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Show General HUGH S. JOHNSON THE UNPREDICTABLE NEW YORK.-General Pershing s.iid that no matter what else we do to mix up in the European war, we shall never send an expeditionary expedition-ary force to Europe. On all the military probabilities he is right, as he usually is on such questions. But the unerringly certain quality about strategic planning is its unerring uncertaintyits un-certaintyits utter unpredictability. Who would have dreamed in 1913. for example, that before November, Novem-ber, 1918, we would have more than 2,000,000 American soldiers in France a larger combat force than Great Britain ever had there? I'll tell you some who didn't dream it the President of the United States and the general staffs of Germany, France, England, Austria, Italy, Belgium and the U. S. A. When the first selective draft started I wrote a memorandum, in July. 1917, suggesting that it be for 1,000,000 men not to take them before be-fore they were ready, but to classify and warn those who would have to go. It came back ink-spattered by an angry pen-point that had punctured punc-tured the paper and spurted indignation. indig-nation. It was initialed "W. W." and said, m effect, that the American Ameri-can people would never stand for a draft of a million men, that our contribution con-tribution was to be largely in money and supplies, that it was absurd to think of an offensive in any such terms just as General Pershing says today. That was perfectly understandable. understand-able. The Allies were then saying that all they advised was a "token" American force of a few divisions to "show the flag" and boost French and British morale, that they needed need-ed our factories, our supplies, out money and the available shipping to keep business as usual much more than they would ever need our untrained un-trained levies. The enemy general staffs agreed. They did not count on Americans in mass until we actually ac-tually began to send them, after the British debacle of March, 1918. We in the selective draft organization organi-zation never agreed. As the system started, it was not geared td get 100,000 men a month. In December, Decem-ber, 1917, I revised the entire machine ma-chine to examine and classify the whole 10,000,000 pool of man-power. A result was that when the pressure pres-sure came in 1918 and the Allies began to scream for "men in their undershirts," it was enabled to step up the monthly taking from some 30,000 or 40,000 to 400,000 men a month without a ripple. I shall always al-ways believe that this change did much to win the war. Anyway, it burned in on my mind the fact that no man is smart enough to foresee the course of war once the fateful decision is made to engage en-gage in it. We do a lot of talking about "defensive" war and "defending" "defend-ing" the Western hemisphere. No country at war can completely decide de-cide its own policy any more than Joe Louis could decide what he had to do against Max SchmeKng in their first fight. The enemy has something some-thing to say about that If we get Into this shindy we may have to send men in the arm, to Europe, Africa or eastern Aslfc We almost certainly will have to .end men in the navy and marines to all those places. As has frequently been remarked re-marked in this space, in a knockout knock-out fight you can't afford to "hit soft," and you can't enter any fight with one hand tied behind your back or one foot hobbled to a post. Germany is fighting this war as England always fought her wars to win. If we get into it, that is the way we must fight with everything every-thing we have and anywhere on the surface of the globe where a powerful power-ful blow may bring victory. Let's make no mistake about that or be fooled into any action on the error that any war is a picnic or that either combatant can call his shots without regard to what the enemy may do. PATRIOTIC UNDERSTANDING I can't see much the matter with the President's avoidance of a direct di-rect endorsement of the Burke-Wadsworth Burke-Wadsworth conscription bill in its present form. He has at least twice indicated his belief in the principles of selective service. The cost of registration is utterly negligible. You simply use the existing local machinery for registration regis-tration for elections. The service is voluntary and uncompensated. The only expense is for forms, stationery, station-ery, postal and telegraph bills. That will have to be borne whatever the age limits, and the additional cost for registering men up to 64 would hardly equal that of governmental mimeographed political handouts for one day. How can you "register only those you need"? Registration isn't selection selec-tion for service. You can't tell what you need or rather what you ought to take until you see what -you've got. The Burke-Wadsworth bill is confusing con-fusing and out of that confusion is growing a distinct, heart-sickenin" political approach to this subject. This column is not in the least in favor of any "coalition" departure from the two-party system. But this selective service business is absolutely necessary for defense which our people do want. |
