Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 263, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1916 — UNIVERSAL MILITARY SERVICE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

UNIVERSAL MILITARY SERVICE

Here is told how the systems of Switzerland and Australia are conducted, and how the people of France look upon it. What is proposed for the United States • •

WfUE Swiss army is a citizen army*. That j| I £ means every Swiss citizen is liable to do military service if he IS physically ftjjL and mentally tit. This accounts for the fact that Switzerland, with a populaEggL tion of 3,800,000, maintains the largest armed fofCe In Europe proportionately. jsfflP France comes second, and Germany - third— — 4 'Thus runs an exposition of the Swiss military system, as prepa.red by.-1 he official Swiss bureau in the United States for the American Defense society. “The Swiss military forces,” the article goes on, “consist of three different divisions. These are the auszug, landwehr and lancjstuni). To the auszug belong the young inen from twenty, to thirty-two years of age; to the landwehr, the soldiers from thirty-three to forty years of age, and to the landsturm the men from forty-one to fortyeight years of age. ' “Swiss citizens who are unable to do their military service because of residence in a foreign country, have to pay’ a regular military tax. Previous to the war this tax was six francs per man per year, but it has been doubled, temporarily, on account of the nation’s great expenses brought on by the war. In addition to this modest tax there Is also a taxation at the rate 1.50 francs per 1,000 francs of private fortune and, in certain cases, on every 1,000 francs of half an inheritance coming to a man from his parents or grandparents. The maximum military tax in normal times is 3,000 francs yearly. The maximum under temporary war taxation is 6,000

francs. At the age of eight years the Swiss schoolboy begins his course of physical training, which is gradually developed until he is sixteen years old. Then come the cadet corps, in which the boys undergo all the preliminary exercises and where they receive thorough and systematic instruction in rifle shooting. The rifle used in the cadet corps is, of course, a smaller and lighter model than the regulation army rifle. Rifle practice for the

youngsters is accorded In regular military fashion, including range and field work. Preparatory work for young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty years includes athletics, marching, care and use of the service rifle, and target practice. These preliminary training courses are taken usually by young men who hope to win commissions in the regular

army. —= — “Military instruction is given at the expense of the Swiss Confederation by a special instruction corps. Recruiting schools are established in different cities throughout the land, and while there is no choice in the service, each man is at liberty to decide whether he would like to belong to the infantry or cavalry. Cavalry soldiers generally have to provide their own horses. “Men intended ffcr the infantry have to serve for 65 days in a school for recruits; cavalrymen have to serve for 90 days; field and mountain artillerymen 75 days, engineers, 75 days; transport men, 42 days, and ambulance men, 60 days. The cavalry and all the forces of the auszug have to take a yearly repetition course lasting 11 days. Landwehr forces now have tlieir exercises every four years. Special courses and training naturally are required in the cases of soldiers who are ’ desirous of nd vnnctrrgfo high er grades. "Regular rifle practice each year is required of every soldier, and if a man does not attain the required mark he is ordered to do special practice work under'the supervision of Instructors. These rigid rules, and the natural enthusiasm of the Swiss for rifle shooting, are responsible for the unrivaled position they hold«in the world as crack shots. There is hardly a village which has not its rifle club, and local, cantonal and federal shooting matches are held at regular intervals. “Switzerland was able to retain for the seventeenth time out |of 18 the world championship, on the occasion of the rifle-shooting contest in Viborg, Holland, in 1914. It may be remembered that in 1913 the Swiss were victors at Camp Perry, Ohio. The one world’s contest they have lost was held in Turin, Italy, in 1898. “In the Swiss army every man is allowed to keep his rifle and uniform at home, and when the ■mobilization order is given, the entire army can be ready for action within the shortest notice. The yearly inspection of armament and equipment at which every soldier, without exception, 'has to appear, Is an effective preventive against any possible neglect in that line. However, there 1% no fear that a Swiss soldier would in any way neglect that which has been Intrusted to him by his country; his rifle is his hobby and bls Uniform receives the constant care one would give to a precious pet. —- * ' “Only the Instructors, the general staff and a :few other officials receive a regular salary. The officers are paid only for the short period they are called upon for training, and the common

soldier, when on duty, has’ all his expenses paid and besides that he receives ‘a daily compensation of 1G cents. Recruits receive a daily compensation of 10 cents.”,. In the early days of the European war it would have been of tremendous advantage to either France or Germany to violate the neutrality of Switzerland by sending troops across her territory in flanking movements against the enemy. But little Switzerland was ready and waiting to punish any such International outlawry. Belgium wasn’t In Australia all males between eighteen and sixty years are liable to military service in time of war, according to an article by Bertram Stevens in Collier’s Weekly. Every boy not physically unfit passes into the junior cadet force and undergoes physical training and elementary drill for two years; at fourteen becomes a senior cadet and serves four years, completing 40 drills each year: at eighteen enters the citizen soldiery and is Hable for 16 days’ training every year for seven years and one parade in the eighth year. At the end of 1914, three years after the com-pulsory-training law went into effect. Australia had more than 87,000 senior cadets, about 48.000 tn Together with 51.000 citizen soldiers. That country has a population of a little more than s,ooo.ooo—about as many persons as live in New York city proper. By 1933, Australia will be a democracy in which every healthy citizen has been trained to take his place in the firing line, and would have to do so were his country invaded. The principal difficulty about the Inception of the compulsory system arose from the boys themselves. The Australian is hatfw’ay between the Briton and the American, but he Is more Individualistic than the Briton. He objects to restraint and hates to call a man “sir.” At first many of the boys resented discipline, their easy-going parents did' not help the authorities and there were many prosecutions for evasion of drills. When It w’as seen that the government was Irr earnest, however, the boys ani their parents accepted the plan and now seem to like It. Authorities say there is already a marked Improvement In the physical and moral character of the youth, and generally a tendency toward a sense of responsibility; Americans who have seen the French republic’s system of universal Service in operation say that it is ndt only an effective means of national defense against foreign-enemies, but, quite as important, is a very practical organization for the prevention of class prejudice. The poor flsherman’ son from Brittany likely as not will have for his bunk mate during their period of training the son of a Paris banker. The rich and poor. The aristocrat and commoner, are thrown oonstanly together during barrack days. ■ '• ■

. They come to understand one another’s feeling 8 ’ tQ know the qualities of one another’s manhood, and to have a common patriotism among them. This has meant much to the French republic. _ In no other great army in the world is there such a spirit of comradeship as between officers and men of the French establishment. One might expect that record to be held by the United States. But it isn’t; our regular army is patterned after the British system, which la anaristocratic ’ systeiu-z:

United States Senator Chamberlain has prepared a bill for the establishment °f universal military service In this nation. It Is not unHkely that our country will have unive.-sal service within a few years, considering lessons learned from the European war, from our own J*P£le in various wars. and from the widespread feeling that the United States should have systematic preparedness. If universal service comes, the plan-of work probably will be evolved from the Swiss, Australian and French systems.