Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-02-20
UNIVERSAL MILITARY
TRAINING BILL WILL
NOT GARDNER
Militia to Be Relied Upon to
Meet Any Emergency Says
Washington Writer-PIan of
President
BY gibson GARDNER.


military training, as provided for in the
Chamberlain bill will be discussed but
not passed on at this session of congress
This is the administration plan. The
militia will be relied upon to meet any
emergency.
1t is expected ne national guard will
be recruited UP 20 it's full strength to
meet the needs of national defense, and
that it will be modified to protect har-
bors, coasts, railroads and other strate-
gic' points.
Universal compulsory military train
ing is expected to be one of the results
Of the present war situation.
There are a few people who think a
law of this character may be jammed
through congress before March 4. 1t
may be said positively, however, that
such is not President Wilson's plan.
The president is not yet committed
to the CONSUMPTION idea. The annual re-
port made by Secretary of War Baker
voiced the opinion Of the president, to
the effect that the national guard had
not had full opportunity to show what
it could do in the Mexican border mobl-
lization, and the president further made
his opinion clear when he talked last
week to the delegation from Maryland
who came to urge universal military
military service.
The presidents words on that occasion
were notably sharp and the delegation
went away feeling their knuckles had
been raped.
President Wilson scored the cock
sureness of the critics of the national
guard and made it clear that he still be-
lieves in the volunteer system.
Under the stimulus of national
crisis, as will exist in case of war with
Germany, it is the administrations be-
lief that there will be no lack of volun-
teers and that the national guard can be
recruited to it's full military strength In
less than thirty days.
Under the law the guard can be used
for the defense of the realm or for for
eign service.
The universal military training bill
which comes from Senator Chamber
lain's subcommittee of the senate mill
tary affairs committee, is what is known
as the Moseley bill, the original draft
having been prepared for the National
Defense league by an army officer of
that name.
1t bears the approval of Senators
Chamberlain, Brady and Thomas, who
are the subcommittee which has been
listening to arguments and testimony
for three months on this subject.
The hearings have not yet been print
ed, and it would be unfair to other
members of the military affairs COM
mittee and to the senate generally, to
attempt to pass the bill until argu-
ments for and against have been avail
able.
Speaking of the Chamberlain bill Sen
ator Brady said to me:
Our committee is unanimous as to
thwnain IDEAS in the bill, namely that
~. t-I A.
sort of universal military training,
"The committee is somewhat divided
as to some of the details of the bill,
such as when the training should begin.
how long it should last and what should
be the character of the law making ex-
emptions.
Our bill provides for six months of
military training and it is expected that
about five hundred thousand boys a
year would take the training.
about a million boys would reach
the age of eighteen each year, but about
half a million would be exempted I'M
der the various exceptions which the
law provides.
These exceptions are for such rea-
sons as physical unfitness, moral unfit
ness, being in the regular army. service
on the ocean as a sailor and religious
beliefs"
The plan as worked out by the sub
committee is less drastic than the pro-
posals offered by the general staff of
the army war college.
The latter have been pushing a bill
modelled on the Prussian system, and
providing for a full year of military
training.
The Chamberlain bill provides for
compensation to the young men while
there taking a training. so that per-
sons dependent upon them may have
a small sum of money in lieu of what
the boy might earn.
at will be necessary" said Senator
Brady, ito take great care in drafting
the exemptions section of the law, so
that the exemption shall not be abused
by permitting people with money or
pull to get out of the service, while
those without it are compelled to take
the training"
Those receiving military training
would be subject under the law to be
drafted into the army at any time the
occasion for their services might arise.
The senate will discuss, also, those
amendments dealing with military
training in schools.
This feature however, which is very
far-reaching in the original Chamber
lain bill. seeking to begin children's
training at twelve years old, has been
temporarily abandoned.