Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-23
NEW ARMY PLAN IS URGED
BY JOHN SHARP WILLIAMS
Insists That Compulsory Military
Service Is Only Sure Means of
Fighting Successful War.
NOT FAVORED IN PEACE TIME
Mississippi Senator Gives Out Ring.
ing Statement in Support OF Sc.
lective Draft System Volunteer
Plan Has Proved Failure.

WASHINGTON. April 22.-Scnator
John Sharp Williams. tho only Mis-
sissippian in Congress who Is fighting
Ter the sclcctive draft system az
against the volunteer plan or raising
an army for the war with Germany.
Issued ringing statement OF his views
| upon the question to-day
The Senator insists that COMPULSORY
universal service is the only sure
! means OF fighting successful war
against the German military mower.
Without II. this country cannot hone
to participate in the defeat of the cue-
mics Of liberty and civilization He
does not favor compulsory service in
time OF peace. but says that II is i'm -.
pcratirely necessary at tho present
| time in order to insure the future
peace Of the world.
In part, the Senator's statcmcu, is
as follows:
The thing for us 10 do now is 10
win this war and win it AS quick as
VIC can. hear people say Try the
volunteer system: then il il wont do.
try the other These gentlemen for
get that we have been trying IT, and
have been trying 1t for some time and
that II has already broken down I
saw the other day boast that ILL
nois was the banner State OF the Union
In recruiting. and that she had re-
crui;ed 230-odd men in one day. Think
OF that. Three or four States had not
enlisted a single man.
The example OF Great Britain shows
how fragile are the legs under the vol
unteer platform. 1t is useless to cx-
pect mon 10 rush over one another to
enlist and fight for the nag in war
} like this. as they did in the Civil War.
, That was war between brothers. and
like all family rows. it involved intense
hatred on all sides. Each was ANXIOUS
to get at the others throat. There Is
no hatred in America for Germany.
and volunteers will volunteer out Of a
high sense of duty, without feeling
of any sort
TWoTOLD OBJECTION
TO VOLUNTEER SYSTEM
But the chief objection to relying
upon volunteers alone goes deeper
than that. and ia twofold i'm it's char
acter. First. those who volunteer are
apt to be those of the liveliest courage
and quickest realization of duty. the
highest patriotism and the best blood.
In long war-and this is going to be
long war: let us not fool ourselves
about that--this character of blood.
these men have described. will be
the men killed. manned. blinded, while
the skulkers and shirkcrs. men Of in
ferior mold. are left alive to propagate
| the race to the next generation.
Second The volunteer system is in
no manner selective. The man on the
farm who is making wheat and corn.
raising hogs and cattle IN food NJ, y
armies and navies. the armies and
navies of our allies as we'll as their
civilian populations. and who is doing
a much more useful work than he
could possibly do with a rife on his
shoulder. would volunteer. Tho Young
man who is chemist in Il laboratory.
and therefore TO the highest degree
useful 10 his country I'm the application
OF science TO warfare. might go. The
man in the factory engaged in the
actual manufacture OF munitions OF
war might so. The man In the rail
way service OF the country engaged
in the transportation OF munitions.
supplies and troops. and thereby doing
tenfold greater service than he could
render AS soldier, might go. The
loafer and shirkcr. doing nothing OF
| grea, use to anybody might. and would
in most cases. stay At home.
Nobody krows better than the Ger
man ruling classes and the German
common people the military efficiency
OF universal compulsory service. No
body entertains a hil her contempt for
mere volunteers than they. The very
fact that we have resorted to selective
compulsory military service will salts