The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-12-22
WAR TALKS
By UNCLE DAN
Number -Four
Military Training Necessary for Safety
and Defense.
Number Four

"Say, Uncle Dan," said Billie, "Jim-
mieSand have been looking up about
war in the encyclopedia at school. We
found that in the war between Ger
many and France in 1901, Germany
lost in killed and wounded $4,000 sol
diers while France lost about six times
as 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 var department was. hstuey-
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 1t, Uncle Dan?"
"Well," said Uncle Dan, Professor
Slocum is right. BY inefficiency 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
learned her lesson by that sad expe-
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 it 9th
erwise would be, and right here Is an
unanswerabIe argument for universal
military training,
sour 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. If we
are to win this war, it will take trained
men to do it, and 1t will take trained
men to win any other war that may
come upon us In the future. If 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,
100000 to put up cantonments and
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
filled 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 immeasurable
benefit to them individually. 1t will
do them more good than any other two
years of their whole life; 1t will make |
them strong, manly, self-reliant, quick
to see and quick to act; 1t will equip
them for a successful life. In short,
it will rebuild American manhood and
will also give the government body
of trained men to draw from in case
1t Is necessary to defend our flag and
country. We must settle this question
of universal military training imme-
diately, otherwise these training camps
may be demolished. The adoption Of
universal military training will be mo-