Mountain advocate., 1916-08-18
HOW THE WILSON '...
Administration HAS
PENALIzED PATRIOTISM.

the necessity for the proper protection
Of that frontier" President Wilson on /
June IS called out the mobile arms Of
the national guard for federal service.
He did not call them out at their
existing peace strength, but at war
strength, which is practically double.
Lacking a system of reserves, the ma.
uonal guard organizations immediate
ly had 10 start u campaign Of recruit
ing to bring about the desired increase
IN their numbers.
Patriotic young citizens under the
urge Of the cry, your country needs
you" volunteered for service in graf
flying numbers. According to Senator
Chamberlain. chairman Of the senate
committee on military affairs, the re-
suit IS that about $4,000 citizen SOL
diers have been mustered into the fed
eral service and are now ON the Mex
lean border or in camp in their home
states. There may be more. but the
administration refuses 10 make known
the exact figures.
The movement is costing the public
treasury many millions Of dollars; 1t
Is costing the individual citizen soldiers
many millions more. They went to the
front believing the cry, Your country
needs you" for war service. They sac.
rihced advancement In their civil occu-
pations, severed home ties, suffered In
thousands of instances great financial
loss. The less patriotic who did not
believe the cry or. believing, declined
to make sacrifices fatten at home on
these losses.
The real purposes Of the call are
slowly developing. They are two in
number:
Ffrst.-A patrol Of the border TO do
the work which President Wilson's
4 friend, Carranza finds II impossible to
do. Because the recognized govern
Eent in Mexico Is too ineffective to
I keep its own citizens III check and pre-
| vent them numbering Americans on
| American soil the American govern
| ment undertakes the costly task OF
| doing that work for them. The muir
| der Of American citizens on Mexican
| soil is another matter. CarranZa may
| 60 as far as he likes in that direction.
! Second.-A purpose of the mobiliza-
| ton on the border and In the camps
IS TO train citizens 10 perform effective
| military service. The regular military
| establishment of the nation Is mani
| festly too small or the actual military
needs. To this extent the cry. Your
country needs you" was correct.
But these facts We're not made clear
| when the call was issued. The idea
was promulgated that men We're need
ed for actual war service, not for mill
| tary training Deceit was practiced.
| Opposing in the open legislation for
universal military service the admin
| iStratiOn 10y its acts has established
what in essence is a system Of CON-
pulSOry military service. Ii is sys-
TEN all the more vicious because II
operates only against the patriotic,
whereas Il legalized universal training
system equaliZes the burden OF mill
tary service among all men and all
classes or men.
When in 1914 Europe plunged into
the greatest war Of all history and con-
| dltions in Mexico grew intolerable in
telligent men realized the fact that II
| was incumbent on this nation 10 build 4
up its tiny regular army and put its |
| other military resources I'm condition |
| for use. National safety demanded
| this. And yet in December OF that
| year, four months after the European
war began, President Wilson went be-
| fore congress and declared that all
! agitation for military preparedness
was hysterical that We Were ade-
| quately prepared.
After awhile the administrator
changed its mind and protested TO be
lieve in the necessity for preparedness
First came an enactment TO increase /
the regular army by 10000. But the
body of the country, and even all
parts Of the Democratic administra
tion. could not change front so quickly /
as the head. Recruiting for the regu-
lar army Jagged Not yet have the
20 600 been secured.
| The need pressed. \ new national
defense act. providing for still more
men in the regular army, was enacted
But still the men were not forthcom-
| ing
Suddenly and without warning the
| administration issued its call for mo-
| bilization OF the citizen soldiers. II
seemed still obsessed with the Bryan
notion that an army could be created
by presidential ukase,
When the call went out the govern
ment did not own enough uniforms,
shoes, socks, blankets, hats, wagons,
trucks. horses. mules and other things
essential 10 equip the men called. II
had made no provision for transport.
ing the troops called to the points
where they were required.
Who suffered most by this amazing
lack OF foresight. this leaping before
lookingl
Only the $4,000 patriots who be-
uovol that THAR country naa1ad than