The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-26
Of WAR CAUSES
FERRIS SPEAKS
CONTINUED from page u.

20 refused to volunteer. but We're
awaiting the chance TO profit by the pa.
triotism OF their neighbors, who had
assumed the duty OF defending our couh
try. Added 10 these were the loaiers
and whltt,ers, who refused to volunteer
INT sat around and cussed the govern
ment.
III was then that the draft law had
Ia he resorted to IN order to equali2e
the service of country Taft, Roose'
welt. and all other big Republicans as
well as most OF the little ones. endorsed
the draft, as did the big and little Dem
ocratg. except a few. II was felt that
we owed our government something
ana that Il was our duty 10 stand at at
tention and render it something
Lincoln's Letter.
"One of the most pathetic incidents
of history relative TO the results OF the
volunteer plan is a letter of Abraham
Lincoln TO a Massachusetts, widow, VINO
had lost five sons In the civil war
want TO ask the brave and patriotic
men of Ardmore II they want the wild
ows TO give up their sons and let those
who are more eligible TO go, remain
at home? The more that II has oeeh
studied. the more convincing has De-
come the conviction that the dratt law
was the only proper and effective way 10
secure an army BY the volunteer sys'
TEN In the civil war, before the drait
was resorted IL, 1t was the boys from
eleven to seventeen, who COMPRISED the
first volunteers. They We're ofering 10
20 TO the defense of their respective
sides in that great conflict, while the
men were not so eager. Inc south
adopted the draft plan almost from the
first and the north later did so.
when the draft law was presented
TO the lower house Of congress, 409
voted for it and "a against while IN
the senate the vote was SS for and 8
against
.The plan of selecting those who
were to be the first called to the colors,
was bv putting the numbers in capsules
and stirring them with a paddle in a
two.bushel bowl and then blindfolded
nerson drew the numbers. The first
number drawn was $50, so the cores
ponding number to that in each pre-
cinct In the country, where there were
that many registered, drafted the young
man having that number. That placed
them all on an equal footing. and shows
that the charge sometimes made that
this a "rich mans war and a poor
mans fight" has no basis to sustain H.
There were 900 chosen in this way
and they are now in the training camps
sleeping on crosslegged cots and gong
through the necessary training to night
your battles and mine. / hope that we
who are left may do our duty as Wen
as they are doing theirs. In the camp
at Fort Sill, near Lawton, my nome
there are a number Of young men IN
camp who are rich. and several VINO
gave up lucrative positions to serve
their country Speaker Champ Clark
who spoke here recently. has a son
there who gave up a position of $4,000
per year and is taking his chances
with the rest of the boys. This plan
has given us the nucleus of an army
and there will be others classified latei
upon a fair and equitable basis
The next thing to do was to pro
vide the money TO provide for this army
Congress voted twenty-one billion dol
lars for this purpose. Who pays II
You have no doubt heard some sa!
that the poor man does. Let's see: Th'
earners Of 81 900 and $4,000 salaries dt