River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-04-26
SENDS OPEN LETTER TO CON-
GRESHAM EXPLAINING sELEc-
TIVE DRAFT SYSTEM WITH
HOPE THAT 1T PASSES.
NO TIME NOW TO AWAIT
VOLUNTEERS, HE SAYS
Proposed Program Would Seek Men
Who Can Best Be Spared for Fight
ING While Others Would Do Work
For Which They Are Best
Adapted.


Washington, April 21.-As one step
toward meeting opposition in Congress
to the administrations army plans,
President Wilson sent an open letter
to Representative delivering OF Kan
sas explaining what is meant by selec-
tive draft and expressing earnest hope
that the bill drafted by the War de-
partment would be passed.
Text of Letter.
The letter follows:
II welcome the inquiry of your let
ter of April 10, because have realized
the truth of what you say from my
own observations; namely, that what
is meant to be understood by the Sc
lective draft is not generally under
| stood throughout the country.
"The process of the draft is,
think, very clearly set forth in the
bill drafted by the War department,
and which / so earnestly hope the
Congress will adopt, but it is worth
while to state the idea which under
lies the bill little more fully.
Want Those Who Can Be Spared.
Il took occasion the other day in an
address to the people of the country
to point out the many forms of patri-
otto service that were open to them
and to emphasize the fact that the
military part of the service was by
no means the only part, and perhaps,
all things considered not the most vi
tai part. Our object is mobilization
Of all the productive and active forces
| Of the nation and their development
| to the highest point of cooperation
and efficiency, and the idea of the Sc
lective draft is that those should be
chosen for service in the army who
can be most readily spared from the
prosecution of the other activities
which the country must engage in and
| to which it must devote a great deal
of it's best energy and capacity.
1.-THE volunteer system does not do
this. When men choose themselves
| they sometimes choose without due
regard to their other responsibilities.
Men may come from the farms or
from the mines or from the factories
or centers of business who ought not
to come, but ought to stand back of
the armies in the fields and see that
they get everything that they need
and that the people of the country are
sustained in the meantime.
Obligation Is Universal.
"The principle of the selective draft
| in short, has at it's heart this idea,
that there is a universal obligation to
serve and that a public authority
should choose those upon whom the
obligation of military service shall
rest and also, in a sense, choose those
| who shall do the rest of the ma
tion's work The bill if adopted will
do more, believe, than any other sin
gle instrumentality to create the i'm
preston Of universal service in the
army and out of it, and if properly ad-
ministered will be great source of
stimulation.
Those who feel that we are turn
ing away altogether from the volun-
tary principle seem to forget that
| some 100000 men will be needed to
| fill the ranks of the regular army and
the National guard and that very
great field of individual enthusiasm
| lies there wide open"
| Confident of Enactment.
The President and administration
| leaders are confident of the ultimate
| enactment of the army bill without
material changes. The fight probably
will begin in the Senate where the
bill will be taken up as soon as the
| espionage measure is disposed of,
| Chairman Chamberlain Of the Military
committee has submitted his favorable
report.
| Chairman Dent of the House com.
mittee has formally presented re-
port of his committee offering the
| bill in amended form authorizing the
| President to call for volunteers in in
crements of 100000 and providing for
| the selective draft only after the vol