Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-12-17
GOV. HARDING LAUDS
LOCAL DRAFT BOARDS
PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Declares Their Work Called For
High Courage And Congress
Should Memorialize Them
ENJOYS ANNAPOLIS
HISTORIC ATMOSPHERE
Says City Is Rich In Possibilities
Of Greater Commercial
Development

The editor of the Evening Capital was
favored with pleasant visit by Cover
nor w. L. Harding, of Iowa, last even
ing, following call upon former
schoolmate of his, Prof. Ralph e. Root,
Franklin street.
Governor Harding expressed his
great delight with Annapolis. the his
toric charm of the city making partic-
ular appeal to him and the hospitality
of the people finding an answering
chord in the heart of the genial middle
west governor who is credited with
having smiled his way into the COVER
nor's chair"
With the eye of true westerner,
Governor Harding had made survey
of the commercial possibilities OF An
napolis and expressed himself as
greatly impressed by the wonderful
opportunities the city has to offer in
many industrial and comercial ways.
Governor Harding has a splendid
record of war service and did much to
bring his state to the enviable place of
first state in the union to go over the
top in the last two Liberty loans as
wall as to promote other, particularly
Agricultural, patriotic activity and eff
ficiency.
Governor Harding advanced a
thought which will undoubtedly meet
with popular approval and probably
will obtain official recognition some
time, when he declared that, while the
war had given us all manner of ex
amples of unselfish patriotism, he be-
lieved that no truer or greater hero
existed than the members of the local
draft boards over the country.
Il am heartily in favor of the much
talked of plans all over the country to
suitably remember our soldiers and
will do all that / can in my state to
accomplish the peoples wish.' said the
governor. But l hold that congress
should memorialize these local draft
board members. If were a member
of congress / should introduce bill
providing that suitable medal be
struck to commemorate the services
of these patriotic men and be awarded
to them.
Brave men we had who went to
war; young men volunteered and
seemed to seek service in the most
dangerous departments of military
service in their eagerness to crush the
Hun. But the respected citizen of
community who abandoned his busi-.
ness, took up the irksome duties of
work on local draft board and had
the courage to send his neighbors' sons
to war without fear or favor, was fully
as courageous man as he who shoul-
dered musket.
Not only did these men do their
work courageously-they did it with
marvellous efficiency. / regard it as
the supreme test of our democratic
form of government that ninety-nine
per cent of the seIective men went into
the army without sulking but with a
fine morale. This was accomplished
because of the certain knowledge that
local draft boards were acting abso-
lutely impartially and the credit for
American selected mems high morale
is due to the answering steadfastness
to patriotic principle displayed by
these boards for whom there can
never be compensation except that of
their own consciousness in knowing
they performed their duty without