New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-22

Getting Ahead

.eCLlNe lIdAN law NAsA ~ 49,
ING order out Of chaos. The first call for
conscripts was an experiment, pure ana
simple. We had no experience Of our own
n quide us in this Geld except the Civil
War draft, which was melancholy fzzie'
Draft machinery had to be improvlsed.
Our military organization WAS too imper-
fsct 70 cone. out of its own resources, with
The task Of summoning 100000 citizens
n the colcrs. examining and qualifying
them and then passing them along to the
training camps.
The best that the Federal government
could hope to do was to prepare the camps
in time TO receive the new national levles.
7, was therefore obliged to pass the burden
Ct drafting the eligibles over to the states
and. through the state governments, over
70 individuals. volunteering their aid, con-
stituting no organized state or Federal
force and receiving no pay for their ser
vices. The draft law was not enforced IN
The wav in which Federal laws are usually
enforced. 1t enforced itself, through the
natriotic efforts Of voluntary workers
hacked bv the force of public opinion.
Under these circumstances 1t was no
wonder that the methods employed were
crude, i'll digested and subject to constant
variation. The voluminous rules issued
from Washington were conflicting and
confused The volunteer boards had to
work out their own salvation for the most
mart. With inadequate direction and ma
chinery they accomplished marvels' A
vast amount of the labor put upon them
was superfuous. But they never shirked'
They deserve infinite credit for what they
did. Few finer exhibitions than theirs
have ever been given in the way of gener-
GUS, unselfsh public service.
Before the first draft was completed the
errors in its methods became obvious
Rough Justice was undoubtedly done in
most cases. But working experlmentally,
"a the boards were, there was no opportu-
,itv to establish proper standards Of eX-
emption or Of selection. The first draft
was selective only in vague way, and the
degree of selection varied greatly, not only
in different states but in different divisions
Of the same state.
Now an intelligent effort is to be made
TO apply the selective principle. Accord
ing to the new plans, which are being
drawn up as a result Of consultations be-
tween the local draft boards and the pro-
vost marshal general Of the army, the
remaining eligibles are TO be classified be-
fore they are examined. That will save
so per cent Of the labor Of elimination
under the original system. 1t will lift
from the shoulders Of the district exami-
ners a crushing burden Of useless clerical
work. 1t will vastly simplify the exemp-
ton problems with which the boards have
lad TO deal And it will conserve the war
efficiency Of the nation by sorting out in
advance the men who, on economical
grounds. ought to be the last to so, be-
cause of the character and number of the
dependents they leave behind end because
of their usefulness in war industries.
We entered the war in a condition Of
military unpreparedness which even now
we hardly appreciate. We had never given
any thought 20 the problems Of universal
military service, the foundation stone Of
all military security. We had no system
Of universal training for the youth, and
so mad to omit men below the age of TWEEN
ty-one from consideration in our hssty
plans for CONSUMPTION. We have done the
best we could TO collect citizen army
But the process will become easier for us
rs it becomes more familiar. Eventually
we shall create the skeleton Of conscrip-
tive machine under Federal control, to re-
place the amateur volunteer machine which
we are now using. Eventually. also, we
shall enforce universal military training,
thus providing trained material for first
line service, which can be SUNNI oned to the
field without delay or friction whenever the
need arises.
The improvements contemplated in the
present draft machinery prove that we are
getting ahead. We are profiting by eX-
perience. Things that our faint-hearted
statesmen considered a year ago or two
years ago as fantastic because they were
supposed 10 be repugnant 10 American
IDEAS are being done nowadays as a mat
ter Of course. Our statesmen misjudged
tie nation. The people have learned and
&C still learning more quickly than their