The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-12-12
DRAFT Law IN COURT.
GOVERNMENT ASKS SUPREME
COURT TO DISMISS CASES.
Brief Asserts Constitutional Right OF
Congress to Compel Citizens to DO
Military Duty.

made public tonight asking the su
preme court to dismiss cases attack
ing the constitutionality Of the selec-
tive draft law. the government asserts
that power conferred upon congress
to declare war carries with it author
ity to compel military service either
at home or abroad. CompulsoE
draft is declared to have been a nor
NAL method of raising armies ever
since this government was establish
ed. the legality of which has been re-
peatedly upheld by the courts. The
situation in Russia is pointed to, with
out mentioning the name, as a demon
stration that there can with safety be
no absolute freedom in civilized So
cieties.
IF the argument against this law
upon constitutional grounds be not
frivolous" says the brief, then that
adjective has lost it's legal signif-
cance."
! The cases now before the court in
clude nine appeals from Georgia. Min
nesota and Ohio. in which persons
were convicted OF either failure to
register on June 5 or of attempting
TO block the operations of the act by
urging others Of draft age not to COM
ply with it. Among the cases are
those of Emma COld,oop ond h,oxor
der Berkman, convicted in New York
after having made speeches opposing
the law. Argument on them probab-
~ will begin Tuesday.
| ut is true that the law provides for
the restraint of the liberty of the cit
izen to certain extent" the brief
sets forth. yet to protect most truly
the liberties OF people who live to-
gether in communities it Ia plain that
some governmental organization and
some exercise Of governmental pow
ers are necessary. There is no abso-
Lutte freedom in civilized society. Our
own history prior to the adoption of
the constitution and the present ex-
perience of one of the allies vividly
show. moreover. that the government
which exercises least powers may be
the instrument of tyranny in the
hands Of domestic dsturbers as we'll
as the facile tool Of foreign conquer
ors.
illustrations may be cited without
number to show that in order to pro-
tect the liberties of the people as a
whole the individual citizen may in
cidentally or temporarily be restrain
ed of his liberties. Yet military SER
vice, cited as an extreme example of
restriction of personal liberty. is only
temporary, incidental to the security
OF the citizens as a whole and only
SO far imposed as is necessary for the
purpose. The few who are compell.
ed to serve do so that the MANY who
remain at home at the present time
and the generations who come in tbe
future may enjoy those blessings ~
freedom which this government was
established to secure"
The brief characterizes as "un-
rounded the contention that compul-
sorry military service is contrary ~
the spirit Of democracy and saws thar
while occasions for the draft in tb;s
country have been infrequent, "it has
peen resorted to without flinching
when the emergency arose" II was
largely through this method that the
Revolutionary War was successful,v
concluded, the government declares
and under the conditions of n,odarr
warfare this means Of raising an army
are the most prudent just and eoui-
table me thod which can be emploved
War now is not a matter Of mon
but OF nations" it adds. "AIl of the
resources OF the combatants. human
and material, are thrown into tho
scale. AS it is i'm the power OF the
government to compel, so it is the
duty of all to give, regardless of per-
sonal preference, the service which
they most efficiently render"
! Replying to the contention that IN a
militia can not be ordered out bv the
president or sent abroad for duty. the
government says:
1T has long been settled under orr
scheme of constitutional government
ana the statutes that the power re-
sides in only one person to decide
when the emergency arises which ius-
tihes the calling out of the militia:
that person is the commander in
chier' the president. 1t is not even
Tor the governor of the State. much
less private military man, to say
that the president has wrongly de.