The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1916-09-15
WANT FEDEAL
CONSUMPTION ACT
Write to Your Congressman and
Senator About the Joker in
the National Defense Act
Continued tom Page y

ftOOSE Mn Hal hNEW WI1Al
WAS INTENDED BY THAT Lam
| GUAGE, FOR IN CONFERENCE
COMMITTEE, AS WE HAVE SAID,
THE WORD CALLED" WAS
CHANGED TO DRAFTED" AND
THE CONSCRIPTION CHARACTER
OF THE SECTION WAS CLINCHED.
Mr.. Hayden frankly says that he
believes in consumption in time of war
and he has no apologies to make for
Section 70. 1T is modelled upon pro-
vision in the Arizona statutes" he
says, "and it is only common sense
and common justice" Mr.. Hay, when
taxed in the house the other day by
Huddleston of Alabama with having
been disingenuous, declared hotly that
nothing was put over" on the house,
that the word called" plainly indi-
Gated the draft" idea-the exact re-
versal, it will be noted, of his previous
position-and that anyway the draft"
was inevitable in war and that con-
gress should recognize the fact and
give the military authorities the
power they need.
But neither congress nor the coun-
try is prepared to yield the power of
the draft" to the military authorities
even in time of war without the fullest
consideration of the step. AS the New
Republic puts it "the blood tax Of con-
scription is the most serious instru
ment of government ever invented"
Congress will give the president all
the power he needs in time of war,
but congress will not knowingly
abandon the volunteer principle in
advance of any emergency.
1t may be argued that the draft is
modern military necessity, as evil
denced (a) by the great war in
Europe and (b) by our own experience
in the civil war, and (c) that of the
confederacy.
(a) But England's experience in the
great war proves nothing of the sort.
The official figures given out last
May when the compulsory service act
went into effect showed that England
had raised 100000 by the volunteer
system and that there remained only
100000 available in England, Scotland
and Wales of military age to the con
scripted" See New York Times, May
3, 1916. 1t was the clash of party
politics, not military necessity, which
compelled the coalition government,
for the sake of staving off the attacks
of Lord Northcliff and the London
Times, to bow to the clamor and pass
a CONSUMPTION act. Macmillan Har-
den, contrasting the Prussian and the
English system, boldly suggested that
"as spiritual achievement many will
place higher (than Germany's achieve
ment) the voluntary enlistment of
100000 island and colonial English
men, See New York Times Of May
2s, 1916.
o. Uptons History of the Mill
tary Policy of the United States"
shows plainly that we resorted to the
draft in the North, not from the break
down of the voluntary enlistment prin-
ciple, but to repair the blunders made
by congress in providing for too
short enlistments-many for three
months only-and of the administra-
ton in stopping all recruiting in the
spring of 1862, and thus creating the
impression throughout the country
that no more men were needed. The
draft" was practically publicity de-
vice, to advertise Enthusiastically to the
country that volunteers were needed.
Nothing more. OF the 2,859,132 fed
eral enlistment enrollments, just
$4,000 were added to the ranks by the
draft.
(c) Regarding CONSUMPTION in the
confederacy, Captain George l.. Kill
mer, formerly captain of the Forty
fourth Regiment, N. G. N. Y. and a
veteran United States volunteer, says
no statistics are at hand to throw a
clear light upon the matter:
"A wide reading of the records
on that side leads to the con-
clusion that it may have furnished
a moral stimulus to enlisting to a
limited degree, the same as in the
North but was, on the whole,
political mistake. While it forced
some thousands into the ranks,
they would have served the cause
better by staying at home and
raising and forwarding food for
the willing fighters in the field.
ITO the general subject of con-
federate enrolment a word from
the published writings of Ran
dolph H. McKim, ID. D., who
served in Lees army first as a