The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-03-23
MOST VIGOROUS ARRANGEMENT
OF MILITARISTIC TENDENCIES

: will check the forward movement oil
labor, suppress the radical impulse;
of the nation and put the average
citizen in his place-the place that
the industrial absolutist and bureau.
crat wants him to occupy.
The Naitnoal Security League tells
us that we cannot raise a standing
army large enough for defensive pur-
poses. The answer is, that the army
at present treats the soldier like a
slave, Furnishes him like a slave
teaches him nothing that will be use
full to him when he goes back to
civil life; and takes away his self
respect and initiative. If the army
were (1) excluded from strike duty,
(2) made civilized and democratic and
(3) if it gave every boy who enlisted
an educational course or taught him
trade, so that when he came out
he would be self-respecting, self
sustaining member of society, there
would be no lack of enlistments. If
this were done, we would have a more
efficient, loyal and democratic army;
we would have a crack army of a
quarter of a million men-and a wait
ing list to boot. 1t, is not the temp
er of the people, but the stupidity and
inefficiency of the army authorities
themselves that is responsible for diff
flculty in raising a volunteer army in
times of peace. In the hour of ma
tional danger, there is no difficulty,
even under present conditions.
Consumption, in time of peace, Cor
in war except in a case of desperate
necessity is unthinkable in this
American republic, for CONSUMPTION
is in essence slavery. 1t does not
matter much whether the master is
a private individual or an officer or
the state. If you enslave a man. you
enslave him-whether it be by fore
ing him to work in a cotton field
against his will, or by forcing him
to enter the army and fight against
his will. Both are slavery; the mega
ton of liberty is the same; the only
difference is the master. No man
or state has right to force citi-
zen to kill people against his will or
conscience.
The advocates of compulsory serv-
ice, however, call attention to the
fact that Lincoln endorsed "the
draft" in the Civil War. They say
that volunteer system broke down;
that the people of the North refused |
to enlist in sufficient numbers to
carry on the war. This is essential |
ly untrue. ASA matter of fact, out |
of the four million males of military
age in the North, over a million vol
unteered and enlisted in the first year
of the war. The enlistment was "over-
subscribed" and Secretary of War
Stanton sent out a notice that he
had more volunteers than he wanted. |
Later on, when he asked for further
enlistment, the bottom of the PROPOSE
ton had dropped out. The public
could not be persuaded that Stanton
really needed more men.
In '63, Lincoln endorsed compulsion.
but even as he did so, he realized
that it was slavery, and defended it
only on the ground of the North's
desperate situation and because the
South was using the same system.
In a letter to the Governor of New
York, he frankly damned the draft
while he justified it. He said: eve
are contending with an enemy, who,
as | understand, drives every able
bodied man he can reach into his
ranks, very much as butcher drives
bullocks into a slaughter pen"
But the draft was tragic failure.
1t filled the prisons with men, who
were outraged by its attack on lib
erty and conscience, and it only actu
ally raised 61,947 men for the Union
army. This was 2.3 per cent of the
total forces used by the North in
the whole war, or As of the forces
raised after the draft was authorized.
we add to these men actually draft
ed, the number of volunteer sub
stitutes who took the place of drafted
men, we find that, under the most
favorable Interpretation, compulsion
only produced one-tenth of the re-
cruits raised by the North after the
passage of the compulsion act.
1t is an insult to American man.
hood for Wall Street or the Securi-
ty League to maintain that men will
not rush to the defense of their coun-
try in time of need. If the country
needed a million men tomorrow thew