The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1917-05-24
coNscRIPTIoN
An Able Article on the why" of the
New War Measure

must take IL or Icave IL, and the
choice must be made now.
For a hundred years we have
talked democracy and professed it
At an earlier time we had it, for in
the days of the Indian wars all men
were equal before God and the scalp
ing knife, There were volunteers
but also there was obligation. Every
man had to train. Every man had to
provide himself with a gun and am
munition, and he was under no mis-
apprehension about his duty.
Then came independence, nation
atty and the professional army. The
military obligation of every citizen
continued in legal theory. Practically,
| it was ignored. Training day was
forgotten, and even the militia was
filled by volunteer enlistment.
The Mexican war made no real de-
mand upon resources or people. The
Civil war was won by the North after
four years of CHASTITY, murderous
laundering. The responce to Lin
coins call for volunteers was quick
and brave, by souls whose natures
were quick and brave. But to our
eternal shame a million men who
loved America for what America
could do for them found ready rea-
sons why they should sell shoes or
army blankets, or other useful stuff
instead of serving at the front. The
draft became necessary. But instead
of being made equal and democratic
and intelligent it was bungled and
made cause of bitterness. The rich
man could evade it by buying sub
stitute. The poor man could not.
The experience taught US nothing
and we went into the Spanish War
the most incompetent, unthinking, ir-
responsible lot of warriors that ever
preferred typhoid to bullets. Some
day the true history of those years
will be known by the people as it is
now known by students, and the peo-
pie will understand what would have
happened to us if Great Britain had
permitted German intentions to work
their will.
Democracy means equality of OBJ
legation even more than it means
equality of opportunity. 1t means
equality in the supreme obligation, to
give everything that one has, both
property and life, when the necessity
arises. A small professional army is
necessary to maintain instructions, to
study problems, to meet emergencies,
to organize. But professional army,
relied on as the defence of a govern
ment, is fit arm for monarchy only.
A volunteer army is an aristocracy,
in about the best sense of the word
but an aristocracy it is and volun-
teer army system is irreconciliable
with democracy. Democracy must
come to universal military obligation,
or it must go out of business.
This country in particular needs
for military and for 9TH
er than military reasons. We need
it for patriotic and moral reasons. 1t
would bring men together, the East
with the West, the North with the
South, the men of the seaboards, the |
prairies and the mountains. 1t would |
open the hearts of men to the reali- |
ties of comradeship and brotherhood. |
1t would improve the health Of a pop
ulation that has become too seden-
tary. Through the discipline it would
make men more efficient for business
and industry, and as the experience
Of Australia has demonstrated, it
rids the community Of hoodlumism
and loafing.
Our predujices against universal
service has been fed by a proper hat
red of the Prussian system, but be- |
tween the universal requirement Of |
French or Swiss or Australian democ-
racy the difference is as wide as be-
tween light and darkness, or good and
evil. Universal subsection to kali
ser and universal cooperation Of free
patriots are two different things.
We must have CONSUMPTION now. |
We must have it because it is neces-
sary. We are entering into war
that will call for all our strength and
for all our common sense. We can
not play war this time. We must
have selective CONSUMPTION, and it !
must be so broadly conceived that it
will enable the government to put the
right men in the right places, sending
every man into precisely. that service,
or noncombatant, where he,
rather than someone else, is particu-
larly needed. We must have such
CONSUMPTION because it is vital to our
national unity, vital to our democ-
racy, and vital to our manhood.