of endurance and a test of resources, the German-Prussian autocracy, blinded, it must be, by its necessities, insists upon driving into war and into the ranks of its enemies in that struggle the nation in the world that is able to furnish the sinews that are bound to determine this struggle in greater fullness than any nation that ever lived. [Long applause and cheers.]

A Large Task

Both for our own sakes and for the sake of the world, for no nation ever had a higher cause, we, in all the wars that we ever fought, never had a higher cause in the breadth of its influence, in the breadth of the opportunity that we have to promote Christian civilization, than we have in this war that we are now about to engage in [applause]; and, therefore, we must face the situation, we must analyze what it is that is before us, and we must not, my dear friends, make the mistake of minimizing our task. We must not assume, as the American people are prone to do, that luck will all be with us; that this is an easy thing for us; that all we have to do is to go down into our pockets and conscript our incomes for a time, and then the war will be over. I hope that may be so. But it is not the course of prudence; it is not long-headed. It is a great deal easier to reduce armament after a short war than it is to assume a short war and be found without armament for a long war. [Cries of "Good" and applause.]

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Now, there are joints in the armor of the Allies that may be pierced. We have all rejoiced that Russia has toppled over the military autocracy that has held her down. We are all glad to go over that little comedy and tragedy that occurred on that night in the sleeping car of the Great White Czar when he was awakened and notified what the conditions were; and when he resumed his slumbers he did it as Mr. Romanoff. But such a change in government necessarily unsettles the foundation of the organization of government, and we must expect a weakness in Russia, even if we have confidence that her purpose to continue the war cannot be turned. And we must realize that if Germany were to succeed in driving back and defeating and demoralizing the Russian forces, that many men would be released for the purpose of continuing and making Germany's power greater than ever in this war as compared with that of the Allies. We must be ready to send a million men over there for the purpose and more than that if necessary — for the purpose of winning in this war, because, my friends, we must win. [Loud applause and cheers.]

No Time for Demagogues

"Now, we have great professional soldiers. The name of MajorGeneral Wood comes to your mind. [Applause.] We have as fine professional soldiers as there are in the world, and they have come to us and recommended a bill and a means of organizing an army that shall be effective, and the President and Secretary of War have accepted their recommendation; and they are pressing it now in Congress. And at this time, my friends, we find in Congress members of Congress with their ears to the ground, listening to the demagogic appeal, that they have

heard from their home districts,' to be in favor of a voluntary system against a conscription system that every professional soldier and every man who knows from the modern science of warfare what is needed, favors. Now, can't the people be heard in this country? Those gentlemen in Congress who are taking that position have their backs to the engine, and they won't see anything until they get by it.

Now, we ought to do something. We ought to stand by the President, and have the representatives of the people who are there understand that they are not representing the people in defeating this measure which is essential to our national advancement, but in seeing to our accomplishing what we ought to accomplish in this war. [Cheers and applause.]

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Can we not take the lesson as to volunteers from the wars of 1812 and 1861 on both sides, and in this war which is now before us the experience of England, and realize how defective the volunteer system is? Why can't we learn, great people as we are, to conduct our great governmental matters on business principles which we are willing so quickly to absorb in our own private business affairs? When you have your child sick, you don't send for an engineer. You send for a doctor, and when you are going to build a bridge, you don't send for a doctor, but for an engineer. When you are to make a war on a scientific principle, you ought to consult those who have been trained for life in the matter of

war.

Universal Military Training

"Now, my own judgment is that we ought to now lay a foundation for a permanent policy of reasonable conscription and universal military training for one year in the life of every young man in this country. [Applause.]

"Our young men are not sufficiently disciplined. I know they are not, you know they are not. We are the parents, and we know it as doubtless due to us. We are affected by the same luxurious life and luxurious tendencies that our boys and girls are affected by. If you inject into the life of each one of them a year of training where they are made to know that they owe the service to the Government of the United States, where you teach them respect for everybody by making them obey, you will give them a year of education better than any that they will get in a university or a college. [Cheers and applause.]

"I am sorry, because I wanted to go on and point out something about this issue, doubtless you know it better than I, but perhaps you don't know the concern that those who are closest to this question have over whether the tyros in military science who are allowing parental consideration to affect them shall control our military policy. What our military policy is, or whether the President who represents all the people and the people themselves shall control in having business and scientific principles prevail in this greatest of our struggles, which concerns every one of us deeply and the world, whether common sense and science shall prevail or humbug demagogy and the ear to the ground. Good-bye."

[President Taft was obliged to leave the gathering at this time to

take a train, and as he withdrew from the room the members stood and cheered and applauded tumultuously.]

Following the speech by Mr. Taft, there came talks by AdjutantGeneral E. Leroy Sweetser, of the State National Guard, and Hon. Samuel J. Elder.

