The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1918-09-14

Mrs. A. F. Fournier has been appointed
Chairman of Salvage and Shop, and will
make a drive in Bay ST. Louis on Tuesday,
18th. This Drive will be for rubber goods,
such as automobiles tires. castings. inner
tubes, rubber bags, rubber hose, etc. Get
any old discarded rubber articles, and
phone to Mrs. Fournier She will give you
full instruction as TO what to do. The ware
house for this department will be Spot
ono's Store, Front and Main streets.
This drive will extend throughout the
Division and a million dollars Is expected
to be derived, Otherwise will follow on
different articles TO be gathered up under
this department.
You will see something from this depart
nent every week as this seems to be the
most important under the Red Cross at
present.
This interesting letter has been address
ed to the-Chapter from the propaganda and
speakers Department of the Red Cross;
September o, 1918.
To all Red Cross Chapters
Early III the summer Secretary Baker
announced that there were 100000 troops
III Europe. Immediately a German Wax
official proclaimed to the German people
that this statement of Mr., Bakes's was
not true, because it could not be true. lie
said we did not have any army of that
size, and that if we had it would have
been impossible for us to have sent the
men to Europe because OF our lack OF
ships, and that even if we had boats enough
TO carry them, the German submarines
would have sent them to the bottom before
they reached their ports of destination. he
concluded this remarkable house that-Jack-
built statement with the assurance that
German soldiers would never have anything
to fear from American soldiers.
Our enemy looked on with sneers ano
jeers and contempt followed by fear anU
panic, while democracy built an army.
Our Allies watched with hope and with
doubt while Democracy turned its citi-
zens into soldiers and sent the finished
product TO the battle fronts of Europe.
You will remember the 9Th of June ii
year ago, when between dawn and ten mil
lion men to be exact, 9,5S6,50 men between
the ages of twenty and thlrty-one
were enrolled for military service, ano
within forty eight hours practically all reg
iStration returns were assembled by teie-
graph here at WaShinton
The same process reported las
June and again III August when something
like $4,000, men, the new twenty-on'
yearsold, were enrolled; and now tn
fourth registration which Congress mas
just authorized includes 13000U00 more
up to forty five years of age and down t.
eighteen. That will leave i'll the country
only about five million able-bod1ed men
the rest will be boys and gray-headS
AT first glance the biggest thing abou'
the draft appearing to be its size, but a.
great as that is, the numbers are hardl!
as remarkable and as significant as tn,
fact that the people raised their own army.
Every town, city and county nominated Its
best men, and they We're put In chafSe.
No mighty federal war machine composed
of army officers was sent from Washington
and intruded everywhere into the frame
work of local government
At the Capital Provost Marshal General
Crowder with a force of forty officers per
fected the plans and directed the WORK as.
signed by five hundred clerks, mostly wo-
men The selectiye draft was put into effect
by thirty thousand civilian officers ana
was administered by home town people,
friends and neighbors. 1t was the nnest
demonstration ever made of local self
government
AS the cost, it is TO be noted that the
bill for the draft is far less per man than
for volunteering. In 1914 it cost S24.tS Tor
recruiting a man into the volunteer syS-
TEN in 1915 it was $19.14, and for the nine
months just before we went to war 1T
was S2S95. During the first year OF the