Arizona republican., 1918-03-06

paroled join the Canadian expedtionary force and that the board pardons and paroles had recommended the pardon of young American who had service in the Philippines and who had been honorably discharged from the army The pardon was issued and the young American went from somewhere in America" to Fort Riley to enlist What resulted is told in the following letter from the young Amer- which provoked MT. Sanders indignant demand the repeal of the law denying -x-convicts the privilege of enlistment
 Kansas City, Mo, February G. 1918.
 Dear MT Sanders: I arrived at Fort Riley
 last Saturday. I saw my old colonel and he
 wired and wrote the adjutant general of the
 army as did two other commissioned officers.
 recommending me for reenstment The ad-
 jutant general refused reenlst l
 to Kansas City today. I leave at p. m for
 Toronto Canada-going to join the British
 army and not the Canadian. Will get equip
 ped in Toronto, and go from there to the
 south of England for training. Will be in
 trenches for spring drive of Fritz's.
 Regards,
 We shall digress for moment to say that we have heard of this young American before Not quite a year ago some inquiry made concerning him. He had been an inmate of the prison for forgery we believe He was brought to public and official at ention in the investigation the rather tangled financial affairs of that institution and it disclosed that Brnkley had acted as an countant and had been custodian certain prison funds. But evidently before the investigation had begun Mr. Brinkley had been "rarin' to go" and had actually gone, when, whither and how no one could tell. It supposed that MT. Brnbley did not fancy the then impending change of administration of the prison. It about to be taken over by rough gross men with the old fashioned idea crime an offense against society and who still chung enaci ousy to the notion that the prison is an instrument to discourage crime.
 Whether BrinIley returhed to the prison after the administration under which he had served was re- stored, whether he then from some distant part of the country wrote to the authorities honor- able discharge the prison he had so surnmariv left we not informed.
 The suggestion Mr. Sanders for the repeal of the abominabe law" which had prevented Brinkley from warning for civilization and humanity was re- ferred by MT. Hayden to Adjutant General Mccain who in the course of acknowledgement of the re- ceipt of Mr. Sanders letter. wrote:
 "The question of legislation permitting such
 men to enlist has been repeatedly considered
 by this department, but owing to the fact that
 such enlstments would tend to lower the
 high standard which it has been the desire of
 the department to maintain, enactment of
 such legislation is not considered desirable by
 the department"
 We must, in making LID our armies take into ac- count the great majority of the men who compose them, men who not -convcts, to whom associa- tion With former convics is distastefu This is ex ceptionally true of the young men who make up the National Army and the National Guard The ex- convicts may, as MT Sanders suggests be burning with patriotism, they may be filled with pep the spirit of adventure. but that does not fit them association with the young who have always honored the laws of the country which they are defending. Such association in the present of mind would destruction of the morale which is es- sental in warfare.
 Some time ago we touched upon this subject with an i'll timed facetiousness in which we had in mind not ex-convicts but only those guilty of and being punished unspeakabe crimes suggesting that they placed in units of their and be given especially dangerous billets We did not really that and rather regretted that we had given occasion to be misunderstood
 What the British intend do with ex-convcts do not know, but in modern times the practice has not been to enlist OF draft them into service along with who are not ex-convicts The For egn Legion" notable French organization of two regiments is not organization of convicts though no questions of the past are asked of the men who are enrolled in it. They of all nations all walks in life and all sorts of morals and it may be said all are adventures.
 So we are not maintaining that because man has been a convict he should be debarred from redeeming himself by making the supreme sacrifice for his country. We glad that Brinkley has been given an opportunity to against the common enemy and our enemy. We hope he will survive and that as a reward for his services his former mis- deeds will be permanently obscured and forgotten. But we must have in mind the normal mental atti- tude of the men of army toward ex-convicts
 A SAFE ROAD