The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-12-28
Conscripting Youth
(New York Times


 The dictators may have their unpleasant surprise coming when the speed-up in the rearmament program reestabishes Great Britain great military power; but to the English people nothing brings home the ugly realities of present-day Europe painfully Lord Stanhopes suggestion in the House of Lords debate recently that England may be forced to adopt con- scripton to build up the army Efforts to increase the territorial forces and the regular army to the quired strength have failed For the new infantry reserve only $50 have enlisted after two months intensive drive for volunteers. English boys will join the navy and the air corps but they cannot be induced to enter service that offers few opportun ties either for advancement from the ranks or for good jobs in civil life when the term of enlistment expires,
 Distase among the yolch of today for the military life goes deeper than that. It is not confined to England For the American young. likewise, soldering has lost it's glamour for generation that has seen tco many closeups of what the bands and marching lead to. Wherever the young free to volunteer. recruiting is slow and difficult Even where the script system prevails the boys go reluctantly into military service.
 Despite the long tradition of conscrpton. soldier ing is unpopular in France The lengthenng of the term of service to years is accepted With groans There are hurrahs in French towns as the boys trek off to the casernes
 Military training is equally dstasteful to Italian boys Years of Fascist education have hardened the youth of Italy and made them thrill to parade in uniform before their leader. but if you watch the yearly evies march glumly to the barracks and hear them cheer when they released you convinced that all the "pre-mitary" drills do not induce any real enthusiasm for the military life.
 The Germans docie. They don't dislike discipline and regimentation The first conscripts of the new army were proud enough to step out in de- fance of the Versailles treaty but visitors in Germany when conscription proclaimed noticed that the loudest cheering from the generation whose soldering days
 Our conservation corps the nearest American equivalent to the labor brigades and youth services of Europe. But though under the direction of army officers, they civilian, not military, and their ap- peal expressed by young in one of the camps, is precisely because there's stuff lu the outfit"
 It may be that the exception to the rule is in Russia An English military observer last Red army manoeuvres reported in the London Times that all the soldiers with whom he talked enjoyed the life. Many youths below the military age told me with what eagerness they looked forward to their two years service The food is good, they said, and the barracks being improved This eagerness is probably much for good food and lodging as for military exercises.
 The point is that the world isn't full of militant youth; on the contrary. where youth is regimented it is not it's initiative and where it isn't regi- mented it doesn't volunteer. The tragedy of the conscrpton of the young is that many have no choice they forced into line the cheapest and most available raw material in the armament race.