The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-06-13
Select or Volunteer

Select or Volunteer
1t may be well to refer again to the fact that
there is no difference in the status of volunteers
and selects in the estimation of the government
A few misguided persons with more vehemence
than common sense, have tried to create the i'm
preston in this community that every select is
a Stacker and every volunteer a patriot, whereas
in truth both are patriots and the services of
each is valued highly by the government
We believe that not every man should wait
until he is called to the colors. The government
maintains it's navy and army recruiting stations
to accommodate men of military age who have
q decided preference for particular branch of
the military service, and for boys under the age
of 81 and men above 81 years Under the select
i've service law, men not of military age would
have no chance of enlisting. Men of these three
classes who volunteer their services are to be
honored for their decision, but they should not
be exalted above the men who wait until they
are called.
The very purpose of the selective service law
is to Select men according to their particular
fitness for certain branches Of the service agree
able to general scheme of the military author
tiles.
The result of this, for instance is that a meat
soon finds himself in the commssary depart
ment, and that gunsmith is not used as cook
but placed in the ordnance branch. An infinitely
long line of examples might be adduced to show
how the selective service works out in practice
Parents of young who were selected for the
service know that with few exceptions their
were given work with due regard to their en-
ployment as civilians
AGAIN NV yradual1v wit hdra vino these vounp
men from civilian work and inducing them into
the military service, the economic situation at
home was safeguarded. Suppose that call for
volunteers had been made, and that the hundreds
of young men of Richmond who in the
vice now would have left this city on one day.
What confusion would not have resulted? Hard
ly business house or factory that would not
have been crippled by the sudden withdrawal of
the young men. The gradual calling of the
selects has produced minimum disturbance in
industrial and business circles.
In the light of the foregoing, and the very
fact that the military authorities insisted on the
selective system, why should the young men who
await their call be termed 'slackers" and looked
upon who lodging their full duty :?
Why should the person who signed himself J. G.
to article reprinted the other day try to create
feeling between selects and volunteers? Both
are patriots. Each is doing his duty as he sees
it. And what is of infinitely more Importance,
government makes no distinction between
them.
In the last analysis, the whole problem as
pointed out before, is one of motive and of per-
sonal responsibility The man who tries by every
means to dodge service, seeks to obtain CLASH
fication to which he is not entitled and to beat
the selective service law is a Stacker The man
who volunteers to obtain swivel chair" job or
70 get into a branch that does not expose him to
danger, merely because he is a coward and
weakling and not because he believes his training
fits him for such service, is Stacker
But the man who waits for his call under the
seective service law because he is conscientious
~ sincere in his attitude is patriot. And the
who volunteers because he wants to serve
his country is patriot. The men whose motives
are patriotic and honest need not fear censure or
reproach either as volunteers or selects. The
country honors as patriots both sincere volun-
teers and sincere selects.
Intervention in Russia