Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-01
AUGURY OF VICTORY

.4l hOUOR1 L VI NlS1ON
COME paciists and Philstines have
been gadding about the country read
ing the Constitution out loud and calling
on high heaven to witness that liberty
Is being outraged in its ctadels and free.
dom murdered in its breeding place.
Some of these persons learned in tn.
grammar schools that conscription was
IN unholy thing, with which our forebears
would have nothing to do. They have
had visions of men being dragged ruth
lessly from their beds by squads of sol
diers and rushed into armies without the
privilege of even kissing their children
good.by. Wherefore, and because they
are unwilling to make the sacrifices which
the possession of liberty entails, they
preach sedtion and point to the draft as
final and complete evidence of the down.
fall Of democracy and the establishment
Of tyranny.
We trust that these malcontents In
great numbers will stand along the line
of parade today and watch the abused
citizens who are shortly to be sent to
training camps. They will see no slave
In all the multitude. They will not be
able to pick out single man who has
ehe appearance of a conscript. There will
be hundreds who are about to leave the
ones they love, hundreds who are about
to sacrifice real interests in the national
cause, hundreds who have no taste for
war and never dreamed that they would
be plunged into it's awful turmoil; but
there will not be ten men in all that host,
nor even one, who resents the authority
that has put him there or doubts the wis.
dom, legality and righteousness of the
legislation which makes his presence
there possible.
! The word transcription" with it's cog.
mates is unfortunate. Through centuries
of abuse of the draft system of recruiting,
the system itself and the very names for
1t came into disrepute. But the con.
scription which we have in America to.
day is democracy in its very essence. No
king or ruler has issued an edict for forci |
bic enrolment of the population TO serve
In the armies. We have no Hessian |
princeling. selling his mems lives and |
souls at SO much per head. What we |
do have is a system of organizing armies |
which was insisted on first by the people |
themselves, who, through the press, |
brought the full power of public opinion
10 bear on a numerous legislative body
Of their own elected representatives,
which, in its turn, possessing almost
plenary powers, yielded TO the popular
demand and enacted the desired legisla.
lion. The draft, therefore, was the volun.
tary act of one hundred millions of peo-
pie, acting through their recognized
Instruments of government. We go fur.
her. The draft law could not be en-.
,orced and would be as dead as Hector
himself if even 40 per cent of the popu-
alton were opposed to it. What force
lid the Government possess to enforce
} draft? An army of a few thousands
which the citizens could have overruled
without much exertion. Here was a law
which depended for enactment and for
enforcement solely. on public opinion.
compulsion originated in the people
themselves. and there only does it rest.
: No man of all the thousands on parade
Today but feels himself volunteer, no,
Dne who is regarded by his fellow citizens
~ other than a volunteer He is, indeed.
The finest type of volunteer, for he has
volunteered not only to fight but to let
The Government come and take him when
y win, where it will, in what service 1t
viii. for the common safety and welfare.
He gives, In fact, new meaning TO the
vvxu cohscript ana I1ts the draft from
~ vocabulary of disrepute into the yer.
aacuiar of lofty patriotism. In Thebes,
y y related. his enemies sought to dis.
gTecs Epaminondas by making him the
luhlic scavenger. But by the time Epa-
|plnondas got through with the job he had
nqnfprred SO much honor on the Office that
~ efhce ever after conferred honor on
Aosver held IT. The greatest democracy
40 hisfogy takes the meanest Of tyran.
instruments. voluntarily adapts 1t
- Hepsssitiss Of modern liberty ana
3ne1 + - - sntwiaes