Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-15
STAND READY FOR
SERVICE IF THEIR
HELP is REQUIRED
Attitude of Young Men of the Country
Toward War Revealed by His
tory of Company 4.
SPIRIT OF 'ss STRIKING EXAMPLE
No Difficulty Then Recruiting, Con-
trast With Conditions Recently
Being Marked One.

United States, are ready to serve their
country in the army when there Is
anything really important at stake.
They Will willingly enlist to protect
the land against invasion. They can
be relied upon if the nations sOver-
eighty or humanity's cause is in peril,
but they are not anxious to lay down
their lives or sacrifice time, comfort
and safety TO pacify a lot Of quarrel
some and misguided Nexicans This
and a number OF other deductions are
TO be drawn from a history Of Com
pany \, Sixth Illinois infantry, now
serving on strike duty at La Sale
This organization. in the 80 years of
its existence, has experienced most OF
the ups and downs TO which the mi
litia of this country, as at present
constituted, is subject The causes Of
said ups and downs are not difficult
TO trace, though it may not he dis
Greet TO go too far into this phase at
this particular time.
Preparedness to repel foreign in
vasion or to resent an affTOnt To the
national honor is quite a different
thing from preparedness TO mix in
street riOting and become targets for
=
furiated mob of ones own fellow Citi-
zens. There is no honor in the lat
ter. Patriotism cuts no figure there,
nor would it necessarily be appealed
TO by the job down in Mexico that
some people are so anxious for US 10
tackle.
We are all for preparedness, vary
ing only in kind and degree, but eX-
perience in Rock Island does not point
70 hal in
the people for compulsory universal
military service, such as some of our
extremists advocate Fancy the
pickle any congressman from the mid
west who supported such a measure
would be in when he came to reckon
with the folks back home.
The attitude of the young men to-
ward service in Mexico, even when
prospects Of war were brightest. or
darkest, according to the point of
view, was pretty clearly indicated by
their reluctance to enlist. Had war
actually occurred the young men of
today would have rallied to the coun-
trys side, but they hold that the true
test Of patriotism is not getting into
war TO please selfish interests or to
enlist soldiers to put down riots. The
spirit now shown, however, furnishes /
striking comparison with that mani |
american war.
No Hanging Back Then.
Those of middle age or older will |
Tividly recall the excitement Just be |
fore and at the time Of the outbreak /
of the war OF '9S, When the Illinois |
militia was called out TO be offered !
TO the government there was no trou-
Bile about recruiting. it up to the /
strength. The problem was rather to
eliminate the applicants who really |
had no business going because of the
fact that they We're supporting fam
lilies AS was the case recently, the
presidents call specifically exempted
men OF family
In the spring of '9S Company A had
a roster approximately no larger than
IL had a few weeks ago, When the
call for volunteers came, however,
and 1t became clear that the state
militia would be the first 10 see ser
vice, there was "A rush to enlist The
call was announced April %, which
was on a Saturday. BY noon Monday,
without any special solicitation, the
COmpany's membership was increased
to 100, and there recruiting was halt
ed for the time being. Others were
added at Camp Tanner, and finally,
just before the Sixth was sent south
from Camp Alger, 26 additional men
were sent from Rock Island, bringing
the number up to 100 officers and men.
These filled places were made vacant
by failure Of others TO pass physical
examinations and those excused from
the service.
Not only was there a rush TO join
the militia, but dozens of embryo com
panies sprang into being everywhere.
Several were signed up in Rock Is
land and in the county and would
have gladly gone into the service had I
there been need. Whatever other fac !
tors may have entered into the stu
alton il was evident by the difficulty
that Company A recently met in bring
ing its membership up TO a minimum {
peace footing that young men of the l
are not wildly excited over 5
the Mexican situation.
The greatest obstacle in the way of q
then, as it has been shown d
o be even now in lesser degree, is not in !
he lack of men for service, but in alb I
sence Of an adequate system for the L
distribution Of equipment. No doubt c
hen, as now, there was plenty Of I
everything needed TO equip an effec-
i've fighting force, but in '9S it was i
weeks and sometimes months before a
he volunteers were fully outfitted I
Then there was great deal C
IF confusion and the soldiers suffered Z
severely at times as result. While / O
Company A did not do any actual v
lighting and was generally believed, f
specially by veterans of other wars v
o have had something of d snap, the q
act is that its members, in the compar- a
Ltiyely short period OF their service, s
we're compelled 10 endure hunger y
hiTst, fatigue, the heat Of "A tropic F
un, gals from belts and straps, Bills d
cred feet. the torture of waiting and v
General discomfort which would have C
o