New-York tribune., 1918-07-07
Drafting Youths Meets
L. Some Criticism

Some hesitancy is found in the ust
ter of adopting the minimum draft sn
Of eighteen, and there is consideraNs
diversity Of opinion on this phase d
the question. "The Boston Herald" Is
convinced that the drafting of the young.
er men would be harmful in its results,
in that
at would cause the shutting down of man!
educational institutions; it would sharply
interrupt the recruiting of the professions
and the technical trades, and it would sub.
ject the youth of the country, during for
NATIVE years, to the extreme strains, both
moral and physical, of bitter warfare"
An editorial in "The Columbia Is
CO. Record" takes an even stronger
stand in contending that
'the South knows what it is to have youths
deprived by war of the opportunity Of get
ting an education. The Civil War preventsd
thousands of its youths from going to co.,
lego. This section has suffered all Of ths
years since that war because of that fact
"The Des Moines Register" points out
another aspect Of the problem:
Nobody says anything of the biological
crime of selecting the very pick Of the
boys of one whole generation and send
ing them to slaughter. What is it going
TO mean to the world of the future for
this war to go to the point of exterminatins
the boys who have the size, the health, the
mental energy to win in 4 test examlna
tion?"
But "The Virginia Pilot" on the other
hand, quotes the assertion of Lloyd
George that here, in America,
"ls the reserve on which the nations nos
holding the foe at bay after four yean
Of wasting combat must depend for succot
adequate to the attainment of sure ana
complete victory. To have restored ths
balance is not enough. There is situs'
tion to be redeemed, there is conquest 10
be reversed, there are losses to be re-
stored When the Britons, French and
Italians have been so reinforced that the
flood OF invasion is impotent to gain sn
inch Of forward advance from the grouna
they have taken, the task of America VIII
have only begun. That will be the starting
point only for the reduent tide"
The Tribune favored a higher draft
age when the original bill was before
Congress in the spring of 1917, and now
characterizing the postponement OF the
necessary legislation as "the slow and
costly way" sums up the situation as fol'
lows:
"Why postpone a decision7 Time-s'
most precious thing in war--would DC
saved by changing the age limits now.
We must maintain a large reserve he''
IN any event. Whether it runs at tlme'
above 100000 100000 or even 2,5oum
Is not of enough consequence to split hsi,'
over. The main thing is to have an amp.
supply ready to send to Europe when =
emergency comes and troopships are pl0
v!ded, in quantity, just as they were plu
vidcd this spring after Ludendorf becans
dangerous. We may have to send 6,ouc'Vs,
or 100000 men to Europe before the "'
ends"
In the words of "The Spokane nv
view the speedy enactment of the plv
posed amendment would serve a douOi'
purpose:
at would be powerful reminder TO- toe, uss,
many that the United States is mopi,iss pN..s
Its entire man power for fight to ta;,s ia,
and it would give the nation an untsaa u.n.ars
reservoir from which to draw the Ii,'. i". II.
that are needed for the armies ana Wv a.
dustrial tasks necessary to the equ'pa..~ss
training and maintenance of the eesAN
fighting forcas."