The Wisconsin weekly blade. [volume] (Madison, Wis.) 1916-1925, 1916-06-15
RECRUITING NOW
A DIFFICULT TASK
Officers Want a More Liberal
Interpretation of Rules.
STANDARD REMAINS HIGH.

Only a Few of the 10000 Men Needed
to Bring Army Up to Full Strength
Have Been Accepted - Regulations
Enforced to the Letter by Officers In
Charge.
Unless more vigorous enlistment
measures succeed in getting the men
required under the new army bill there
is likely to be shakeup in the re
cruiting branch OF the service. Some
army officers are inclined to complain
that too many applicants for the army
are rejected because of strict technical
Interpretation of the requirements.
Responsibility for recruiting the army
up to service requirements under the
new army bill rests with Adjutant
General IL. T.. Mccain. Officers of the
army general staff are determined that
the necessary improvement in recruit
ing shall be effected, and If Adjutant
General Mccain cannot produce the re
suits efforts will be made to find sue.
cesSor who can.
General Mccain is aware of the re-
sponsibilitiy resting on him. He testi-
fed before the house military affairs
committee last January that under the
voluntary system of enlistment the
maximum number of men that can be
recruited, using all proper methods, in
any one year would not exceed $4,000.
This figure represents only a very
slight addition to the army. as the war
department has been required annually
to recruit between 10000 and 10000
men to ill vacancies due to expiration
of enlistments and other causes. The
adjutant general is not prepared to say,
In face of the country's new interest In
the regular army strength. that $4,000
Is the maximum number that can be
enlisted in a year. He is prepared to
assume responsibility for getting the
men required.
Its up to me to get the men," he
said recently in this connection, land
I'm going to get them"
Many Reflections
Many army officers doubt If the war
department can, without any prOvi-
sion for compulsory service, get the
additional men required under the bill
for 10000 fighting men except by de-
cidedly more vigorous and expedient
recruiting measures and possibly some
change in the way applicants are test
ed under the present recruiting stand
ards. OF the 168,1S2 applicants last
year the war department rejected
123, 73l, making the enlistment total
about 5000 General Mccain says
that the great number Of reflections IL
due to the high standard Of the army
requirements.
However, some criticism is heard to
the effect that the standards are too
rigidly enforced, and much more to the
effect that the measures Of recruiting
are not the best possible. Applicants
for first enlistment must be between
the ages OF eighteen and thirty five
years. Of good character and temperate
habits. ablebodied, free from disease,
and must be able to speak, read and
write the English language" 1t Is
pointed out that these general require
ments are subject to pretty broad in
depreciation and that possibly some
candidates for the army have been re
quired to read and write better than
was actually necessary for even first
class soldier 1t is known. of course.
that some congress leaders have not
been averse to seeing the size Of the
army kept down and the validity Of
many reflections has been no cause of
anxiety to them.
In view Of the adoption Of the con
ference report on the army reOrgani-
cation bill new methods Of enlistment
are under consideration. While no one
is seriously proposing that the army
requirements shall be materially re-
duced, it will occasion no surprise II
those who have the recruiting In
charge adopt a somewhat less techni-
cal attitude toward these requirements
as well as new methods. One Criti-
cism as to method Is that in New
York city recruiting stations have been
maintained on Fifth avenue while the
possibilities Of the ferry approaches
have been neglected.