New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-30

Goes not nOlu tIdI LHc hlSiS "OS "
wages asked was unreasonable. de
does not know whether it was or
not, any more than the President
knew or Congress knew. He OBJ
jected rightly to legislating under
coercion and in the dark. What he
promises-and all he can promise
r. that if he is elected and similar
situation arises it will be met in a
manly and rational fashion. In
vestigation will precede action, not
follow it.
4. Does Mr.. Hughes believe in ship
subsidies?
The Republican platform Of 1916
contained declaration in favor OF
liberal postal subventions and other
legislation to foster an American
merchant marine. A subvention is
subsidy. Mr.. Hughes undoubtedly
favors the policy of subsldlzlng
American deep-sea carriers. mat
policy has been applied with success
bv all the great maritime nations.
II is economical and effective, be-
cause every million spent by the gov
eminent encourages the outlay OF
many millions by private investors.
1t is preferable in every way to the
costly and ineffective government
ownership scheme fathered by Mr..
Wilson and Mr.. McAdoo, which sets
the government up as a competitor
with and destroyer of shipping vent
ures sustained by private capital.
5. Does Mr.. Hughes wish the Fed
eral Reserve law amended?
He may wish to see it amended.
We do not know to what extent. The
system is still in an experimental
stage. The law was amended IN
various particulars at the last ses-
sion of the present Congress. The
President signed an amendatory act
on September 7 last. Many people
think that in boom times the pres
ent law contributes too powerfully
to an initiation Of credit.
6. Does "Americanism" imply COM
pulsory military service?
The principle Of universal military
liability has long been embodied IN
our laws. All citizens of the United
States of military age not serving IN
the regular army or the organized
militia are included in the morgan
lied militia, over which Congress ex-
ercises full control.
Few people seem to know that the
principle of compulsory military SER
vice was actually applied in the Hay
army reorganization law passed at
the last session of Congress. 1t is
in operation to-day-with Mr.. Will
sons approval.
Sections rs and 70 Of the Hay act
provide for the creation Of National
Guard reserve battalions, to feed the
battalions called into the service Of
the United States in time Of war.
According to the official ruling of the
Judge Advocate General Of the
Army, we are now in state Of war
with Mexico. Section 70 of the Hay
law provides that under such condi-
tons one reserve battalion shall be
organized, either from the enlisted
reserve or from the unorganized mi
litia, for each regiment of infantry
or cavalry, or each nine batteries of
field artillery or each twelve COM
panies Of coast artillery. When the
members of three or more regiments
of the National Guard of any state,
territory or district shall have been
brought into the service of the
United States the reserve battalions
of such regiments may be organized
into provisional regiments and high
er units. And Section 70 says:
Wf for any reason there shall
not be enough voluntary enlist
ments to keep the reserve bat
tdlions at the prescribed
strength, q sufficient number of
the unorgGnized militia shall be
drafted into the service of the
United States to maintain each
of such battolions at the proper
strength"
We already have Compulsory
service; for the President now
possesses ample power to draft the
unorganized militia into the Ma
tional Guard after the National
Guard has been called into the first
line, as was done by Presidential
proclamation last June.
Mr.. Hughes stands for real first
line army and a real army reserve.
We believe that he purposes getting
them. The main point is to get
them, whether we depend on volun-
teering or call into use the UNI
doubted power of the national gov
eminent, exercised already in the
Hay law, TO draft as many of our