davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
Situation Is Urgent.

THE situation is urgent. because. by
October /. Glass ] under the age limits
of the original act will have been en-
tirely exhausted. Unless there Is to
be IA very serious interruption in the
flow of American troops to the camps
and thence across the seas to France,
Glass l must be replenished at the
earliest possible moment by available
men. both below and above the present
age limits OF 2l~to 81. There Is literally
no time TO be lost"
All men available for military service
after the present law has been amended
will have been called for service by
spring. Gen. March said.
Gen. March told OF the progress made
since he became Chief of Stan. and
added:
Now we are going on and increasing
It and We are going to win this war, IL it
takes every man In the United States.
II have been pressing the large Amer
lean army idea ever since l have been
over here, and II always requires ad-
jutment and fitting in with all the
boards that are charged with various
duties In connection with the war. Just
TO give one instance. TAXI the mere ques-
tons OF uniforms for this near army.
We must committeeman have done
so-all the wool of the United States.
and have taken the wool of Argentina
We are going to put the whole civilian
population on shoddy for the next year"
Gen. March declared the belief that
the freshness and vigor OF our troops is
the greatest single military asset the
Allies have"
without being conscious OF H." he
added, the hammering that the other
nations have had now for four years has
greatly lowered their energy and fresh.
ness and their fightiny power SO that
when this great mass of fresh American ms
come In they will have an entirely diff.
ferent view of the lighting from tina,
which now exists along that line. And
1t is and should be and is going to be-
our policy to get those millions of mer
together as an American army and finisi
the war In the shortest possible time ant
not drag 1t OUT
In Gen. March's opinion. the Alilel
have complete control OF the sea II,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16

1t may. with propriety be said that civil
ization Itself IL at stake. sacrifices In
blood and in treasure are necessary TO
be made II the Allies are to win the
war. and the serious question with the
committee has been whether the life.
social and Industrial. of America will
be disturbed less by calling out the
younger men than by calling out those
who are within the deferred classes be-
cause OF dependency and other reasons
which II Is unnecessary to state, but
which are well understood throughout
the country.
Best to Let Deferred Glasses Alone.
THE opinion of the Secretary of War,
the Chief of stan and the Provost
Marshal General, together with the
necessities of the country. have led the
committee to believe that 1t Is better for
the successful prosecution Of the war to
call out those between IS and Fl and
those above 81 and up to and including
IS who are eligible for service than to
invade those classes which have been
deferred by law and by regulations OIL
the War Department"
In its report the committee stood
firmly to its guns on the question oil
Incorporating anti-strike legislation In
the-bill. Its explanation of the reasons
for standing by the drastic anti-strike
provisions of ehe law was intended as
an answer to the criticism OF this par,
Of the measure uttered recently by Presi-
dent Gompers of the American Fedora
tlon OF Labor. The committee said:
"One Of the amendments proposed by
the committee to section Of the bill
provides that when any person Is placed
In a deferred or exempted class for an.
Of the reasons therein set forth he shs!
not be entitled to remain therein un'
less he shall in good faith continue
while physically able to do so. to work
at and follow such employment. and II
he fails 10 to do he shall again be-
come subject to the draft. The Presi-
dent is vested with authority to enforce
this provision.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16

OTTAWA, Aug 15.-The name of @.
Desotto Of Troy appears among the
wounded in to-day's casualty list.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
March Favor. Younger Men.

