The DOminion. FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1917. AMERICA AT WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3052, 13 April 1917, Page 6

The DOminion. FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1917. AMERICA AT WAR

From a New York report which is published to-day it seems that Amer-1 ica is finding in the present emergency, as Lincoln found in the clays of the Civil War, that voluntary recruiting- is not the right'method of raising an army. While the War Department is planning the creation of an army on the Continental scale, voluntary recruiting, it is stated, is admitted to be yiolding disappointing results. Mr. Roosevelt and others are advocating the adoption of the only feasible alternative—the introduction of compulsory service. In his speech inviting Congress to declare a state of war with Germany, President Wilson expressed himself in favour of service, so that, although nothing has been heard on the subject from Mr. Hughes, it would appear that the foremost leaders of both, the great • political parties are united in their approval of the compulsory system. V The question will no doubt come before Congress in the near future, and its treatment will definitely test the spirit and purpose with which America has entered the war. Obviously'the matter is of much im-' portance from the standpoint of the Allies. It is possible that the war may be fought to a conclusion before America has time to send any considerable force into the field, but if_the Allies fail to reach victory this year, _ as a result of internal disorders in Russia or from any other cause, the American army may become a factor of decisive importance. The adoption by Congress of the principle of compulsory service would in any case be a strong guar-, antee that America is determined to make _ full use of her resources in assisting to bring Germany to terms.. If the question is - dealt with on its merits, only one decision is possible, and happily grounds are. not wanting for a belief that the right decision is likely to be reached., Apart from the fact that America's financial, measures for war are planned'upon a scale which' speaks pf settled purpose and' determination, proposals for the adoption of compulsory military training have been under discussion for (nonths past, and though not unopposed, have attracted widespread support. The discussion that took place and the indications - it afforded of thrf trend of public opinion are not without a .bearing upon the conditions and the problem that claim attention and treatment to : day. Ono of twp definite schemes lately propounded in America for building an army by means of compulsory military training was drafted by the General Staff. It provides for a first-line regular army of 500,000, and for tlio compulsory training of 900,000 men each year for a period of one year. The Secretary for War declined to submit a measure on these lines to Congress, holding that both the regular army and the annual contingent of men called up for training should be smaller, and that the'period of training for the compulsorily-enlisted recruits should be shorter. The alternative scheme which has been drafted in legislative form is called the Chamberlain Bill, after the Chairman of the Senate Committee. It proposes that all youths not specifically exempt : should undergo training for a period of six months without pay, training to begin' in the nineteenthyear. It is estimated that the number of youths trained each year would be 500,000. After their initial six months' training they would spend nine years in the reserve. Exemptions apply to men in the regular army and navy, to the unfit, to those who are the" sole support of dependants, and to members of religious bodies whose creeds forbid the bearing of arms. The latter class, it is proposed, should be liable for training in noncombatant branches of army work. . The opinion has been widely held and expressed that America is not likely to take a serious share in the i war, but _ the public discussion of | these national training proposals ran on such, lines as to suggest that the further step involved in the adoption of compulsory service may present no great difficulty. It was a noteworthy feature of the dis-1 cussion that some of the leading opponents of national training were driven into the position of practically affirming the necessity and desirability of compulsory service in time of war, even while they disputed the necessity of compulsory training in time of peace. Thus the New York livening Post admitted that if the question of universal service were put to the pe9plo as a matter of military expediency in this time of chaos, its advocates "might be able to carry it." At the same time it denied the justice or weed of resorting to compulsion. The war in Europe, it arguod in draws to a close. Let us wait and see what conditions ensue before tying ourselves up to a plan for a long future. Similarly, the Journal of Commerce, which sees in ,universal service a force that makes*

for militarism of Teutonic typo, declares that: "If the war should stop beforo the end of this year, the excitement attending it will speedily subside, and this idea of compulsory military service will seem as absurd as it would if propounded five years -ago." In their plea for "delay theso arguments have gone by the board now that America. is at war, but they arc chiefly interesting, as has been noted, in their implied admission that in the emergency of war the case for compulsion is unanswerable. Since no stronger stand was open to pacifist advocates_ while America was still neutral, it is the more likely that Congress will take the one step which will permit the speedy creation of an effective army, and that its action will meet with general public approval.