Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1917-11-30
WAR TALKS
By UNCLE DAN
Number -Four.
Military Training Necessary for Safety
and Defense.
Number -Four.

Say. Uncle DAN" said Billie, -Jim-
mie and / have been looking up about
war In the encyclopedia at school. We
found that in the war between Ger
many and France 10 lS7O-71, Germany
lost In killed and wounded $4,000 SOL
diers while France lost about six times
az many, and besides that, she lost
every battle. We asked Professor Slo-
cum why this was He said that the
German army was highly trained and
ably commanded, while the French
soldiers were poorly trained; and that
their war department was honey.
combed with Jealousy and politics,
that the officers were not much good,
and that's why France lost the war
and so many men. What do you think
about it, Uncle Dan?"
"Well," said Uncle Dan, professor
Slocum is right. BY ineficiency France
lost that war. together with two Of
her best provinces-Alsace and Lor-
raine-and had to pay a billion dol
lars indemnity money. France today
| rience. so she put In universal military
training, and as result, her soldiers
now know how to fight and how to
! protect themselves. They are losing
less men In the war than the Germans.
France also put politics out of her war
department, so that expert authority,
instead of bureaucratic stupidity, now
directs the army. The result Is,
| France has one Of the best and most
efficient armies every assembled. and
this shows what thorough training and
| good leadership means in warfare.
This saved France In this crisis, as
well as the liberties Of the world"
"As war is now conducted, there is
no place for an unframed man. A
body of 10000 well trained soldiers
properly handled could defeat FIVE
times their number of raw recruits and
do 1t every time with comparatively
small loss to themselves. Proper train
| Ing alone will reduce the death and
casualty rate one-third of what 1t 9TH
erwise would be, and right here ls an
unanswerable argument for universal
military training.
"Our government has no moral right
TO force her men into war service
without properly training them for 1t.
To do so is simply murder, hence the
frantic effort that Is now being made
to give her soldiers some training be-
fore they are sent to the front. II we
are to win this war. 1t will take trained
men to do 1t, and II will take trained
/ men to win any other war that may
come upon US In the future. II we
must fight, let us fight to win and not
| to lose"
THAT'S the stuff" said Billie.
Continuing, Uncle Dan said: "Our
government has expended about $780,
I 100000 to put up environments and
I training stations In order to train the
/ men called by the selective draft.
! When these men are trained the train
ing stations should be Immediately
hlled with younger men. say those In
their nineteenth year. to receive six
months Of intensive military train
ing along the lines of the Chamberlain
bill. This will be of Unreasonable
4 benefit to them individually. II viii
1 do them more good than any other two
| years of their whole life; II will make
them strong, manly. self-reliant, quick
Ito see and quick to act; II will equip
/ them for a successful life. In abort
( It will rebuild American manhood and
will also give the government body