Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-13
TAKE 4 CENSUS AND PUT EVERY
MAN AND WOMAN TO WAR WORK
The American People Must Be Shaken Out of the Habit
of Letting George Do It"
By CHAMBERLAIN

1t is a terribly depressing expert
ence in a time of public stress and
peril to realize that you are just
plain mo good" 1t is in this predic-
ament that a vast number of men,
and women, too, for that matter,
find themselves in the present hour.
This alludes especially to those who
are classified as too DID," and alas,
some who still considered themselves
fit to run with the youngsters. have
been rudely awakened to the fact
that they are "old uns" in the eyes
of the government. Not only old.
but useless to boot, and only fit to
buy war bonds, to pay their taxes,
and to furnish the applause at pa
triotic rallies. Sentence has been
passed upon all over 40.
But is there no appeal? Will the
nation consent to this waste of abil-
ity and enthusiasm simply because
Congress DEGREES that a man over 40
may not volunteer for the regulars?
Is there not a place in the plan of
national defense for those poor old
buffers, somewhere around so, or
exc beyond, who are physically
sound and mentally alert. even
though they lack in specialized
knowledge?
Who can answer? None. and for
the simple reason that there is no
plan of national defense. No use to
point to the recent acts of Congress
providing for an enlarged navy and
an army of million men. Are the
rest OF us content to sit by. and let
these soldiers and sailors play the
George role of doing the whole job.
contributing onl your applause at
their successes. and our sobs of an
guish at their misfoItunes? For
those who were born late enough the
army and navy are open. All others
must twirl their thumbs. fume and
try to think that they are doing busi-
ness as usual although they know
only we'll enough that they are not
There will be no adequate plan of
national defense until Congress pro-
vides for the enlistment of every
useful individual and organization.
not only for gun-carrying, but to
guarantee a complete support for
of all the people, one that will in
clude male and female. sound and
unsound. from the youngest Boy
Scout and Campfire Girl to the old
est grandsire and dowager? AS with
the soldiers all should be called even
though few are chosen. Chosen for
what. pray? For that service to the
nation that a carefully taken census
of abilities and experiences shall in
dicate as available. Kick the bushel
off the light and let us see what our
real national wealth is. the only kind
of wealth that really counts in such
an hour as this, the ability to do
things. big and little.
Along the horizon line toward
Washington a faint dawn of hope is
glimmering. Someone in authority
perceives that national task is at
hand. and that the nation as a whole
will be required to perform it. What
other Interpretation can be put upon
proclamation: ut is not an army
that we must shape and train for
war; II Is a nation. The
whole nation must be a team in
which each man shall play the part
for which he is best fitted" And
lest that hope be shattered on
suspicion that this is only rhetoric,
there is a heartening reinsurance in
the almost simultaneous utterance
of Mr.. Vanderlip of the advisory
commission to the Council of Ma
tional Defense. Vanderlip, the man
of business. hard-headed. unexcit-
able. from his privileged knowledge
of the country's greatest needs.
sounds the true warning that should
be the knell of shiftlessness and lais-
sez faire. Economy is the burden of
his message, economy of personal
expenditure. economy of individual
ad communal enterprise. Not parsi-
mony, but economy in the sense of
a rational use of all resources. Effici-
ency. THE country should imme-
diately awake to the fact" he says,
that il cannot carry on a war like
this with one hand, and continue
to do all the business 1t did before
with the other" Would Vanderlip
have delivered himself thus en-
phatically. in his semi official capac-
ity, without assurances that 1t rep
resented official thought and con-
templated action? 1t is doubtful If
he would. Independent though he is,
and free from the entanglements of
politics.
The man with the rife and the