Gen. March-"Ny opinion Is unquali-
fiedly in favor OF the young man"
The. young men between IS and 90
are usually not married. they have not
settled down in life; they have not any
encumbrances and they are better on
physically.
The President has finally announced
that the American military policy from
this time or Is centred on the western
front and We have declined to be diverted
from that one thing The War Depart
inent has now adopted this as a policy
! and 1t Is the policy OF the United States
that the military programme is to be
centred in France.
IF the ages are changed to IS to as,
the system Of volunteer enlistments In
the army disappears
THE purpose OF America Is to furnish
| enough man power to whip the Germans
from now on. The only way that Ger
| many can be whipped is by America
going into this thing with her whole
strength"
Question (By Senator Kirby)-"Then
America has got to put enough men over
there to whip Germany"
Gen. March: That II is in a nutshell.
THE authority which was granted the
President in this bill gives him the
power to call out classes. but does not
make II mandatory.
1T is up to us to win the war. and
we can win 1t. How long II will take
will depend exactly upon what we do. II
we drag along with this thing and nut
a small force over there. we will be
playing Germany's game. It is my be-
| lief that with an American army of
100000 men In France under one COM
mander In chief. we can go through the
German line wherever we please"
Law Il Needed to Win the War.
Question (by the chalrman): I'm or
der to carry out this programme you
must have this law?'
Gen. March: Yes. This law will let
us lean on Glass / until June 80 of mex.
year.
I'VE reached the conclusion that .he
enlarged programme was necessary on
the 3oth day of July"
The question of the incorporation
within the limits Of the draft of men
! who have not attained their majority,
men between the ages of IS and 2l, had
been raised In the committee discus
sions. 1t was believed when the man
power bill first came UP For discussion
that a considerable opposition to the
measure would be developed in~the SEN
ave " reuucHs the age mint below IL.
| This question was very effectually dis
posed OF by the committee members in
the following language:
''Objectlon has been made by some
though that objection Is not by any
means unanimously concurred in, that
Ieyoung men below the age OF 81 ought
not to be called Into active service
Under ordinary conditions there would
be force In the objection. but It must
be remembered that In this war. where
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
March's Testimony Detailed.

In introducing the revised bill to-day
| Senator Chamberlain commenced with
! the report Of the Committee on Military
Affairs indorsing the bill. This report
reproduced the testimony of Gen. Pey-
ton c. March, Chief Of STAFF, relative to
the occasion for this demand upon the
fighting strength Of the country. 1t was
as follows:
1.-The United States Government has
been asked by her allies to embark upon
| a programme so large that 1t was neces-
sary very carefully to ascertaip whether
We could go through with 1t or not, and
one Of the features of this enlarged pro-
gramme was providing men. The desire
OF the Administration Is to establish
limits. both maximum and minimum,
| which will accomplish this programme
and at the same time disorganiz the In
dustries OF the country as little as posi-
| BILE. fe
The policy OF the War Department
| Is to put the maximum number OF men
in France with the idea of shortening
the war. We found from the figures
furnished by the Provost Marshal Cen
| eral that we could embark on a pro-
gramme of eighty divisions in France
| by June 80. 1919. with eighteen divisions
at home. These divisions consist Of.
roughly. 10000 men to a division. After
prolonged study of the available man
power of the United States the Provost
Marshal General showed that IL was
necessary to drop to Is years OF age
and go to As in order to get the men
| to carry 1t through. All of the men OBJ
| tained under the proposed. change in
| the draft law-approximstely 5000. 900
we expect 10 have in France by June
| 80. 1919"
Question (by Senator Reed: AS a
| matter OF fact. is It not your opinion
that It Is better for the country, better
for the army. better for the service to
| call out these younger clssses-that Is.
the men is, 10 and 20 years OF age
than 1t Is to call out the men 30 and
| up? Is not that your personal opinion %
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16

WARRINGTON. Aug. 1.-two army
casualty lists issued to-day contained a
total Of 2l2 names. The Iists follow:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
U. 9. Lends 5000, 900. 900 to France

wAsHIsoroN. Aug. IA loan of
500. 900. 900 was made to France to-day
by the Treasury. bringing the total
French credits to S2.oe6. 100000
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
Draft to He Rushed.

