Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-08-22
Republicans Saving Draft Law


he requests. Representative Kahn OF
California, ranking Republican mem :
Der of the House committee on mill
tary affairs, announces the support
by his party colleagues in the COM
mittee Of the War Departments bill
to extend the draft age. He is also
satisfied that the bill will receive the
support Of the Republican represen-
tatives on the floor of the House.
While a year and third has evil
IDENTIFY brought the Democrats par
TALLY around to a more decisive way
Of thinking, many are asking il they
| will in any measure repeat in August,
1918, their record made in April. 1917.
It is recalled that on April Is, 1917, in
spite OF the expressed wishes OF the
commander in chief Of the army,
| President Wilson, and in defiance OF
the opinion Of the War Department
experts, the House committee on mil
! itary affairs, dominated by the Dem
ccrats, voted 10 to to recommend
the Dent amendment to the conscrip-
! ton bill. This would have author
! lied the President to try to raise an
| army on the volunteer system, and
! then at some later and. indefinite
! time should the volunteer system fail.
as every informed person knew that
! il would, he might resort to selec-
tive conscrjption.
Chairman Dent AMI eight other
! Democrats Of the committee so con-
founded the President that he turned
to Republican Representative Kahn,
| Of California, the ranking member of
| the House Committee on Military At
! fairs, to make the fight which Rep
| resentative Dent of Alabama, Demo
cratic chairman of the committee, re-
fused to make, and which eight other
! Democratic members of the commit
! tee refused to make.
At the same time the administra-
! ton. in the person of Secretary Bak-
I CT. called on Representative Lenroot,
! (since elected United States senator
from wisconsin, and these two able
! Republicans, Kahn and Lenroot, as
! sisted by Mann and Anderson pro-
ceeded VIGOROUSLY to lead the Pres
ident's and the Nations fight on the
floor Of Congress, by carrying through
| the measure which was TO give flesh,
blood and vitality to our declaration
of war.
! The Democratic leadership of the
House was against them and the en-
actment of the law. This opposition
included Speaker Clark, Chairman
Dent Of the House committee on mil :
itary affairs, Chairman Padgett of
the House committee on naval affairs,
! Chairman Kitchin Of the House ways
/ and means committee, and 10 other
! Democratic chairmen Of important
/ House committees, while three Other
! Democratic committee chairmen re-
! fused to vote either way, making a
total of q of the Democratic leaders
! Of the House who we're against the
! first and most important war meas
ure asked by the nations command =
/ erin chief, the President, and leader
of their own party.
! So far as the Republicans are con-
cerned the history Of April. 1917, will
repeat itself this August. The ques
ton is, have the Democratic leaders
learned their lesson? There seems to
be very little doubt in any section OF
the nation that the selective con-
scriptlon law was the only measure
that would have been anywhere near
effective in our prosecution of the
| war, and it is difficult to realize today
that the Democratic leaders in Con-
gress did all they could to defeat it,
At moment when men are being
imprisoned for opposing any one of
several war measures many are re-
calling that the first refusal in this
war to obey the orders of the ma
tens commander in chief, came
from the Democratic leaders
Clark kitchin. Dent and Padgett
This was an organized and open re-
tellion on the floor Of Congress, and
had it not been for the steadfast and
patriotic opposition of the able Re-
publican leaders, it would have re-
suited in making this nation the in
effective blunderbuss that Germa ny
expected she would be.
So intense was this spirit of re-
tellion that in the debate Speaker
Clark, leaving his seat in the chair.
Iiciousiy aSsailed the measure on the
floor of the House. Can it ever be
forgotten that he then declared that
| there vas no difference between a
convict and a soldier selected by
CONSUMPTION. and that for this he re-
celved the unbounded applause Of
his Democratic supporters? The