Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-04-29

Before beginning his scheduled adj
dress, Roosevelt made strong appeal
to the nation to get behind the Red
Cross.
Roosevelt met the arguments of his
critics that he sought to deflect the
country from the president.
Il want it understood" he shouted,
that I will enter this war only with
the president as my commander
SHOT AT THOMPSON.
At Mayor Thompson, whose utter
ances have created storm of criti-
cism, Roosevelt aimed single broad
side.
"Yhis war is not to be a war Of linn
tied liability" he said. I'VE are in It
to the end--and don't let us think that
we can arouse the admiration and
gratitude Of Germany by not being nice
to General Joffre."
During the interval which followed,
resolutions indorsing the action of
Governor Lowden and the city council
In inviting the French commission to
Illinois and Chicago. were unani-
mously adopted by the audience.
"BULLY FOR THEM"
During the course of his speech a
message by the United Press telling
Of the passage of the resolution au-
thorizing Roosevelt to lead a division
TO france by the senate, was handed
to the speaker.
Bully for them. that's fine!" he ex-
claimed. Then he continued his
speech with renewed fire. Colonel
Roosevelt spoke in part as follows:
We Americans are at war Now let
us hight. Let us make it a real war,
not a dollar war; Let us show that we
have the manhood to pay with our own
bodies, and not merely to hire other
men to pay with their bodies. Let us
fight at once. Let us put the flag at
the front now. at the earliest moment,
ana not merely announce that we are
gong TO fight year or two hence.
Il most earnestly and heartily stand
by the proposal of the president to
raise an army on the principle of uni
versal obligatory military training and
military service, demanded as right,
not as favor, from all the young men
of the country capable of bearing
arms. This is the principle l have long
advocated with all fervor of conviction.
1t is the only really democratic prin-
ciple on which permanently to shape
the military policy of this country. To
have it adopted as the permanent
principle of our national military pol
icy will be of incalculable service to
Moreover, If the war lasts, as
well 1T may for one or two
or three years, the army, I'd see it
must be raised in this fashion.
1t is vitality essential, both from the
standpoint of fighting this war through
to successful conclusion, if it should
last long time, and from the stand
point of our permanent national safety
and democratic welfare, that we should
inaugurate this principle
and set about raising a great army in
accordance Herewith.
FLAG ON FIRING LINE,
Such an army will naturally need
long time to train, and at the earliest
moment we should begin to devote our
and energy to calling it into
being and training it. This should be
the task which We treat as of prime i'm
portance. But most emphatically, we
should not rest content with this, We
should not rest content with merely
preparing an army to act year or Is
months or two years hence Let us nut
the flag on the firing line at the earli-
est possible moment, this summer,
wherever our services are most needed
in France or Flanders or the Balkan
peninsula. 1t need only be q small |
army at first. But even division would |
be better than nothing. Then we can
keep that division filled, and I
other divisions from time to time added /
10 1t; until, year hence, If the war con :
tinues, we have a really formidable |
fighting force at the front, fighting
force which will be steadily increased
month by month, year by year, until the
comes.
ITO do this, 1t Is necessary that we
should appeal for volunteers, not in
any way as substitute for, but as n
to, the administra atoms
plan for raising an army in accordance
With the principle of obligatory univers-
al service. II the system of universal
obligatory training and service had al
ready been in existence here for a |
numbe of years, and IL in other WAYS
we had been prepared in advance, we
could by this time have had an ekpedi-
tionary force of million men under
way for the front, ready to strike the
blow. But the system does
not yet exist. and, necessarily, all kinds
IF preliminaries will have to be gone
through before 1t can now be called into
being and an effective army OF large
size raised under it. Therefore, to wait
FOR 1T before really entering into the
war means an indefinite delay, a delay
that might bring us to the end, not
merely Of the campaign this year, but
If the campaign next year before we
ian strike hard and effectively. / wish
% see the system Of obligatory scrv-
ce used In order to make all men who
ought to serve. It would be a capital
mistake to use it in such fashi On as
merely to prevent men rendering service
when they wish to render it and can
'ender it, and ought to render It. Do