Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-01-08
SELECTIVE DRAFT
Continued from PAGE One)

! Continued from Page One)
creased military force which was re-
I quired by existing emergency, the war,
! then and now hagrant."
Here the chief justice recited the pro-
+. visions of the act and the contentious
of those who attacked it's constitution
ality.
+ TIE possession of authority to en-
act the statute he continued. must
be found i'll the clauses Of the consti
| tuition giving Congress power to de-
clare war & to raise and sup
port armies, but no appropriation Of
money to that use shall be for a long
CT term than two years: to
make rules for the government and
regulation of the land and naval
! forces
AS the mind cannot conceive an
! army without the men to compose it..
on tie face of the constitution the OBJ
! lection that it does not give power tC
/ provide for such men would seem to
! he too frivolous for further notice. 1t
! is said however, that since, under the
constitution as originally framed,
| state citizenship was primary and
! United States citizenship but deriva-
! 1--WE anu utteIdtIit tIifitpii.
| the power conferred upon Congress to
/ raise armies was only Co-terminOuS
with United States citizenship, and
could not he eXerted so as to cause
/ that citizenship to lose its dependent
! character and dominate fate citizen
/ ship.
Put the proposition simply denies to
Congress the power to raise armies which
the constitution gives. That power by the
terms of the constitution. being delegat-
ed, is supreme. In truth the con-
tention simply assails the wisdom
of the trainers Of the constitution
in comforting authority on Congress
and. in not retaining it as it was
pro$8ie is not denied by calling for vol
unfser enlstments, but it does not and
cannot include the power to exact en-
forced military duty by the citizen This,
however, but challenges the existence of
all power, for a governmental power
which has no sanction to it and which,
therefore, can only be exercised provided
the citizen consents to its exertion is in
no substantial sense
! 1T is argued, however, that although
this is abstractly true, it is not concretely
so because as compelled military service
is repugnant to a free government and in
conflict with all the great guarantees of
the constitution as to individual liberty,
1T must be assumed that the authority TO
raise armies was intended to he limited to
the right to call an army into existence.
counting alone upon the willingness Of
the citizen to do his duty in time of pub-
lc need; that is, in time Of war But the
premise Of this position is SO devoid of
foundation that it leaves not even n
shadow OF ground upon which to base the
conclusion.
1T remains only to consider con+en-
tons which, while not disputing power,
challenge the act because of the rep,,g
nancy 70 the constitution supposed to re-
suit from some Of its provisions.
First, we are Of opinion that the con-
tention that the act is void as a delega-
ton of fedsEll power to state officials he.
cause of some of its administers tive feat
ures is too wanting in merit to reouire
further notice.
/ Second. we think that the conten.
ton that the statute is void because
! NeSt!nG administrative officers with
/ legislative discretion has been so COM
| pletcly adversely settled as to reouire
! reference only to some of the decided
/ cases. y like conclusion also adverse
! ~ dlsposes Of a similar claim concern
ing the comforting of judicial power
Ana we pass without anything but
statement the proposition that an es-
/ Establishment of a religion or an inter-
ference with the free exercise thereof
repugnant to the first amendment re-
suited from the exemption clauses of
1 the act to which we at the outset re-
ferred, because we think its unsound-
ness too apparent to require MS tn do
| more.
I FINALLY. as we are unable IA CON-
! ceive upon what theory the eyaction
by the government from the citizen
OF the performance of his supreme and
noble duty Of contributing 70 tbe de-
Tense of the rights and honor Of the
\ nation as the result Of a war declared
| by the great representative hodv of
! the people can be said to he tho i'm,
, position of involuntary seryitude in
! violation Of the prohibitions of the 1ath
| amendment, we are constrained IN tho
! conclusion that the contention To that
| effect is refuted by it's mere state.
ment"