Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1917-02-09
ARMY OFFICER OPPOSED
TO COMPULSORY TRAINING
Service That is Not Willing is Worthless De-
clares Major Harllee Of the Marine Corps
Says Caste System is Un-American.

ttu AL anu ~ 10 hOA iCSNe-
sary. There is an instinct in young
men which makes them aspire to be
soldiers. There arezthousands upon
thousands OF young men who would
be delighted to serve IL they could do
1t under honorable and self-respect-
ing conditions. Look at the men who
flocked to Plattsburgh. They want
cd training, but they did not, in time
OF peace, want to subscribe to an
oath of bondage. Who can blame
them for it?
Unhappy or dissatisfied men are
OF no earthly use to a military es-
tab1ishment. 1t is a much better pol
icy to let them go and seek the cause
and provide remedy. am abso-
lutely opposed to universal service
or any kind of service except that
which is rendered by willing men.
am opposed to 1t because dumb
driven cattle cannot be taught or
trained. The Persians had universal
service; the Greeks did not. 1t is
not the size of your hosts but the
quality of it which adds luster to an
army. Unwilling men burden ar
mics, eat its sustance, tax the peo-
pie to death, retard its action AL
give it panic. Even IL there were
enough jails and constabularies to
enforce universal military service,
without riots among a free people, it
would not be good business to do IL.
The profession of arms ought to be
honorable.
The Majors remarks about the
conventionalities OF military train
ing interested the committee deeply.
There is nothing subtle about
real military training" he said. tho
there may be plenty about conven-
tional military training. It does not
require years to train soldier-for
fighting. The individual instruction
is simple. 1t can be done in weeks.
With the proper machinery develop
cd 1t can be done in less time than
any army can cross the ocean. II
was done In the volunteer regiments
that went to the PHILIPPINES In 1899
1t is done In the Marine Corps al
the time. It was done at Plattsbure
in month. To cook, to bivouac, tc
move from column of march into the
line of fight, to dig, to shoot. tC
give first aid treatment-these arc
the salient points of real soldiers
instruction. Yet they are not fea.
lures of the conventional army life
practiced In the barracks.
The art Of living afield and the ar
of handling men afield are not learn
ed in barracks. Campare your men
tai picture OF life and conditions a
the barracks with your mental pic
ture Of life In the trenches, anywher,
in Europe today-armies which can
not live afield without tents are no
armies-they are camping parties
Caesar tells US that the Gauls did no
sleep under tents for seven years
Any army which intends to moy
cannot cucumber itself with tents
and living In tents ID not real train
, ing"
/ Then the Major outlined his sue
/ gestions for real preparedness. tn
3 mobilization for six months trainin
t each year on a volunteer basis of tn
/ youths of the country. No one shoul
: take the training who did not war
: to do SO, and no one should be hel
who wanted TO quit. Those who qn
before the course of intensive traiI
ing was over simply forfeited the
. pay; that was all. After one month
: individual training the Major uoul
= send the different parts Of the arm
: afield in bivouac and ON the marc
assembling with other bodies form
ing larger bodies and gradually mo
!. ing towards the government rese
! vations where actual armies instes
Of imaginary armies would opera
- against each other-a sort of sub
!. mated Plattsburgh.
- An army afield," said the Mai
- would accumulate field habits
|, stead of barrack habits. It Wou
"a furnish the staff an opportunity
- cater to actual armies and discov
- their habits and needs. The dis
- pline which such an experien
n CONTINUED on page two.l