The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
respecting consideration and treatment

respecting consideration and treatment 1 thereof.
 1 q cannot, therefore, too strongly | urge upon you my view of the lm- | perative necessity of your seeking an 1 occasion at the earliest possible mo-
 ment to declare yourself with respect
 to the matter and in doing so to make | it clear beyond peradventure that noth- 1 ing excepting national forces, raised | by the nation and subject to it's ex- tclusive authority, responsibility and | control, is any real settlement of this l issue. Sincerely yours,
 "LINDLEY M. GARRISON" 1 The correspondence shows that con- versation between the President and 1 the Secretary followed this letter, for
 on January IA MT. Garrison wrote:
 MAKES POSITION CLEAR January IA, 1916. My Dear MT. President: What you said today by way of response to my letter of the 18th requires me to make my position perfectly clear to you. Lou stated that MT. Hay told you that your proposal of federal volun- teers could not be procured, and that the same end for which you were striv- ing could be procured by other means by utilizing the state troops as the
 basis of the policy and making appro-
 priations of pay to the states condi- toned on federal control of the state troops
 You stated to him that you were not interested in any particular programme or means of accomplishing the purpose of securing the men and would ac- cept his proposal if it accomplished that purpose
 Since the policy that was recom-
 mended to you and adopted by you discarded as absolutely impossible a
 military system based upon state troops, and asserted that the only pos sible basis for a military policy was national forces. it is entirely clear that the proposals are diametrically opposed to each other and are irreconcilable. Those who are conscientiously con- vinced that nothing but national forces
 can properly be the basis of policy of national defense. cannot possibly accomplish a policy based upon state | forces. It not only does not in itself offer an acceptable solution, but acts to prevent any proper solution.
 COMPROMISE DECLINED
 "If those who are thus convinced are faced with the necessity of declaring their position on the matter they can only show their sincerity and good faith by declining to admit the possi- bility of compromise with respect to this essential, fundamental principle. l
 "I feel that we are challenged by the existing situation to declare ourselves promptly. openly and unequivocally, or be charged properly with lack of sim
 cerity and good faith.
 we cannot hope to see our programme,
 hased on this essential principle. suc- ceed if we admit the possibility of com promise with respect to it.
 Yours is the ultimate responsibility, yours is the final determination as to the manner in which the solution shall
 be faced and treated. I fully realize this, and I do not desire to cause you the slightest embarrassment on my ac- count, if therefore. my withdrawal from
 the situation would relieve you, you should not hesitate for a moment on that account Sincerely yours, 'LINDLEY M. GARRISON" REPLY BY WILSON To that President Wilson replied: January 1T. 1916
 My Dear Mir. Secretary: I am very much obliged to you for your letters of January 1ath and 14th. They make your of preparation for national defense sharply clear. I am sure that already understood just what your views were, but I am glad to have them restated in this succinct and striking way. You believe, as I do, that the chief thing necessary is. that we should have 8 trained citizen reserveland that the train- ing organization and control of that re- serve should be under immediate federal direction.
 But apparently have not succeeded | in making my own position equally clear l to you though I feel sure that I have made it perfectly clear to MT. Hay. It l is that I am not irrevocably or dog maticaJly committed to any one plan of providing the nation with such reserve and am cordially willing to discuss alter native proposals.
 ! "Any other position on my part would indicate an attitude towards the conn
 miStee on military affairs of the House