Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-04-21
ROOSEVELT SAYS
RAISING DIVISION
IS PROPER SYSTEM
Says Compulsory Service Is
Best and Absolutely
Necessary
BUT VOLUNTEER FORCE
SHOULD BE SENT AT ONCE
Conditions Demand America
Get to the Front
Speedily

New York, April 2l.-Colonel Roose-
Welt struck back today at those who
have been using his plan for raising
division of troops as an argument
against obligatory service, In the first
interview he has granted on his army
plan, accorded the United Press, he re-
iterated strongly his demand for uni
versal obligatory service couple with a
plea that while this compulsory system
was being made operative a volunteer
force be sent abroad.
81 do not want to be put in the posi-
ton of saying to my fellow country
men, go to the war, - he declared. ~
want to be in the position of saying,
come to the war; 1 am going with
! you.
81 wish we already had universal
military training in this country. But
we are as Great Britain was when the
war broke out. She had disregarded
Lord Roberts advice to have universal
military service. She was very wrong
in doing. that
England Aided Promptly.
'"But it would have been a capital
mistake if when the war broke out. she
J had declined to send small military
/ expedition at once to Belgium and ha(
refused to accept colunteers from Can
ada and Australia--on the plea that sht
then intended to do nothing except il
accordance with the theory of obliga
tory military service
"What she ought to have done, was
to send her expedtionary army exactly
as she did; to use the volunteers exact
ly as she did-and instantly to intro
duce the system Of obligatory servist
also. This is precisely what we SHOULD
do.
"With all my heart I approve of thu
president . plan for universal obliga
tory service-both for the present wa
and as our permanent policy. This plan
will give us the army we must have II
months hence. But we ought to treat al
a necessary supplement to this plan th'
utilizing Of volunteers who would no
be reached under the obligatory plan
! who will not and ought not to be ask
ed to volunteer in the regular army o.
; the national guard; but. who have spe
cial fitness for the war and who vii
: come forward eagerly to serve if the,
are to be sent abroad at the earlies
possible minute.
"The obligatory service idea is capi
ttal to make those serve who ought t
do something and we ought not to let i
t be twisted into preventing those VIII
r ardently desire to serve from serving
, even although they would be exemp
: from serving under the obligator.
= law
e No Hymn of Hate"
e The colonel was asked how he felt tC
+ ward Germany.
L 81 am utterly against any hymn 0
II hate in this country as against any ma
e tionality," he exclaimed. "Let us hav
= our 'hymn of hate against that syster
n of organized tyranny which has mad
!. Germany menace to the world-as
t sequence of itself becoming the ev
T genuius of what was best and mobiles
Y in the German character We are fight
t ing in the spirit Of Andreas Hofer an
d of those Germans who led the figh
l., against the tyranny of Napole0ni
!. France-when we now rally the FIRE
peoples Of the world against tyrannor
4 militarism which would destroy all fret
:. dom.
n "Once we have destroyed the tyrann
. we shall hail the Germans as our brotl
= ers and we shall eagerly hope to adm
~ them to the fellwship of free peoples.
= Colonel Roosevelt was here reminde
!, of the fact that in the past he had di
u fered shardply in matters political wit
the president under whom he now sougl
to serve.
"Once this country is at war"
answered quickly, emphasizing his sta
alto utterances with clenched fists, 9
x recognize no partisanship and no di
x tinction Of parties. Let us all stan
x shoulder to shoulder without the sligh
,; est regard to ordinary partisan consi
= erations-without the slightest regal
x to our differences on internal subjec
x pledged all of us alike to war for Il
x honor of the flag and in the interests
y mankind" "
X -.-s-.-