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As to Universal Military Training
U N IVERSAL M ILITARY TRAINING.
expressed in the ability to meet a need of war, not in the inclination to find an excuse ■for one. A militarist nation is made by the wedding of military and political powers, by the framing of for eign policies by a military caste, by the imposition of this caste, its ambitions, purposes, and ideals upon a people. The United States has no such caste and would not have one in its politics. 11. If we ever need an army, a need at which we can only guess, a need which we cannot determine and may not control—we shall not have an army unless we adopt a policy which provides one, and the only safe, economical, profit able army is one which depends upon trained citizens. 12. To get this army all that is needed now is for congress to vote that young men of 19 years hereafter shall give a certain part of their time, even as little as six months, in cantonments already erected, with equipment already bought, under officers already trained, in an or ganization already established.
311
13. This scheme has been established and paid for. All it needs is the time of young men. The cost of maintenance would be repaid in the physical survey the youth of the nation would obtain, in the discovery and correction of physical ills and tendencies and mental defects, in the improving of national stock, in the quickening of the social sense and in the imposition of social discipline, in the stimulating of national idealism and patriotism, in the betterment of the bod ies of the young men, in the heightening of their conception of national obligations and citizenship duties. This is the scheme for which congress will vote and which it has the oppor tunity to establish. It will guarantee the security of the United States and elevate its tone. It is not costly and is not an imposition. It will interfere with no peace plans. It will strengthen them. It will resolve all doubts in favor of the United States and make Americans mas ters of themselves. — E d itoria l Chicago Trib une.
m
AS TO UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING. Enthusiasm in favor of universal mili tary training is be'ng aroused among observers in the United States, who see that it is having favorable effects upon the health of the young men who are now coming under the operation of the system. Regular physical exercise, com bined with sufficient sleep, takes off the superfluous adipose tissue and produces a springy step and clear eye. Moreover, the medical examination to which thous ands are being subjected is resulting, in many instances, in the removal of minor defects which, while not preventing men from performing their daily work, were nevertheless a detriment to the' proper enjoyment of life.
These things are all to the good. But there is another side to the picture, as is shown by the experience of Germany. Universal military training might easily come to be indistinguishable from uni versal compulsory military service. Do democracies want that? On the con trary, they are now fighting to make this a world in which nothing of the sort will be needed. The root evil of militarism is its tendency to put the Army above the civil authority. It exacts obedience to superior officers in times of peace as well as in war. Its ideal is a world where the court martial is superior to the ballot box. Most of what is good in the idea of
312
TH E JO URNAL OP TH E N ATION AL D EN TA L ASSOCIATION.
universal training can be obtained with out the introduction of more than a mod icum of the military element.
There is
a widespread opinion that regulated and compulsory physical exercises, suited to individual needs, should be a feature of all our schools. Also the medical care of children, with a view to curing small defects before they become serious, could, with advantage, be made much
^
more nearly universal than it is at pres ent. But these improvements should not be accompanied by any diminution of the spirit of personal freedom. Citizens of a democracy must be left to act in pub lic affairs according to their best judg ment. If the “common sense of most” does not prove sufficient for political salvation, there is no help for it. — Army
,
and Navy Register issue January 26, ig iS .
ft
FOR UNIVERSAL MILITARY SERVICE. In spite of the thousand and one les sons the country is getting in the most direct fashion, it is not to be expected that it will apply its experience for its future needs unless its inertia is attack ed persistently. The folly of a military policy which does not keep trained men in readiness has been demonstrated. The country has been forced to rid itself of inertia and raise an army. If it is allowed to be contented with emergency measures for emergency purposes, its condition five years from now will be precisely what it was six months ago. Its condition may be even worse after the war than it was before. Before the war the demand for universal service was increasing because there was a growing fear that the United States could not preserve peace by having peaceful intents. After the war the nation will be disposed to rest and take breath, to recover from war taxation and nurse its wounds. The disposition will be to regard the disagreeable business as done with for ever. Inertia will control again, and pleas for wiser methods will not be
effective. W e can easily imagine what the mood o f the nation will be after the war. It will have had enough and more than enough of war preparations. In its weariness it will be more difficult to arouse, in spite of its experience, than it was before it had the experience. In fear of this, it must be urged that the next congress take advantage of the most acceptive mood the people can be found in— that of war energy. This is the year in which to give the United States a military establishment' which takes young men of 19 years and gives them a training which will fit them for service. The nation will accept legislation cre ating such an establishment now. Once established, it will be maintained. It will be accepted as a necessary part of the life of the nation. If the opportunity of this year be lost, the discouraging, uphill work of arguing against popular indifference will have to be resumed, with the most uncertain prospects. Experiences will be forgotten, Delusions will return to power, and the United States will be no stronger and no better protected than it has been.
