The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-05-15
THE CALL TO AMERICA

America must hurry a great army
to France. 1t must prepare great
army at home to keep the ranks full.
It must plan to double and triple
the military program that was agreed
on last year.
The only way to shorten this war
and to win the peace of victory is to
speed up the limit Immediately and to
be prepared to overwhelm the enemy
next year.
Events of the last few weeks have
made this fact clear to even the most
optimistic. The country as whole Is
convinced. It will welcome the war
departments announcement that IN
creasingly large draft quotas Will be
called, as evidence that the depart
ment is recognizing the immensely or
the task.
Whatever illusions Americans may
have had earlier in the war about the
remoteness of the struggle and of the
chance that this country would nave
to do more than deliver the knockout
blow are now dispelled. The war can
no longer be thought of as 5000 miles
away. 1t is as much war for the
preservation of the American nation
as though it were being fought on
American soil, as it might come to be
| if the allied armies are defeated ana
destroyed in France.
Nor can the American people longer
think of their tasl. as one involving
the mere finishing off of a job our
allies have carried to the mopping up
stage. The cnemy's power is yet at
it's maximum At this moment 1t has
the upper hand of our allies and is
forcing the fighting. The American
troops now in France are not being
called upon to give any knockout but
to help the French and the British
to keep the enemy from giving them
one. The fifth summer of the war is
opening on a battle over the same
ground that saw the cnemy's first
passage toward Paris and the chan
mel ports, and today lie is. in greater
strength and higher confidence than
at the start and probably under bet
ter leadership. =
Whether he gains his immediate OBJ
! jective or not. the duty Of America
is the same. 1t is to supply men and
men and more men until he Is beaten
down. ~
Gen. Wood, who was in France and
saw the situation as it stood just prior
to the enemy drive, has estimated that
we shall need to provide an army OF
5000 900, one.half of that number in
the battle line and one-half in training
at home to fill up the gaps.
We must prepare our minds for
furnishing such an army. 1t would
be no larger in proportion to population
| 1oo
arms at the end of the civil war. The
war department has objected that the
size of the army is limited by shipping.
But we must be prepared to take ad-
vantage of the favorable turn In the
submarine situa ton that is confident
ly looked for this summer. We must
be ready to supply trrops AS fast as
the greatest optimists or shipping be-
lieves possible. And we Nst appeal
to the shipbuilders to speeLS1p on the
ground that men are waiting Tor trans
pOrtatiOn.
The great trouble with our prepare
tons last year was that we failed to
realize the size of our job. We pre-
pared on relatively small scale when
we should have prepared on a large
scale. We went forward leisurely as
if we had all the time in the world.
That mistake must not be repeated.
The hope of the world lies in our ap-
probation of what We have to do and
in our making good. The war depart
ment need have no fear that it may
adopt a program too large for the
nation to approve. America wants to
end this war. 1t knows it can do the
business only by gigantic effort. Let
| the government call for this effort!
America will answer, "Ready."-Star.