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Show WILSON FAVORS n r 4 ra W f B B re & r i WASHINGTON, April 19. President Presi-dent Wilson today sent a letter to Representative Helvering of Kansas explaining and strongly supporting the administration's army bill with' its selective conscription plan. The letter let-ter indicated the purpose of the administration ad-ministration to insist vigorously upon enactment of tho measure. It follows: "I welcome tho inquiry of your letter let-ter of April 19 because I have realized tho truth of what you say from my own observations, namely, that what is meant to bo understood by the selective se-lective draft Is not generally understood under-stood throughout tho country. "I took occasion the other day In an address to the people of the country coun-try to point out the many forms of patriotic pa-triotic service that wore open to thom and to emphasize the fact that the military part of the service was by no means the only part, and perhaps, all things considered, not the most vital part Our object Is a mobilization of all tho productivo and active forces of the nation and their development to fhr llifVlfaf nnlnt rf nn.nnnr'itinn nnl efficiency, and tho idea of the selectlvo draft is that those should be chosen for service in the army who can be most readily spared from the prosecution prosecu-tion of the other activities which tho country must engago in and to which it must devote a great deal of its best enorgy and capacity. "Tho volunteer system does not do this. When men choose themselves they sometimes chooso without due regard re-gard to their other responsibilities. Men may comes from the farms or from the mines or from the factories or centers of business who ought not to come but ought to stand back of tho armies in the field and sco that they got everything that they need and that the people of the country are sustained in the meantime. "The principle of the selective draft in short has at its heart this idea that there is a universal obligation to serve and that a public authority should choose these upon whom tho obligation obliga-tion of military service shall rest and also in a sonse chooso those who shall do the rest of the nation's work. The bill if adopted will do moro 1 believe than any other single instrumentality to create the impression of universal service in the army and out of it, and If properly administered will be a great source of stimulation. "Those who feel that we aro turning turn-ing away altogether from tho volunteer volun-teer principle seem to forget that some GOO.OOO men will bo needed to fill the ranks of the regular army and the national guard and that a very great field of individual enthusiasm lies there wldo open." |