SO urgent is the need for additional
man power. Gen. Crcwder said. that the
draft, machinery is being put into shape
for the great task ahead without waiting
for final action by Congress. Men Of the
new draft will BE- needed by October
/. and in order to get them registration
day will have to be held not later than
September Is AMI IL possible September
5 will be fixed as the day.
When the 1900. 600 men are enrolled
almost 100000 will have been regis
tered since the United states entered the
war. There were some 10000. 900 en-
rolled on the first registration day.
June 8. 1911: another 600,00O last June
5, and several hunderd thousand more
are expected to be enrolled August "a.
preliminary steps have been taken
by the Provost Marshal General" said
Gen. Crowder's statement. ito provide
for the registration of these men who
will be affected by the act which Con-
gress Is expected shortly to pass ex-
tending the age limits OF the select!ve
draft.
state headquarters. local boards and
other officials In the various States,
have been advised to hold themselves
in readiness TO proceed promptly with
their work as soon as Congress has
acted and the President. by proclama-
ton. has fixed the date OF registration.
Until the legislation is actually
passed it cannot be stated with exact
ness, of course, what the new age limits
will be. But, because OF the urgency
| of the situation. 1t is essential that as
much OF the preparatory work as pos
sible be done at this time In order that
the Administration may promptly avail
itself OF the new law. To that end now.
as in the past. the utmost reliance is
placed on the American people to supply
the necessary cooperation.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-16
Service In Ranks.

at seems to the committee that in
view of the fact we are about to au-
thorize the drafting of the boys be-
tween the ages OF IS and 81 years OF
age. as well as those above FL up to
and inclusive of 45 years Of age. and
are providing for the exemption OF men
between IS and IS who are engaged in
useful and necessary occupations from
actual service in the ranks, that when
any are exempted solely because their
services are more valuable to the ma
ton In the production Of things es-
sential to the prosecution Of the war.
that when they cease in good faith to
follow the essential occupation they
ought to be subject to the draft as In
other cases.
THE young man not engaged in these
occupations must wear the uniform,
enter the ranks and bare his breast to
the weapons OF the German army. He
cannot refuse to work even for an hour,
and he is compelled to fight whether he
feels disposed to do so or not. In view
OF this. when a young man Is exempted
from the draft solely in order that he
may engage in essential industry he
ought to continue in that employment
in good faith while any grievance he
may have is being adjusted by the
Industrial Board. and II he fails to do
so he ought to be placed in the same
category and be subject to draft just
as the young man Is compelled to do
who was not exempted TO work in such
industry and who has beeh compelled
to go TO the battle front to fight for his
country. The provision does not pre-
tend to interfere with the right Of any
man to cease labor whenever It pleases
him to do so. but simply says to hin,
that II he does he shall, under such
regulations as the President may pre-
scribe. subject himself to the draft as
though he had not been exempted in the
first instance.
|, THE justice OF this provision. the
committee believes, will appeal to the
good sense and patriotism of the whole
country.
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03
enlisted. Why don't you join? Now

enlisted. Why don't you Join? Now
is the time
"This argument ought to get many
recruits Empey, so 60 out and see
what you can do
he tnen gave me a small rosette Of
red, white and blue ribbon, with three
little streamers hanging down. This
was the recruiting insignia and was
TO be worn on the left side of the cap.
Armed with swagger stick and my
patriotic rosette, 1 went out into Tot
tenham Court road in quest of cannon
fodder.
Two or three poorly dressed civil
1ans passed me, and although they ap-
peared physically fit, 1 said to myself.
"Ihey don't want to join the army !;
perhaps they have someone dependent
on them for support" so I did not ac-
cost them.
| Coming down the street I saw a
young dandy, top hat and all, with a
fashionably dressed girl walking be-
side him. I muttered, ''You are my
meat" and when he came abreast of
me stepped directly in his path and
stopped him with my swagger stick,
saying:
'You would look fine in khaki; why
not change that top hat for a steel
| helmet? Aren't you ashamed of your.
! self, husky young chap like you in
mufu When men are needed in the
! trenches? Here I am, an American
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03
PAGE SEVEN

