Imperial Valley press., 1940-10-23
Bruce Cation
In Washington

the nation has kept its eyes focused
on the conscription law, the army
has been making hay and history in
the matter of voluntary enlistments.
The job was done to the tune
of one of the most elaborate pub
licity campaigns the army ever
staged, and as a result all previous
recruiting records have been broken
and men have been taken in so fast
that time schedules originally set
up for the recruiting drive have
been filed in the wastebaskets
Things got started in 1899, when
army set out to grow from 10000
men to 227,OOO. 1t finished that
Job in February 1910, and until
the end of May recruiting service
coasted along with nothing much
to do but get the normal supply OF
replacementS.
Then came the big wind, with
order to hike the army strength to
375 900 men. Every month since
then has seen new recruiting
record set. In July, the army
signed up 31,960 new men; August
1868; September, 42,391-the all
time high, topping the best month
of World War recruiting, May, 1917.
First half of October ran 200 ahead
of the first half of September.
HIGH POWERED
PROMOTION JOB
The army still has to get 10000
men for the air corps. 1t hasn't t
gone after them yet, as housing
and other facilities aren't ready
After that. it'll probably need an
other $4,000 to bring all field or
ganizations up to full war strength.
Meanwhile, the regular army to-
day, with $4,000 men, is bigger
than it has ever been in American
history, in peace or war.
In both the Civil War and the
World War the bulk of the soldiers
were either draftees or duration-ot-
the-war volunteers. Strength OF
the regulars never got above 103r-'
000D
Chiefly responsible for the record
breaking is Lieut.. Col. II. N. Gilbert
in charge of recruiting. Colonel
Gilbert and his aides worked out a
campaign that included every i'm
aginable variety of publicity from
paper match covers to trailer-unlt
recruiting stations.
They put out news stories, hired
newspaper display space, got ma
tional advertisers to include re-
cruiting plugs in their ads, put on
local and network radio programs,
used direct mail advertising, set
up displays in store windows and
theater lobbies, used billboards and
printed pamphlets, made 16-milli-
meter movies to show at nigh
schools, helped Hollywood run OIL
feature films on army topics, stuck
signs on taxicabs and express trucks.
They didn't call in any high-power-
ed outside advisers either. 1t was
an army job all the way.
PATRIOTISM RISING
AS MOTIVE
Chief thing that made the drive
20 over, says Colonel Gilbert, was
the fact that the army really has
something to offer these days. II
vocational training the army can
point with pride to courses Offered
by great variety of mechanical
units. In some instances it offers
courses tnat would cost from $500
up. on the outside.
Next most important reason foI
enlistment was the age Old desire
for travel and adventure. After
that came a steadily increasing
number of men who wanted TO make
the army their career.
1T beats government civil service
by the way. A bright man car
retire after 80 years army service
with substantially over $l00 a montf
coming TO him for the rest of hi
life, which is more than civil serv
ice job offer)
Fourth reason offered for en-
listment was-patriotlsm. That fac
tor has been getting more impor
tant lately. Colonel Gilbert says
ne believes it would rank about
second if not first. If recruits
now signing up were polled.