The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-03-29
PREPARATIONS
BEING PUSHED
ARMY AND NAVY BEING RAPIDLY
PLACED ON WAR FOOT
ING
GRAFT WILDE CUT OUT ALL ALONG LINE
Private Citizens Joining Hands viii
Government to Place Country In
Defensive Position

Washington, d. c., March 28:-
Since the rising of a real wal cloud the
preparations Of the Army and Navy
have been speeded because it has beer
possible for executive officers to put
into being plans definitely adopted
long since, but up to this time kept un'
used on account of the lack of legal
authority to employ them. 1t is the
first thought to speed recruiting in
both arms of the service. There are
several reasons why many young men
refrained from joining the Navy. These
reasons are not sound; they are based
on false beliefs. In the first place 1t
seems to have been a fairly general
opinion that the men in the Navy, as a
class, were not of the highest standard
socially, and that there was a great
percentage of foreign born wearing
the colors of the United States. The
facts, as explained to a representative
of the Navy League by n of the
higher officers in the Navy, are these:
Statistics show that of all the en-
listed men 95.5 per cen are citizens
of the United States. Of this number,
go per cent were born in this country;
and of all branches of the naval ser
vice about AS per cent are mess at
PENDANTS and men in such positions
principally from the Island posses
sions. No man is received in the
Navy unless he is first Of all an Ameri-
can citizen; then he must be of the
character and type of man that would
be welcomed in any trade or profess
sion.
AS indicating the cooperation Of
citizens in the work of recruiting for
the Navy an interesting incident comes
from Boston. In that place, in co
operation with Captain Rush. Com
mandant of the Navy Yard at Boston,
Mr.. Harry x. White, State Chairman
of the Massachusetts Navy League,
planned to cover a number of the sea-
coast towns in New England. 1t oc-
Cured to him that the trip could be
better made by automobile, but the APP
propriations for recruiting do not
cover items of this kind, consequently
Mr.. White asked that several people
volunteer to aid the Government by
r-:-.-- {hA;r Z, fnr,nhi1n Within
a few hours after he made this request
to the public fourteen automobiles
were at his command.
The country is virtually on a war
basis. The passage by Congress in
extra session of a joint resolution re-
cognizing that a state of war exists
with Germany will make little change
in the outward aspect of events. In a
dispatch to the New York Evening
Post from Washington by David Law
renee, he calls attention to the fact
that those Ambassadors and Ministers
who called on Secretary Lansing since
the request by President Wilson that
Congress meet in extra session say
hat they found him unable to define
the real status of the United States.
Most of the diplomats went away with
the impression that the only thing
remaining was a declaration of a state
of war which would then enable neu-
trail countries to again issue prOclama-
lions of neutrality.
The Administration is preparing for
war with a determination to leave no
stone unturned to make Americas
part efficient and effective. One thing
President Wilson and the Cabinet have
resolved to do, whatever shall be the
scope of belligerency that the United
States shall attain, and that is to re-
duce to a minimum what is known as
war profits. There has been a cry that
the present agitation is entirely due
to the greed of munition makers. If so,
the manufacturers of war supplies
will soon discover that they played a
losing game. The Government will
endeavor at first to consult frankly
with munition manufacturers, and to
obtain supplies on a basis of reasonable
profits. The copper manufacturers
already have agreed, through the Nat
ional Council of Defense, to furnish
raw material on the same basis of
profit as the record Of peace-time tran.
sactions show. Secretary Daniels is
having considerable success in the
same kind of negotiation with manu-,
facturers Of material for the navy.
The appeal to patriotism will be made