New-York tribune., 1917-04-09
Conscription Must Come


The vital thing in the army bill which
Secretary Baker has submitted to Con-
gress Is it's rejection Of the volunteer sys-
TEN. Selective compulsory service must
be resorted 10 If we are 10 have a repre-
sentative. efficient, democratic army
Every pacifst. every Stacker, every enemy
Of military preparedness knows this. For
that reason all the elements in Congress
and out Of il which want TO retard mill
tarv development and thereby keep our
participation in the war down TO mini
mum are now making a drive against con
scription. They want to retain the volun-
teer system, which has broken down every
time the United States has relied upon II
and can be depended upon to break down
again.
Representative Anthony, Of Kansas.
Republican. bat one Of the chief support
ers in the last Congress Of the futile and
fraudulent Hay bill. has given notice that
he will try 70 amend the Administrations
measure in committee by substituting vol
rntarv enlistment for the General Stall
selectivc compulsory service plan. The
main fight i'm the committee and IN the
House will thus come on this proposition
70 denature the new army bill string
halt it after the trcacherous Hay fashion.
The ADMINISTRATOR draft makes some
slight concessions to those who still cling
TO the ancient delusion that some subtle
tribute is paid to individual and moral
liberty in the haphazard, inequitable. let
somebody-else-do-it theory Of military ser
vice. The staff plan provides that the
regular establishment may be recruited to
war strength by voluntary enlistment.
But if volunteers do not come fast enough
CONSUMPTION will be resorted to. The
ranks Of the National Guard may also he
filed by volunteering 50 long as that meth
cd produces results worth while. But the
President is 10 have-as he now haS-the
power to draft men for National Guard
service. Conscription will be applied ex-
clusively in raising the new armies,
100000 men at time.
In our opinion. the sooner the country
gets on an exclusive conscrpton basis the
better. Volunteering may he Of some ser
vice for few weeks, while the machinery
Of conscription is being set up. 1t may
help little to make up deficiencies in the
\ regular army and in the National Guard
! regiments. Conscription is already au-
Y thorized in the case Of the Guard. SO the
regular establishment is the only field in
which volunteering can be of real value
TO the government. We doubt whether it
will be of real value there, for the class
Of volunteers to which the regular service
appeals is now-as it has always been
exceedingly limited.
Many Congressman are finding fault
with the conscription theory. Some think
it will be unpopular. Southern Democrats
do not like its universally. They object
to a draft which would apply equally 10
all citizens white and black But these
objections to method which the govern
ment is obliged to apply, if it wants to
make war successfully, should have been
urged before war was declared. They
have no pertnency now. All other con
siderations must yield now TO the demands
Of sound military policy. Pacfsts,
slackers. objectors TO military service and
other obstructionists must recognize that
their individual prejudice5 are no longer
of consequence when weighed against the
safety of the state and the efficiency Of
its armies.
Conscripton must come, because there is
no way to avoid conscription and still raise
tie sort Of armies which we must raise.
The Administration has at last gotten
right or the question Of military prepara-
tion. 1t is accepting the views Of the
General Staff Members of Congress who
voted for the Hay law last year ought to
be difRdent about challenging the General
STATS authority. They did their worst in
the way Of picayunish amateurism. They
ought TO DO very humble and silent now.