Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-02-03
How Shall We Prepare?
BY FREDERIC J. HAskIN

mean that every able bodied American
male would serve one year Of his life,
! probably the twenty-irst year, as q sol.
| der, and would thereafter be subject
to call for military service. 1t is est.
mated that one year. Of compulsory
service would give the United States
an army of from 10000 to a million
men. Thus even six months of com.
pulsory service. which would be
enough training to make a fair soldier
of a man, would probably give us the
necessary force OF four hundred thous.
and.
The chief practical objection urged
| against this plan is that 1t would take
more men way from industry than
were absolutely necessary for defense.
This objection could probably be large.
ly overcome by intelligent regulation
The real objection to the plan is that
the American people do not want 1t.
At least, so say all Of the legislators,
and the secretary of war and other
high officials concur. They say that the
American people would regard compul.
sorry service as an infringement upon
their liberty, and that they are not
convinced of the necessity Of such a
step for national defense. SO compul-
sorry military service, while conceded
by all to be the most practicable and
effective step, is not actively support
ed by many. :
There are a good many congressman
who would like to see u land forces
Increased by giving federal aid to the
militia, thus encouraging enlistment in
that body. All students Of the situa,
ton are agreed, however, that an Ell.
fective army could not possibly be
built up in this way. The constitution
makes it impossible to put the state
militia. as such, under federal control.
1t must remain under the control of
forty-eight different states, and an
army thus divided would violate the
first principle of military organization,
which Is centralized control. The
United States government could not
insure itself in any way as to the Ell.
cheney or strength Of state militia. 1t
could merely substitute these organiza-
lions, and trust them to do the rest.
The remaining plan under considera-
ton is that which has been drawn BY
the administration and laid before the
congressional committees by the sec.
rotary Of war. 1t has been called the
continental army plan, and is simply a
method for raising a volunteer army
in time Of peace. .ee K
This plan, in brief. proposes to raise
four hundred thousand volunteers in
three annual increments of $4,000
mon each. The country would be d.
vided up into districts, the present
congressional districts probably being
used, and each of them would be re-
quested to furnish it's quota of men. II
Lie COuSTcbSlOHd UA0IA lCIO WoISi u6O0
as a basis each OF them would be re.
uruired to furnish $4,000 men annually.
These men would -enlist for three
years and would be on furiough for
three years.
During his three years of enlistment,
however, this proposed volunteer
would serve probably not more than
two months a year. This period, Of an
nual service has been suggested by the
secretary of war. He, however, states
expressly that the details Of the plan
should be left open in the law, to be
provided by regulation. The essentials
Of the plan are that the volunteers
would enlist in time of peace and
agree to serve for a few months or
weeks every year until they had be.
come competent soldiers, while for an.
other period of years they would be
subject to call.