Peacetime Conscription
Sirs:
Compulsory military training can have but one aim: to build up a large reserve of trained soldiers. The basic problem of compulsory military training is: will it work, and is it necessary ?
The proponents blandly speak of its benefits: it will build up the health of the nation. The health of the nation is a job for the various agencies of public health, the school gymnasium, and the medical profession. They speak of education and in particular of vocational education. That too is the job of our public and private institutions. It is not the realm of the military. They...