expressed in the ability to meet a need of war, not in the inclination to find an excuse ■for one. A militarist nation is made by the wedding of military and political powers, by the framing of for eign policies by a military caste, by the imposition of this caste, its ambitions, purposes, and ideals upon a people. The United States has no such caste and would not have one in its politics. 11. If we ever need an army, a need at which we can only guess, a need which we cannot determine and may not control—we shall not have an army unless we adopt a policy which provides one, and the only safe, economical, profit able army is one which depends upon trained citizens. 12. To get this army all that is needed now is for congress to vote that young men of 19 years hereafter shall give a certain part of their time, even as little as six months, in cantonments already erected, with equipment already bought, under officers already trained, in an or ganization already established.
311
13. This scheme has been established and paid for. All it needs is the time of young men. The cost of maintenance would be repaid in the physical survey the youth of the nation would obtain, in the discovery and correction of physical ills and tendencies and mental defects, in the improving of national stock, in the quickening of the social sense and in the imposition of social discipline, in the stimulating of national idealism and patriotism, in the betterment of the bod ies of the young men, in the heightening of their conception of national obligations and citizenship duties. This is the scheme for which congress will vote and which it has the oppor tunity to establish. It will guarantee the security of the United States and elevate its tone. It is not costly and is not an imposition. It will interfere with no peace plans. It will strengthen them. It will resolve all doubts in favor of the United States and make Americans mas ters of themselves. — E d itoria l Chicago Trib une.
m
AS TO UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING. Enthusiasm in favor of universal mili tary training is be'ng aroused among observers in the United States, who see that it is having favorable effects upon the health of the young men who are now coming under the operation of the system. Regular physical exercise, com bined with sufficient sleep, takes off the superfluous adipose tissue and produces a springy step and clear eye. Moreover, the medical examination to which thous ands are being subjected is resulting, in many instances, in the removal of minor defects which, while not preventing men from performing their daily work, were nevertheless a detriment to the' proper enjoyment of life.
These things are all to the good. But there is another side to the picture, as is shown by the experience of Germany. Universal military training might easily come to be indistinguishable from uni versal compulsory military service. Do democracies want that? On the con trary, they are now fighting to make this a world in which nothing of the sort will be needed. The root evil of militarism is its tendency to put the Army above the civil authority. It exacts obedience to superior officers in times of peace as well as in war. Its ideal is a world where the court martial is superior to the ballot box. Most of what is good in the idea of
312
TH E JO URNAL OP TH E N ATION AL D EN TA L ASSOCIATION.
universal training can be obtained with out the introduction of more than a mod icum of the military element.
There is
a widespread opinion that regulated and compulsory physical exercises, suited to individual needs, should be a feature of all our schools. Also the medical care of children, with a view to curing small defects before they become serious, could, with advantage, be made much
^
more nearly universal than it is at pres ent. But these improvements should not be accompanied by any diminution of the spirit of personal freedom. Citizens of a democracy must be left to act in pub lic affairs according to their best judg ment. If the “common sense of most” does not prove sufficient for political salvation, there is no help for it. — Army
,
and Navy Register issue January 26, ig iS .
ft
FOR UNIVERSAL MILITARY SERVICE. In spite of the thousand and one les sons the country is getting in the most direct fashion, it is not to be expected that it will apply its experience for its future needs unless its inertia is attack ed persistently. The folly of a military policy which does not keep trained men in readiness has been demonstrated. The country has been forced to rid itself of inertia and raise an army. If it is allowed to be contented with emergency measures for emergency purposes, its condition five years from now will be precisely what it was six months ago. Its condition may be even worse after the war than it was before. Before the war the demand for universal service was increasing because there was a growing fear that the United States could not preserve peace by having peaceful intents. After the war the nation will be disposed to rest and take breath, to recover from war taxation and nurse its wounds. The disposition will be to regard the disagreeable business as done with for ever. Inertia will control again, and pleas for wiser methods will not be
effective. W e can easily imagine what the mood o f the nation will be after the war. It will have had enough and more than enough of war preparations. In its weariness it will be more difficult to arouse, in spite of its experience, than it was before it had the experience. In fear of this, it must be urged that the next congress take advantage of the most acceptive mood the people can be found in— that of war energy. This is the year in which to give the United States a military establishment' which takes young men of 19 years and gives them a training which will fit them for service. The nation will accept legislation cre ating such an establishment now. Once established, it will be maintained. It will be accepted as a necessary part of the life of the nation. If the opportunity of this year be lost, the discouraging, uphill work of arguing against popular indifference will have to be resumed, with the most uncertain prospects. Experiences will be forgotten, Delusions will return to power, and the United States will be no stronger and no better protected than it has been.