Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-12
No Wonder Germany Quit
BY MAJOR FRANK c. MAIIIN
Of the Army Recruiting Station

Towards the end of the war the
question of how soon we could lick
the Boche was one of manpower.
When we first got in the Germans
didn't believe we would make good
soldiers, or that we could build up
an appreCiable amy in less than
thfee or four years, and even il we
could, we could not get that army
to Europe. But all OF their dope
was wrong. We did make good SOL
dlers and we built up a big army in
little more than year, Furthermore,
we got two million men to France
and had more millions getting ready
to go over. After they had tested
our mettle on the Marine and in St.
Mihiel things looked mighty dark
for them and they started doing a
little figuring. They found we had
registered ten million, six hundred
thousand men between the ages of
p and 81. that we had registered
a further thirteen million five hun
dred thousand between Is and 45.
Now from experience it had been
found, that at the ages of 81 TO 81,
the ten million odd registrants
would yield seven million, one hun
dred thousand who were physically
fit to serve: the other three and a
half million being disqualified for
some physical defect or other. OF
the seven million odd, less than two
million, seven hundred thousand
had been drafted, leaving four mil
lion. four hundred thousand able
bodied young men still to come in
without ever touching the thirteen
and a half millions of older and
younger men of whom probably six
million would be fit to serve. In
other words we still had upwards
to ten million men to draw on whlle
Germany's manpower was drained
to the last dregS. But something
that even the Germans did not
know, and has only recently been
made public, are the facts that the
men from only twelve states, and
those all in the middle west, had
from 20 to so per cent. OF their
young men, who were drafted, ac-
cepted after physical examination.
In those states from 90 to 80 per
cent. were unfit. In l3 states, main
" in the middle west and south
from 65 to GO per cent. were accept
ed and the rest rejected. In 10
states, including Pennsylvania, in
the east and far west, from 60 to
GA per cent, were accepted, and IN
10 states. including all New Eng
land and New York, also California,
Washington and Colorado, from so
to 50 per cent. were accepted. In
other words, right in Pennsylvania,
of every hundred young men draft
ed SO or 81 would be rejected for
purely physical disqualification. II
was found that of every lOO'OoO
country boys, 4,790 more would be
accepted for service than in an
equal number of city boys. Similar
ly, 100000 whites would furnish
i,240 more soldiers than would an
equal number of colored. And final
ly. 100000 native-born would yield
$500 more soldiers than would
like number of foreign-bo Now
since an infantry regiment at war
strength has 800 men, it is appar-
ent how vital was this difference.
The country boys furnished a regi-
uent and battalion more for
every 100000 drafted than did the
CITY bows, which makes one think
that perhaps there is something af-
ter all in the back to the country"
movement And that the native
born furnished. a regiment more per
100. 900 than the foreign born makes
one rather pleased at being able TO
live in the u. S. A. When one
considers this last set of figures 1t
gives an insight into the reasons
Germany was drafting consumptives,
Young boys and old men into her
army. Their men were three and a
half per cent. less able bodied than
ours, and when you are dealing in
millions that is an enormous differ
ence. But that even we lost the
services of hundreds of thousands
of Young men because they had been
without systematic exercise and ply
sicaI training in their boyhoods is
Without question. The German boys
got tho exercise and training but
| they did not get the food or the in
herited strength and stamina of our
own people. so that from these prem
| ises one may trace their downfall
to cause possibly &C Nturies old as
we'll as to the qualities of courage,
| skill, initiative and determination
| that licked them on the battlefield.