-11-29
MAY COMPEL MEN
TO SERVE IN ARMY
GEN. AINSWORTH SAYS SITUATION
is BECOMING DESPERATE Be
CAUSE OF SHORTAGE.
CONSCRIPTION AS A REMEDY.
Report Asks Restoration of Canteen and
That Congress Raise Pay and Make
Soldiers Life Pleasanter.
RANKS NEED $4,000 RECRUITS.

WASHINGTON, d. c., Nov. %
HE difficulty OF securing recruits for
the army; the prevalence of dcSrruun
with the reasons therefor, and an I'M
welcome suggestion that the dreaded Eu-
ropean system of CONSUMPTION. or com
puSory military service may be uvcvS-
Safy 10 maintain the American army
Ut It's maximum strength, are the tea
lures OF the annual report of Ad Jl-Gvu.
AnSWorth To the secretary of war.
The Interesting subject of the status
anu future OF the national mintla were
oe,'II with III special report 10y the
saline officer heretofore punished. and
TINS last report is devoted prlcIpdIiy
10 the personnel of the regular ARMY.
Says the adjutant general:
Consumption One Remedy.
Notwithstanding the most strenuous
efforts on the part of the war depart
ment and the recruiting officers and lMcl"
parties III all parts of the country. II plS
been found impossible. wholly 10 n AXE
good the losses occurring in the y. ..srut
strength of the army. TO say nothing of
increasing that strength to the lImu au-
lnorlzed by law and executive order.
The government, in its efforts to procure
men for the army, is now computing
everywhere with private employers who
al 'ibIC ~ OIltI llutH SItaltI lItltt-
mentS than the government now offers,
ut least i'll the matter of pay. If pres
ent conditions continue there will be
nothing Tor the government to do but
to meet this competition by materially
increasing the soldiers pay, or To cvadc
the competition altogether 10y Il resort
to conScription.'
Causes of Shortage in Men.
AS to the causes for this state of af-
fairs, the adjutant general says they
are the same to Il considerable extent
as those which lead to deScrliun. Dur
ing the last fiscal year there were i5I2
desrrtions-5.G per cent. of the urmy--uS
against ~ per cent. during the pre,cd-
ing year. Reasons for the decrease are
not difficult to find, according to the re
port. they are i'll brief the substitution
of confinement ut the military prison ut
Fort LCaNCnWorth for confinement at
military posts as a punishment for de
scrtion: the diScOutinuancc of final vu-
hStmcntS ut recruiting stations. with the
resulting elimination of the large per
centage of men Whu are reasonably Ger
tain to desert within a few days after
enlistment under the old system; and
the other reasons, already referred to.
which prevent the full recruitment of
the army.
Pleads for Canteen.
These are the low rate of pay is COM
pared with that obtaining in civli ulc;
dissatisfaction with the hard work of
practice marches, drills and the fatigue
duties necessary to keep Il post III good
condition, the abolition OF the cdutcCu,
failure of recruits to appreciate the obiI-
cations of Il contract and their iguorancc
of the character of the crime of dcscr-
ton, frequent changes of company olli-
GERS, due to Il shortage of officers. and
the lack of experienced, capable. well
paid and satisfied nOn-COmmSSIOned otIl-
GERS.
The report states that the means for
the removal of most of these causes are
obvious and are to considerable extent,
beyond the control Of the war department
i'll that it will require legislation by Con
greSs both to increase the pay and to re-
store the cantecn.
Short 1851 Men.
The actual strength of the entire mill
tary establishment on October II lust,
was JS,99S men, including $3.50 officers,
but not including 34OO men of the hos
pita corps so that the establishment WuS
1861 men short of its authorized
strength. The deficiency on the CORE
spending date of the preceding year was
1880 men. Therefore, says the report,
the enlisted strength of the army de
creased during the past year when it
should have increased in order to meet
the authorized increase in the artillery
lrourh