The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-08-17
Other Nations Were Compel
ed To Adopt The
System
PLACED TERRIBLE POWER
In HANDS OF NAPOLEON
Censcription Did Not Appear
In United States Until
Civil War

Conscription originated in France In
.T9S At that time the country had
Just passed through the long and
bloody war Of the French revolution,
Which the monarchs of Europe had
banded together TO crush. France, un-
der Napoleon, had como forth victori-
Gus, but her army was exhausted, aud
it was evident that some new system
OF recruiting would be necessary, as
volunteer enlistment no longer suticed.
It was then that General Jourdan
brought forth and passed the law es.
tablishing coTscription. Since then IL
has been the basis OF all French mill.
tary legislation and, TO n certain ex-
tent, Of that Of all other countries.
1t was through the terrible power OF
CONSUMPTION that Napoleon was enabled
to carry OH the gigantic wars which
characterized his reign aud by means
Of it, after losing in the SHOWS Of Rus
sa the largest army that VI till that
time had ever been put into the field,
to reappear n few months later WITH
another army almost as large. -
Out of necessity the other nations
We're forced to follow Frances exam
pie, and conscription became general.
Under the French regime every citi-
zen between the ages of twenty ana
twenty-five was liable to service for
five years. Prussia, however, still fur
tier developed the powers of conscrip-
tion by reducing the period of service
in the ranks and passing her soldiers
as soon as they We're sufficiently train
ed into reserve force, thus by de-
grees training her whole population.
This latter system, which was con-
sidered as one of the most farreaching
and important events of the last CEN
tury, owed its origin to the conditions
imposed on Prussia by Napoleon ut the
treaty of Tilsit, whereby Prussia was
restricted to a standing army of 43 900
men. She kept to the letter Of the law
by maintaining her army at the pre-
scribed number, but her trained citizen
reserve force was limited only by the
population of the country.
The military history of the United
States is as remarkable as the rise and
rapid growth of the nation itself. In
1890, as fixed by an act of congress,
the rank and file of our army amount
ed to PIG men, and in 1914 an English
expedition with only $500 men was
able TO seize and burn Washington.
Conscliption first made its appear
ance here at the time of the war be-
tween the states. At the beginning of
the war in 1861 our whole regular force
was but 1000 men. AT first the north
ern army was Increased by volunteer
enlistment, but the unexpected pro-
longation of the war proved this meth
cd too slow to replenish the waste of
the armies, and in 1868 the govern
ment resorted TO Il draft.
The first attempt to carry 1t out met
with forcible resistance and led to u
serious riot in the city of New York,
which lasted for several days. All Op-
position, however, was put down and
the draft executed with all possible
forbearancc and justice. Exemptions
and substitute purchases were so free
| ly given in the north that the draft had
| little effect except as Il stimulus to
| the states in bringing to full strength
| their quotas of volunteers by voting
bountleS.
In the south, however, conscription
was sweeping from the first, and to-
ward the end Of the war it became
omnivorous. Every man between the
| ages of seventeen and fifty-flve was le-
gally Liable to service, the only excuse
being physical incapacity.
The total number of men called un-
Ter arms by the government of the
United States between April, 1861, aud
April, 1866, amounted to more than
2,75o000, nearly half of this number
being raised by CONSUMPTION. If to this
we add the 100000 men from the
southern states the total armed force
Of the country at that time amounted
TO almost 100000, drawn from pop.
ulation of only 2o,oc0o0o.- Philadelphia
Ledger