T'fr End disembarked. had at.
tainsd another one Of my ambitions,
W:S somewhere in France" We
s!'pt in the open that night on the side
o. the road. About six the next morn
ing we were ordered to entrain. I
looked around for the passenger
coaches, but all could see on the sid
ins were cattle cars. We climbed into
these. On the side Of each car was
q sign reading "Hommes 40. Cheveaux
g." When we got inside of the cars,
we thought that perhaps the sign
painter had reversed the order Of
things. After 4S hours in these trucks
we detrained at Rouen. At this place
we went through an intensive training
for ten days.
The training consisted Of the rudi-
ments Of trench warfare. Trenches.
had been dug, with barbed wire en-i
tanglements, bombing saps, dugouts,
observation posts and machine gun en-
placements. We were given q smat-I
tering Of trench cooking, sanitation!
bomb throwing, reconnoitering. listen.
ing posts, constructing and repairing
barbed wire, carrying in" parties
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03

came four thousand miles from Ogden,
Utah, just outside of New York, to
fight for your king and country. Don't
be Stacker, buck up and get into uni
form; come over to the recruiting Of
flee and I'll have you enlisted"
He yawned and answered, 81 don't
care if you came forty thousand miles,
no one asked you to-" and he walked
on. The girl gave me sneering look;
was speechless.
recruited for three weeks and near
ly got one recruit.
This perhaps was not the greatest
stunt in the world, but it got back at
the officer who had told me, eyes, we
take anything over here" I had been
spending good lot Of my recruiting
time in the saloon bar Of the Wheat
Sheaf pub (there was very attractive
blonde barmaid, who helped kill time
/ was not as serious in those days as
I was a little later when I reached
the frOnt)-well, it was the sixth day
and my recruiting report was blank.
I was getting low in the pocket-bar-
maids haven't much use for anyone
who cannot buy drinks-sO I looked
around for recruiting material. You
know a man on recruiting service gets
a "bob'' or shilling for every recruit
he entices into joining the army, the
recruit is supposed to get this, but he
would not be a recruit if he were wise
to this fact, would he?
| Down at the end of the bar was a
young fellow in multi who was very
| Ipatriotic-he had about four "Old
| Six ales aboard. He asked me if he
could join, showed me his left hand,
| two fingers were missing, but I said
that did not matter as 1--WE take any
thing over here" The left hand is
tthe rifle hand as the piece is carried
at the slope on the left shoulder. Near.
" everything in England is ''by the
left" even general traffic keeps to the
port side.
i I took the applicant over to head.
quarters, where he was hurriedly ex
amined. Recruiting surgeons were
busy in those days and did not have
much time for thorough physical exam
! <AN
''fit' by the doctor and turned over to
a corporal to make note Of his scars
I was mystified. Suddenly the corpo
raj burst out with ''Blime me, two OF
his fingers are gone" Turning to me
he said, "You certainly have youl
nerve with you, not 'alf you amt, tt
bring this beggar in."
ri The doctor came over and exploded
''What do you mean by bringing in
man in this cOnditiOn?'
Looking out Of the corner Of my eye
I noticed that the officer who had re
cruited me had joined the group. an(
I could not help answering, "Well, sir
was told that you took anything ovel
here"
I think they called it yankee i'm
ipudence," anyhow it ended my recruit
ing
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03
CHAPTER !,
From Mufti to Khaki,

