The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-04-10
BIC Dinner READY!
Military Enthusiasm Rally at
c. of c. Tonight.
s j m on COudert - WOIcOtt,
Three-Ring Attraction.

Universal military training, such as
is provided for in q bill now before
congress, is the only successful method
of building an army to compare with
thosesof Europe with whom the Unit
ed States must compete since her step
into war with Germany. Such was
the opinion expressed today by Hen
ry L. Stimson, former secretary of
war.
Mr. Stimson, accompanied by Fred
erick r. Coudert, a prominent New
York attorney, and Frederick G. VOL
colt, a New York banker, arrived in
Topeka this afternoon and will deliv
er addresses at the Chamber of Com
merce this evening on universal mill
tary training.
Preceding the speaking a big ban
quet will be served, beginning at 6:3o
o'clock The three men are represen-
tatives of the National Security League
and are making a tour of the west to
awaken the people to the necessity of
universal military training bill A
special invitation has been issued to
the women to attend. c. L. Mitchell,
vice-president of the Chamber of Com
merce, will preside. ss-se- s-s.s
Statements made on the subject of
military training today by the former
secretary of war correspond with
those appearing in the current num-
ber of Scribner'S magazine in which
Mr.. Stimson has written an extended
article on THE Basis for National
Military Training"
Militia System a Failure.
This country is again confronted
with the problem of its military de-
fense against invasion" said Mr.. Slim
son. THE militia system relied upon
in the National Defense Act of last
June has been shown to have sub
stantially broken down under the test
of the Mexican mobilization. More
than thirty months after the outbreak
of the European war, with all its ter
rible lessons, we have still to lay the
statutory foundations of a proper sys-
tenn of land defense. The situation is
now further complicated by the rup-
ture with Germany.
From the standpoint of our mill
tary history there is no more clearly
established fact than the failure of
the volunteer system. The United
States has not yet warred with a first
attention to them. Nevertheless i'm
our wars the system has regularly
broken down. During the Civil war
both sides were forced to use the
draft-the South within a year and
the North shortly thereafter. Even in
our little war with Spain the full
quota of volunteers called for by the
president was never obtained.
THE failure last summer of re-
cruits toappear when called for by
the president to meet national emer-
gency, altho over a million citizens
were parading and shouting them
selves hoarse for preparedness, is
merely the latest incident of what
has been "A practically unbroken rec
ord in our history.
No Military Tendency.
There can be no more curious in
version of fact than fhe fear that
universal military training makes ma
tionS more likely to go to war Such
training has, on the contrary, been
the very means by which the profess
sional soldier-the man who spends
his life in planning and think
ing about warts reduced to the low
est possible number in the community
Under the old system such profess
sionals constituted the entire army
and their presence in the nation con-
stituted disturbing element whose
aims and ambitions were at variance
with those of their fellow citizens. I'm
der the new system their place is TAX
en- by men who learn the art of ma
tional defense as part of their regular
education and then, after the period
of training is over at once become
merged in the general citizenship of
| the nation.
I'm short. can see no valid objec-
tion to the establishment of the sys-
1 tenn in this country. 1t would be a
vast undertaking; it would be. in some
respects, revolutionary to habits of
thought. But the consensus of thought
full men at present is that we need
such a revolution of thought not only
in respect to our methods of defense
/ but in respect to the meacure of in
dividual duty which we owe in gen
eral to our institutions and our re-
public"