Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1917-04-20
Favor Universal Military Training
Resolution Adopted Enthusiastic Patriotic Rally in Town
Han-Rapid Fire Addresses Stirred Large Audience Of
Men and Women Welcoming Address by Mayor Allyn
l. Brown.

| training brings shoulder to shoulder
men in all walks of life. making US feel
a oneness of purpose not possible by
/ any other means. will 1 believe under
Gods guiding hand be a means of
pertinent blessing to all. And now
our country calls to different posts OF
duty don't let us lag, but let US keep
the honor of those who preceded us,
| the honor of our city. the honor of our
state. the sarced honor of our nation.
! A Word About the Navy.
| Following Mr. McNeeiy, Mayor
Brown introduced Chief Signal Quar-
| termaster Edward Stohan of the Unit
fact-that at the present time the en-
| iistments in the navy amounted to
| II, 696 men and that since President
Wilson's call the enlistments averaged
| about BIT day. Secretary Daniels is
confident that the $1,000 men-wanted
for the navy will be secured if the
present average keeps up. The term OF
enlistment in the United States navy
| is four years, and while in the navy
pay goes on, there are no strikes, there
are no layoffs,e you get your money
whether You work or not OFTEN there
| is much comment on the food in the
| navy, but the food is good. In speak
| ing of the variety of scenes in the
navy, a man enlisted in the navy has
| a chance to see all parts of the world.
1 have been in the service for nine
1
have not visited, except England and
! Germany, and I am waiting my chance
to go there. In the navy there are
| various training schools and fellow
is sent to the training school. Car
penters, painters are trained in the
Norfolk training school. Yeomen are
| trained at Newport and San Francisco.
| There are schools for cooks, hospital
] corps and machinists.
When a fellow first enlists he is sent
| to Brooklyn or Newport for training
| md there he receives his first uniform
| and clothing, which amounts to about
| $65. The uniform lasts about three
years and after that the fellow fur
nishes himself Any young fellow I'M
der p years of age who has had two
years of high school training and who
can take examinations to be admitted
| to the naval academy at Annapolis
/ There is a great chance to save money
| in the navy and as fellow advances
he receives more money. A man in
| the service 16 years Is retired with
/ pension for life, which amounts to S4S
a month. On each battleship there is
| a chaplain, and church services are
held and during the services every
thing the ship is quiet.
Men Are of Good Morals.
Some people have an idea that the
navy is filled with buns, drunka rds.
Well, this is not so. as these type of
men are being discharged and for an
example to show the calibre of the
| men in the navy at the present day,
stance in the Danish West Indies
which is worth bearing in mind. Quar-
| termaster Stohan said that when the
United States took possession of the
| Danish West Indies $4,000 men were
| landed with a full months pay. There
were saloons it seemed on every cor
ner and out of the $4,000 men that
landed only II were found to be in an
Intoxicated condition. Quartermaster
| Stohan asked what would be the cir
cunstances if $4,000 civilians were
landed there.
The Food Situation.
| Robert w. Perkins, president of the
Shore Line electric road member of
Governor Holcomb's food supply COM
mittee, was next introduced. Mr.. Per
kins referred to one of the serious
needs in connection with the world
] war-the matter of provisions. When
you take out of the productive force
| of the world forty millions of men,
| there is danger for the food supply.
| The past winter has been an unfavor-
| able one for wheat. In this state in
| 1850 eight out of ten followed along
| the lines of agricultural purpose while
| two out of ten were employed in the
| cities but today the conditions are
| reversed There is about sixty mil
| lions of dollars worth of food products
| imported in this state in a year. We
j
4 land to go back to the state of nature.
| The agricultural output of the United
| States in 1916 was sixteen billions of
| dollars which was three billions OF
| dollars more than in 1915, but that is
| in dollars; the amount in bushels was
a good deal less. We produced less
| foodstuffs in 1916 than in 1915, and
| the object of the governors commits
| sion, the department of agriculture at
Washington, is to increase the produc-
| ton of foodstuffs so as to meet the
| shrinkage. The response is most
| promising. There has been fear on the
| part of the farmers that the home
| garden movement would tend to throw
| off the prices, but it is in the minds
of the commission the feeling that the
| home garden movement will take care
| of only perishable foods. What we are
| anxious to do is to increase the out
put of the farms. The farmer this asst
year has been very much affected by
| labor and the farm has not yet been
ffths of the tillable soil of the world
| is in North and South America. We
have got to get live, energetic men
| back on the farms. The movement has
| begun and we must impress the farm
| er, the people of the country, that now
| is the time for service.
Universal Military Training.
Major Fred A. Fox spoke briefly on
| universal military training and he
ask what is universal training? IT is
something good enough for every
country in Europe.
The volunteer system is all right but
| the volunteer goes to his work with
out knowledge. Our nation not only
needs universal military training, but
| it is good for the young men. The
young men of today lack discipline. At
home here you hear young men call
their parents the old lady or the old
gentleman, but after a years training
in the army it is mother and father.
and a little of that spirit would do our
young men good. 1t is the purpose to
give every young man one year of
actual training in the best school,
believe, on this earth, and Major Fox
explained the other phases of the train
ing. There is only one neutral coun-
try in Europe; that is Switzerland,
where every man is trained to fight.
The kaiser with all his meanness Eas
not dared to put one foot on the Swiss
soil. he has not dared to fly over