from Mufti to Khaki. i
y, 1t was In an Office in Jersey City.
I was sitting at my desk talking to
lieutenant of the Jersey National
Guard. On the wall was big war
map decorated with variously colored
little flags showing the position Of the
opposing armies on the western front
in France. In front of me on the desk
lay New York paper with big faring
headlines:
LUSITANlA SUNK! AMERICAN
LIVES LOST!
The windows were open and q feel
ing of spring pervaded the air.
Through the open windows came the
strains of hurdy-gurdy playing in the
street-"I Didn't Raise NY Boy to Be
a Soldier"
'Lusitania Sunk! American Lives
Lost !'-"I Didn't Raise Ny Boy to
Be Soldier" To US these did not
seem to jibe.
The lieutenant in silence opened one
of the lower drawers of his desk and
TOOK from it an American flag which
he solemnly draped over the war map
on the wall. Then, turning to me with
grim face, said:
"How about it, sergeant? You had
better get out the muster roll of the
Mounted Scouts, as I think they will
be needed in the course of few days.
We busted ourselves till late in the
evening writing out emergency tele-
grams for the men to report when the
call should come from Washington.
Then we went home.
1 crossed over to New York, and as
/ went up Fulton street to take the
subway to Brooklyn, the lights in the
tall buildings Of New York seemed to
be burning brighter than usual, as if
they, too, had read "Lusitania Sunk
American Lives Lost!' They seemed
to be glowing with anger and righteous
indignation, and their rays wigwagged
the message, Repay"
Months passed, the kilograms lying
handy, but covered with dust. Then
one momentous morning the lieutenant
with sigh Of disgust removed thu
nag from the war map and returned
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03

to his desk. I Immediately followed
this action by throwing the kilograms
into the wastebasket. Then we looked
at each other in silence. He was
squirming in his chair and I felt de-
pressed and uneasy.
The telephone rang and answered
it. 1t was business call for me, re-
cuesting my services for an out-of-
town assignment. Business was not
very good, SO this was very welcome.
After listening to the proposition
seemed to be swayed by a peculiarly
strong force within me, and answered,
II am sorry that cannot accept your
offer, but I am leaving for England
next week." and hung up the receiver.
The lieutenant swung around in his
chair, and stared at me in blank aston
ishment. A sinking sensation came
over me, but defantly answered his
look with, 'Well, it's so. I'm going"
And went.
The trip across was uneventful. /
landed at Tilbury, England, then got
into a string Of matchbox cars and
proceeded to London, arriving there
about 10 p. m. I took a room in hotel
near st. Pancras station for "fve and
six-ire extra" The room was minus
the fire, but the extra" seemed to
keep me warm. That night there was
q Zeppelin raid, but I didn't see much
of it, because the slit in the curtains
was too small and I had no desire to
make II larger Next morning the tel
ephone bell rang, and someone asked
"Are you thereY' I was, hardly. Any
way, I learned that the Zeps had re-
turned to their fatherland, so I went
out into the street expecting to see
scenes Of awful devastation and cow
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03

y
growing at twenty-kilo route march?
Having served as sergeant major in
the United States cavalry, tried to
tell the English drill sergeants their
business, but it did not work. They
Immediately put me as batman in their
mess. Many a greasy dish of stew was
accidentally spilled over them.
Iwould sooner fight than be waiter,
80 when the order came through from
headquarters calling for a draft Of
25O re-enforcements for France, vol
unteered.
Then we went before the M. o.
(medical offcer) for another physical
examination. This was very brief. He
asked our names and numbers and
said "Fit," and we went out to fight.
We were put into troop trains and
sent to Southampton, where we de-
trained, and had our trench rifles is-
sued to us. Then in columns of twos
we went up the gangplank of a little
steamer lying alongside the dock.
At the head of the gangplank there
was an old sergeant, who directed that
we line ourselves along both rails Of
the ship. Then he ordered us to take
life belts from the racks overhead and
put them on. I have crossed the ocean
several times and knew I was not sea-
sick, but when I buckled on that life
belt had a sensation of sickness.
After we got out into the stream all
I could think of was that there were q
million German submarines with q tor
pedo on each, across the warhead Of
which was inscribed my name and ad-
dress.
| After i've hours We came alongside
The Robesonian., 1918-06-03
FAIRMONT AMAZED
BY SUDDEN ACTION

The quick action of pure Lavoptik
eye, wash is startling. A school boy
mad eye strain so badly he could not
read. A weeks use of Lavoptik sur
prised his teacher so much she used
" Tor her old mother. ONE VASE
showed benefit. A small bottle is
guaranteed to benefit EVERY CASE
ngiIS nWeak, strained or inflamed eyes. The
QulCk result is astonishing. Alumi
1um eye cup FREE. Pittman Dru,