Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-05-13


shall pay for as much as he can, or
will. II he Is in good circumstances,
he can take care of all his own ex.
penses, get his military training, and
do his duty as a citizen. II he is
some one equally willing but too poor
to go to any extra expense, the corps
will do it for him.
| 1t is claimed for such system that
it is based on real justice. Men of
wealth have most at stake in case OF
war. They have more to lose in dis
aster, most to protect under any cir
cumstances. 1t Is no more than their
duty that they should come forward
with the money to equip defenders,
! II the defenders are willing to give
their time. which ia all they have, to-
ward making themselves efficient.
Moreover. wealth comes to most men
late in life, when they are past the
{, fighting age They can do their
share by helping some youth with
smaller bank account to learn to
handle rife.
Many large employers Of labor have
! been won over. There is one detach-
ment of the corps which consists of
1900 bakers. All these bakers come
from a single big bakery, and their
uniforms are furnished them by their
employer Several of the department
stores have uniformed as many Of
i their employees as cared to join. One
Jewelry store has sixty-four uniform
ed rlen in the field.
J Recruiting is still going on actively.
Sometimes as many as hundred men
join in day To stimulate interest,
unique exhibit has been set on the
ground floor of one Of the big down
town office buildings 1t includes all
sorts Of souvenirs of the European
( war, in the shape of helmets. rifles.
big ugly looking shells, a. model camp,
an aeroplane, even the somewhat dis.
couraging figure of wounded soldier
attended by pretty Red Cross nurse.
This last, however. is a part of the
contribution of the Pennsylvania wom-
ems division for national prepared
ness, which is cooperating in the ex-
hibition as are half dozen other or
CARNATIONS OF kindred purpose. such
as the state division of the Navy
league.
In spite of the fact that it is by way
of being protege of wealth and society,
the citizen army is democratic. The
men who are backing it are in dead
! earnest, and efficiency is the only yard
stick. Some young scions of Philadel-
phia's f1rst families are serving in the
ranks, under the command Of men who
work at a trade. One of the best
| captains in the organization spends
his working hours laying bricks. /.
The obligation incurred by the man
| who signs his name as a recruit are of
| course less definite than those he un-
dertakes to fulfill when joining the
national guard. He is not pledged to
any course of action except that he
promises to defend his country, and to
work faithfully at acquiring military
training. Nevertheless, the leaders
OF the corps believe firmly that their
men can be counted on in any con-
j tingency that may arise, as witness
their telegram to the secretary of war.
! The unique feature of the citizen
! army is the use it has made of the
resources of men Of wealth. BY pay.
ing all expenses for those who can not
pay their own, even down to making
good loss Of salary when an employ.
er will not give time on without tax.
ing it out of the pay envelope, the sys.
! tenn puts military training within
j reach of anybody who wants 1t. It
| has put the question Of preparedness
squarely up to the citizen himself
leaving him to answer 1t in an unmis.
taxable way of his own actions.
The citizen army hopes to grow I'M.
i til it is national organization. Plans
are already made for starting corps in
many other cities, among them Balti-
more, Washington and Pittsburgh. In
each new city the same double prob.
lem will have to be faced that was
solved in Philadelphia-flrst how to
arouse the people, and second how to
secure the cooperation of men Of
means. The ultimate goal is an or.
j ganization million strong, covering
the country. ara #
The men who want that corps have
no particular desire to keep it in their
own hands. They want preparedness.
They are willing to work with anybody
who is working for preparedness,
ready to affiliate with anything that
promises to further the end They
ask nothing better than to have their
corps taken over by the government
They believe that what the country
really wants is a non-militaristic citi-
zen army. They are trying to show
that it can be done.
| = III