Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-07
ARE YOUTH
ARMY SAYS
/. {. Leader
- Traane1 fsY Wa1 lnsteaA
= stsading Afny Adysonfsa
n fseshiss.

sfhe WaS tu1t cIdSed founo "
.ssrsnnsed Whsa We were call u
~ Is enter T. Let LCt the next
NJ And a. in the same condition,
4 ssste General John J. PefshinS
~ the banquet table In tho
ySssethavk hotel It Davenport last
4 s,s.fne. He was introduced By
~ n Lane, the toastmastsr, who
4 ~ : stirring patriotic message
simself The general advocated ; 1
ersined cstizsnry that could Be
/ ,..otiiised 1t short notice. rather
,hsn : large stacding army. He
se:isred that the question OF what
~ time industries should be sue-
taiued Is solely for the people to
decide.
sAt tho beginning Of the war; hs
.a,d Awe found ourselves in . most
AssloYable state Of unpreparcd-
~ But with tho spirit in which
y America enters into any OF it, NJ
dertakings we very promptly Fems-
died that state Of affairs.
.-rne allies held the west front
! vhlle We trained our military
frce,. Another time and We may
nj have allies to stand by and
!. l,ole the line for Ms. Take this les
san 70 heart, look to the future, and
- prepared for eventualities. We
All dsplore war and It is given per-
haps to the soldier who has ex-
re9ienced fighting, more than per-
haps to any other ct our people
20 know what Il means and to APP
preciats IT. horror. 1t is for him
10 urge upon the people that pre-
paredness is . great safeguard
agaiust war and q way OF meeting
II when It comes.
Arsenal Efficient.
s-The arsenal at Rock Island Is
prepared to carry on efficiently the
grea. manufacturing projects nee
esary to provide our armies with
the necessities OF a campaign. l
trust that this great plant will be
maintained in its present state OF
high efficiency.
However. there IL another fac
Tor needed to give rs true pre-
paredness. The youth Of our lan1
should be given military training.
There is misunderstanding Of the
terms military training and mill
:ary service. We need only small
standing army, but we do need
trained citizens. Not that ] believe
/ It necessary for Ms to draft Oh.
/ young men into the army and re-
! quire them to serve for a particu-
.ar t'me-as for instance was done
! by the German empire. My idea is
that young men She uld have GER
tain amount Of military knowledge
coupled with vocational training,
required of all alike, 50 that when
the time comes they won't be en-
tirely ignorant OF soldiers duties.
Then we can recruit an efficient
army within short time.
4 People Must Decide.
1.-THE question of which war in
iustries shall be retained. and for
what purposes whether the ship
yards, arsenals. or other plants
rests with the people. and Is for
them to determine. If the policy il
for a strong military force and re-
serve then we must prepare to re-
tain large number of institutions
now In operation, for the purpose.
As for the benefits Of military
training on the youth: 1t gives
hiE better idea of duty, teaches
something Of discipline and respect
for authority, develops him physic-
ally and enables him in that way
to meet the biggest requirements OF
civil life. There are many other
advantages. He is enabled in the
service to meet young men from all
classes and returns home with
broader views OF the value AMI
sacredness Of our institutions.
Military training for all citizens
should be considered a continue
ton Of their education because oil
two reasons-it educates them in
the use Of the English language
which everyone should be required
to know. and teaches them their
duty to the government under
whose protection they are permitted
TO live and pursue happiness. WI
should not and must not sit Idly
by, but must protect our instit,,
lions. We must take active op
position to those deadly plants, thu
ones which would overthrow GU!
government.
Confidence In Legion.
I can assure you that the meI
Who wore the uniform and hav,
now organized themselves into wha
Is called the American legion rep
resent the best Of citizenship. l an
Just ~ sure that they will Oppose
inc growth of these dangerous sen
tlments as l was when l ordere,
Them into battle that they wou:t
AIRY our lines past the enemy
His conclusion was followed b,
. ourst Of applause and to a mai
.ns audience of nearly 500 leaps
70 their feet. as a sign of respect t
ne man and to his thoughts as thu
oppressed.
speaks to Service Men.
Practically the same address wa
later given before 1000 returne,
service men who had gathered &
aeef him in the Davenport coli
seom. Rock Island. Moline al
enport posts of the legion we.
~ Vol represented. At that tims
however, the general led or with
..lA based upon the laws of til
mefican legion. He said that a
ue service men had upheld tn
t interests Of their nation O
- battle fields overseas, so the
s. expected to do the same in ci-i
! know that Won boys will h