The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-26
Adjutant General Strongly
Protests Against Proposed
Compulsory Training Bill
BY WILLIAM L. GoRMLEy

Montgomery, August 25.-(Special)
Maj. Hartley A. Moon, former major Of
the 18th Infantry, and adjutant general
of Alabama, has written a strong pro-
test to Alabama members of Congress
against the Chamberlain Kahn compul-
sorry military training bill, which is now
before a committee of the house. The
7bill is opposed by the military depart
ment of Alabama on the ground that il
will be setting up a military machine
and that the power of the various states
viii be centralized in Washington au.
thorities. Major Moon says it will bring
about an "autocratic military system"
The letter in full, addressed to each
member of Congress- follows:
Referring to your letter Qrom Con-
gresham Heflin) of August q to Cap
complying with a personal request Cor
the preservation of a selfish or worth
less institution (the national guard, but
is fight for the right of the people to
have voice, in times of peace, in regard
to our institutions for national defense,
preserving states rights as provided by
the constitution of the United States.
rs Congress to be guided in formu-
lating military policy by the plan and
advice of the professional soldier only?
What new and unseen menace to this
nation has arisen or is likely to arise
that justifies a mercenary soldiery con-
stantly under arms at near $1,000, 900, 900
cost, over over 900 men. over 300-
900 will have to be conscripted in times
of peace, for the simple reason that the
regular army, in normal times, cannot
get more than 100000 recruits, if that
many. Who will be the conscripts from
Alabama in this army, and from what
class will they be drawn?
we view with grave and deep seated
fear the overcentralized and autocratic
military system that the professional
soldier would put over on this country.
1--WE remember the injunction of one of
the finest and most valuable Alabamians
killed in the war with Germany. Capt.
Mortimer Jordan of Birmingham, on his
return from the staff school at Langres,
France, when he came back to the front,
in conversation with his most init
mate friend asked with most intense
feeling: Who are We over here to fight,
the regular army or the Huns?' This
after contact of several weeks as stu
dent officer with a number of govern
ment- made military snobs and self made
superiors to the citizen soldiers-officers
of the regular army. He asked his
friend that should he not survive this
war. that he fight for his now father
less son and the sons of others of our
countrymen any attempt on the part of
any man or party of men to build up an
overcentralized military power in our
country, dominated by the professional
soldier. Now we are not taking up this
fight because only of the injunction of
this dead officer and citizen, nor for
tho thousands of citizen soldiers who
now sleep beneath the sod of France, but
for the hundreds of thousands of our
young men born and unborn.
shall we adopt a military system,
planned by professional, soldiers only
that will create a military caste in this
country and grind out of our young
manhood that dominating characteristic
that made them the aggressive independ-
ent fighting men they were and are and
won for US in this war?
Shall we create a standing army of
half a million men in order to enable
the professional soldiers to hold high
grades that they held during the emer-
sency and create positions for thousands
of applicants in the standing army? A
larger percentage of these applicants are
simply asking for an easy job that pays
more than they are able to make at
present in civil life Look them over