The Washington herald., 1916-06-25
Recruits.
Did you mean it Flag pay?"

Old you mean IL rag Lay!
This is the sign hung in the window Of one
of the recruiting stations which sprang up like
mushrooms following President Wilson's call to
the eolors.
Evidently some of those who paraded did.
Latest figures from militia headquarters show
that to date 784 men have been mustered into
service-an average OF little more than IA
men per day.
Even these figures fail to represent the pa
triotism of the Districts ctizenry fairly They
stand only for the chosen They give not
even inkling of the several thousand men
who have tried to enlist, but have failed through
fault of their own-reected because OF some
physical defect
Among those who have succeeded in passing
by the microscopic eyes of the examining physi-
clans it is noteworthy that practically all are
representative of the very best the city has to
give.
Many of them are not yet able to vote-boys
OF eighteen, nineteen, and twenty. The enlist
ment of these stands for a double patriotism
their own, and that of their parents, whose writ
ten consent is required by the authorities. OF
the several hundred minors accepted thus far,
there is record of only case where that
parental consent was withheld.
In the case of the more mature recruits two
facts stand out. Instead of using the opportu-
nifty makeshift to be supported by the gov
ernment practically all of them are leaving posi-
tions, and many of them positions of response
bility.
Aside from the fact that they may be offering
their lives, their enlistment means, from the
very outset big financial loss. Ninety per cent
Of the more mature who have answered the
Presidents call probably earn more in one week
in their private business than the government
will pay them for month.
And certainly there be no comparison be-
tween the kind of work they have been doing
and that which, soldiers, they will have TO do.
The glory of combat, the thrill of defending your
flag. of sacrificing your life gladly, if need be-
for that flag, is all very well. But that after
all, is only small part of the business of SOL
diering.
There are heart-breaking hikes" to be made
for who shall say that marching under blister
ing sun, weighted down with some ffty-odd
pounds of equipment, for mile after mile, with
out even definite knowledge of ones ultimate
destination is not heart-breaking?
There are trenches to be dug, bitches to be
dug-almost every conceivable variety of manual
labor to be performed-and in exact ratio to the
things that have to be done, there exists an
almost total absence of even ordinary comforts
There is no secret about any of these things
he ottlcers IN charge at the recruiting stations
make no effort to hide them. They admit
frankly, that soldering is real worl-"man's
work"
Yet several hundred men have deliberately
thrown their regular positions into the discard
and enlisted just the same
That is real patriotism
The second noteworthy fact CLEANED from the
enlistment figures is that perhaps Is per cent OF
those recruits over 2I years of age are married
and in many instances have families
Se=4=1 of these do not have to worry abou,
money but most of them do. In majority oil
cases the husband is the sole source to which
the wife can look for support.
Yet barring exceptions so few they can be
counted on the fingers of one hand, these wives
twhile they may not have urged their husbands
to enlist yet have at least done nothing to hold
them back.
go if Uncle Sam needs you and III manage
somehow" has been the general attitude of these
wives.
Yes, on the whole, the men of Washington
evidently did mean it on Flag Day Very
much sol
And so did the women!