The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-04-29

W.
Suppose 10000 expert munitions
workers volunteered; it would defeat
us-without munitions we cannot
fight. Under the volunteer system
any of these skilled and badly needed
men would be accepted; they could
not be refuse. Under the draft sys-
| tenn they can be refused. Under the
, draft system they can be kept at
home to raise food, to transport SOL
| diers and supplies and to make mu-
nation with which to supply the Sc
! lected army Of unskilled men who
could be spared to fight, and spared
without demoralizing the factory, the
farm, the railroads, etc. England pass
| ed through this experience, and to-
! day she is returning the skilled vol
unteers to the factories and conscript-
ed men are taking their places sue
cessfully at the front
The man between eighteen and
twenty-five years of age, without
trade is more easily taught military
/ tactics than an older man or one
whose mind is already "cluttered up"
with technical knowledge of his trade
or profession. The unframed mind is
more responsive to training in a mill
tary sense than the man whose mind
has already been trained along some
other line of life's duties and work.
The man between eighteen and TWEEN
ty-flve, as rule, is not only easier to
teach, but he is more ambitious, and
| without the care of family on his
mind IS more apt to rise in the ranks
He will make better soldier.
| In modern warfare your willingness
to fight is laudable, but your ability
to fight is far more important, and it
is the ability that wins battles and
not necessarily patriotism or willing
ness to fight. 1t is as easy to teach
the man selected by draft to fight
efficiently as it is the one who volun-
teers. Warfare is science now; it
is not a hand to- hand encounter in
which the best men physically are
victorious, 1t is where brains and
training count most.
. If we are to fill the national guard
and regular army up to war strength
by volunteers of 724,000 men, and
raise another army of 100000 men
by volunteers, how long do you think
it will take? Volunteers are now en-
listing at the rate of 1000 per day.
, At that rate it will take 724 days
, to fill the guard and the regular
army and 500 more days to raise the
| extra army. It will take six months
to teach each volunteer the merest
rudiments of military tactics, and g
year to train the artillerymen and
cavalrymen. Under the volunteer
system, at the present rate of enlist
ment, we may expect an army in 1 ,224
days, after adding from six months
to year for proper training. II
other words we will have an army Of
little over one million men in about
four years. New men will be train
ing all the time during this period
Under the draft system they will
all be trained at once and together
we will have completely trainet
army at one time-not partly trained
By that time Germany's estimate O
Americas ability to raise an arm!
will have been verified. The allie
will have been as badly exhaustet
as the Germans and the war will hav
been over with the Germans vic
torious.
Is it any more dangerous for re
publican France, or republican Swift
zerland or democratic Australia t
have compulsory military service i
peace time than it is for the Unite,
States TO have it in war times? Nc
But it is even more dangerous TO
misguided patriots to put their un
trained opinion against that of tn
president and his trained advisors i
this grave hour of peril. 1t is foil
to oppose the plans Of the govern
ment and expect the government t
be successful in prosecuting the wal
The draft system is the only meth
cd by which a truly democratic arm
can be raised. 1t selects the rich un
trained man as we'll as the poor;
selects the Jew as we'll as the Gentle
the negro as well as the caucasian
the foreign citizen as well as the ma
tive-born. Under it the son of presi
dent or a cabinet officer or a bank
er is as liable for service as the so
of the poorest man in the land-ther
can be no distinction shown in tn
selectIve draft system between tn
classes and the masses. 1t is demo
cratic. 1t is sensible. 1t is right. Sc
lective draft destroys the classes
the army. Under it sons of lords al
serving under men who were clerk
and day-laborers before the war
England. A man rises to offic
through ability under selective dra1
not through pull.
Now, consider this: 1,5OO wei
trained, disciplined and conscripte
British soldiers faced 4.401 voluntee
militiamen in the war of 1872 an
captured the city of Washington. II
militiamen were as brave and as pr
triotic as the volunteer of today, bl
were unframed After eight of the
J had fallen in battle they fled in d.
feat.
CORVALLIS with 20,121 well drille
soldiers fought $4,000 unframed vo
unteers on their native soil for seve
years, and it is admitted now wou
have conquered them had not LaFa.
cite entered the war with few thot
- sand well trained and disciplined so
diers from France. In all the color
les used over 100000 unframed so
diers against the handful of BIRTHS
soldiers in the War of independence