Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-02-06

and not by the nation, At best it
would be cooperative system, in
which the states and not the nation
would take the lead.
About all the nation would need to
do would be to render some financial
assistance, just as the general gov
eminent is Offering to do in the mat
ter of improved highways, and also
furnish to the high schools and col
leges of our common country educat-
ed drill masters, trained nurses and
expert instructors in preparation Of
war munitions and provisions and in
military engineering.
An army in the making, of 49,
900, 900 school boys and school girls
and college students, would be worth
to this country for common defense
purposes fully as much as 100000
United States regulars, and would
save to the country almost all of the
probable thousand millions of dol
lars that a great standing army
would entail, as an annual tax en-
this country.
If queen Of Prussia could make,
and did make, a, great military mon
archy by having $4,000 men thor
oughly trained, and replacing their
ranks with $4,000 others, and those
when trained by $4,000 other men,
and so on until her nation was drill
ed, trained and disciplined, surely
the schools and colleges Of the Unit
ed States could in time of peace pre-
pare for the common defense.
The women in the warning ma
lions, without being trench fighters.
are doing their full SHARE, in NUM-
lions factories, hospitals and in fields
and stores and general utilities SER
| vice.
All that the federal government
has right, under the constitution,
to provide for in time of peace is an
army for the common defense. Our
constitution limits our army, except
in time of actual war, to an army
for the common defense.
OF course there would be plenty
of men in this country who would
be perfectly willing to be commits
stoned officers, and draw officers pay,
for offering a regular standing
army of 100000 men. But when
it comes to the enlisted man, to the
private soldier in the regular army
in time of peace, it is quite another
and a different thing. The present
developing plans may be for only
100000 men-a quarter of million
but with such increase of $50 per
cent over our regular military estab-
lishment at the opening of the Euro
pean war the other nations of the
world will not be likely to reduce
their standing armies; and there
would be pressure in this country to
largely increase our standing army,
and make it in size at least twice the
size of small countries like Holland
and Switzerland, and we would soon
be reaching out toward the million
mark as the number of our standing
army at a cost no doubt in NUM-
lions, provisions, salaries, wages,
clothing, field equipment, hospital
equipment and pensions of a thous-
and millions of dollars year.
Under the constitution of the
United States, schools are almost en-
tirely under the state constitutions
of the forty-eight states. Let prep
aration for war in time of peace &C
forward by, the schools under main
supervision of the states, assisted by
the general government. The knowl-
edge coming to the world that 49,
600, 900 young Americans while OBJ
tanning their education were educat-
ing for war as we'll as peace would
insure our common defense.
j. F. Glover.