Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-09-20
From the Spokesman Review.

/. Thorough preparedness great
reserve of citizen soldiers which would
END powerfully to restrain foreign ag-
gresSion and attack.
2. Its disciplinary influence alone
would be worth the cost and effort.
Morally, the nation would be uplifted,
for young men receiving the training
would become better sons, better heads
of families. better citizens.
3. The physical bctterment of the
race alone woul be worth many times
the cost. Consider the value to the
individual youth of is or 20 of the
searching physical examination now
given recruits for the regular army.
Before he is passed to the surgeons
the applicant is given a searching pre-
liminary physical examination by a
properly qualified line officer. all ac-
cording to u prescribed formula that
has been carefully adopted after more
than Il century of experience. The
th%oroughness of this preliminary ex-
animation is indicated by the fact that
the examining officer has Sc rules laid
down for his guidance. Rule 8 will in
dictate the general character of this
~Xamination
Much Gained BY G>neral lnscsction.
First, test the ap%plican; vision; sec
ond test his hearing: third, strip him
OF all clothing and inspect his general
physique and appearances; fourth, take
his height, weight and chest measure
ments: fifth, require him to perform
certain prescribed exercises: sixth,
make a special examination of the vari-
GUS parts of the body.
General Inspection-By this inSpec-
ton much may be gained. The various
parts of the body shouid be we'll pro-
~portiOned. the head symmetrical, the
chest developed and we'll formed, the
abdomen lank n the limbs shapely,
with firm. well developed muscles. The
carriage ould be erect and s%prightly
without any lack of CONTROL: the eX-
preston of the face should indicate
mental and physical health and vigor:
there should be no repulsive deformity;
the manner should be cheerful and
alert. without eXaggeration or sluggish
ness; the skin should be clean, free
from eruptions and without the pallor
OF disease. the characteristic appear
ance of the drunkard, or the peculiar
sallow tint and the distinctive hypo-
dermic scars of the drug habitue.
BY careful observation and the ex-
ercise of good judgment the expert
enced and painstaking recruiting Off
Ger will commonly be able to exclude
the unsuitable. the vagabond and the
criminal.
Consider what it will be worth to
Eay worker. h factory toiler and the
.arm laborer-to be physically trained
IN school. to be examined by medical
experts without fee. and to have their
valuable advice on methods to over
some latent n hidden weaknesses of
the vital organs, the vision, the hear
ing, the teeth and the feet.
Val is terrible and to be dreaded
and avoided: but its toll in life and
suffering is minor in comparison with
the death and suffering that flow from
ignorance n carelessness in dealing
with preventable diseases.
The Spokesman-Review advocates
universal compulsory military training
on some such plan as that in force in
switzerland. Each Swiss youth in his
10Th year must spend from 60 to 90
days. according to the branch Of the
service to which he is assigned, in a
training camp. After that, for II years.
camp to refresh his training. During
the next ~ years he must spend IL
days each alternate year in training.
The Spokesman-Review further adj
vocates the maintenance of world peace
on the plan proposed by the League
to Enforce a Under that plan the
United States and other powers in the
league would use both their economic
and military forces against any one of
their number that should go to wal or
commit acts Of hostility against an
other member of the league before any
NAoSalC aI1SlIS Hdu Doen SuDmlItG0
either to a world judicial tribunal for
hearing and judgment, or to n council
Of Cancellation for hearing, considera-
tiOn and recommendation.
Four Out Of Five Are Unfit.
The alarming prevalence of physical
defects n incipient diseases in the
men OF this country has long been
known to army men and physicians,
but has hardly been glimpsed as yet
by the general public. Naturally. the
men who apply for enlistment in the
army think themselves physically fit.
On he whole. they are above the phys
ical average; yet the government must
reject four out Of five applicants as
unfit for military service.
Under the Swiss system of physical
training OF the boys in school, followed
by physical and military training Of
the young men. the American nation
would set it's face toward a noble goal
the bringing up Of the masses of it's
manhood to the physical fitness now
army. Physical defects would be re-
vealed to the youth and his family and
q corrective course provided. The lives
OF millions would be heightened and
made better worth living and the COM
Ing generations would have q nobler
birthright.
Above all others. the working man
should be for that system with zeal
and tnsistent purpose. He should re-
flect on the significant fact that Aus
tralia and New Zealand adopted 1t on
the initiative OF the labor party.
The wage rne will advance their
own welfare immensely by standing
for compulsory obligatory training and
refusing to give their support to poll
ticians who are either ignorant or too
timtd to take q courageous stand for
the betterment OF the masses.
WE i-3tI-
MEXICAN WAR OF 1886
BEGAN WITH SKiRMlSH