It may be; I do not know, and I suspect that they do not either,
but even if it be true, these men are not subject to the call of the
Federal Government. They would have to be found; they would have to be
induced to enlist; they would have to be organized; their numbers are
indefinite; and they would have to be equipped. Such are not the
materials which we need. We want to know who these men are and where
they are and to have everything ready for them if they should come to
our assistance. For we have now got down, not to the sentiment of
national defense, but to the business of national defense. It is a
business proposition and it must be treated as such. And there are
abundant precedents for the proposals which have been made to the
Congress. Even that arch-Democrat, Thomas Jefferson, believed that there
ought to be compulsory military training for the adult men of the
Nation, because he believed, as every true believer in democracy
believes, that it is upon the voluntary action of the men of a great
Nation like this that it must depend for its military force.
There is another misapprehension that I want to remove from your minds:
Do not think that I have come to talk to you about these things because
I doubt whether they are going to be done or not.
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