WELCOME TO GENERAL EDWARDS

May 3

At the dinner given to Brig.-Gen. Clarence B. Edwards, U.S.A., commander of the Northeastern Department, and to his staff, the toastmaster, Hon. Geo. S. Smith, was introduced by Vice-President James E. Fee. Governor Samuel W. McCall, for the Commonwealth, welcomed General Edwards to his duties and privileges, and also voiced the affection of a friend for a public servant whom he came greatly to admire while he (McCall) was a congressman and was meeting the soldier-guest when he was in charge of the Insular Bureau. Governor McCall improved the opportunity to dwell upon the seriousness of the national situation, and at the same time to express his confidence in the Army and Navy and the national agencies for attack and defense.

Mayor Curley, in behalf of the city, voiced his agreement with the policy of the Administration both before and since the declaration of war with Germany, and also the city's gratitude that a man of the type of General Edwards and with his record should have been assigned to Boston and the New England district. He pledged the undivided support of citizens in any program he might outline for action between the military and the civilian arms of government.

The welcome of the nation to the guest was uttered by Hon. Geo. W. Anderson, federal district-attorney. He pointed out the fitness of the event with its environment. The most democratic club of the city and its greatest democratizing institution is the right place to make a formal welcome to a man who is to defend not only American but world democrac. He argued that at last citizens of the Republic are aware that there is 'no such thing as a safe nationalism, except as there be a safe internationalism." Since the President and Congress declared war in April, there has been only one duty for the Amer can citizen. Now there is no right to question or to discuss. He called on his hearers to put aside all provincialism partisanship, and class interests, and give loyal support to the Administration.

Capt. A. H. Robertson, U.S.N., chief of staff of the first naval district, pledged to General Edwards fullest coöperation of the naval with the military arm. Col. Butler Ames, of Lowell, who is one of the leaders in the ranks of non-professional soldiers now busy serving the state and the nation by organizing the Home Guard, dwelt upon the claims of that organization to support and enlistment. Acting Adj.-Gen. E. Leroy Sweetser, of the National Guard of Massachusetts, predicted the heartiest coöperation of the present forces of the state with those that would be recruited for the new federal armies. Capt. Charles H. Cole, of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard, said, "Ditto."

General Edwards, when he rose to reply to the brief, friendly introduction by Toastmaster Smith, said:

"I feel to-night like all but the last verse of "Abou Ben Adhem,” and if my friend, Butler Ames, could look inside of me he would believe what your state executive said. He would see there to-night nothing but humility, and such scared humility that it would be the essence of a lack of confidence to meet these generous and, I am afraid, fulsome expressions of the value of myself to my country and my record. In fact, I am so overcome that the retired list looks good to me.

In trying to get here, working night and day at Panama to complete the record of the great work that the men under me have done in solving the most difficult defense problem that was ever given to a lot of technical soldiers, we got away with twenty minutes time to turn over to my successor, got off the boat at Havana, not because I discovered the interned Germans had a scheme to "Kitchener " me on the boat, but to go to Washington and see if I could not get some of those fine fellows that I knew to help me, and get over here and get a little bit oriented to what I knew or anticipated was coming.

"While in Washington I had the chance to sit at the knee of my great patron saint, Elihu Root, and he gave me a few words of wisdom, and he told me, 'Keep off your feet. Don't you go to banquets. You have definite ideas about the defense of the United States, and you have poured them into me for twenty years and more; but silence is golden. Get up and talk platitudes.' And I have come here in a platitudinous frame of mind.

Governor McCall called to my mind, apropos of this counsel of silence, the fact that sometimes and often, I am afraid — I play the parrot and talk too much, and feel too strongly and do not keep it to myself; and it recalled an incident connected with the famous Taft trip, where we took the senators and the congressmen and the princes royal of the blood then in America, and I had charge of the party, over to the Philippines one hundred and ten of them - and got them all back, all speaking to one another. [Laughter.] They were made up mostly of the enemies to the Philippine proposition, but they came back converts to the most magnificent piece of altruism of any great country to a poor and helpless country in the world's history. We officers and we men behind the gun, when there is a little bit of a thrill goes up the back at some of these fulsome sayings, are proud of what we attempted to do in the Philippines. There was no false note except the tariff, and that was finally gotten off. No man went there except for merit. When I came back after burying Lawton, I can say to you that there was not a man who went to the Philippine Islands whose politics we knew, and there were two Democratic governors, if you recall, that had the full confidence of the then administration.

"On that trip there were two famous characters, one a Colonel Wylie, from Montgomery, Ala. He is a fine soldier, Captain Wylie, serving under me in the naval zone. He was a Chesterfield, quite unique, the embodiment of Southern chivalry, and I tried to fuss him up and he was quite human — with the fair sex. And, as we were getting off the gangplank, I went up and mentioned to a young lady,

who was not a member of our party, to please go up to the Colonel and tell him that she thought it was rather strange that with his Southern traditions he had paid no heed to her, like the rest of his grass widowers, senators and congressmen, and other terrors; and so she went up and accosted him, and everybody laughed, and they dropped their satchels, and this old chap turned around with his kind of Van Dyke beard, and he said, 'Why, my dear young ady, when I was walking up the gangplank I just took a look at you, and I said, "Aristo, you are a married man, be careful!" And then I looked around once more, and I said, "Fire! Fire!" My God! I did not dare go near you.'

"So, a little later, President Taft called my attention to the fact that we were going to a nation in war, and that we were wearing the field uniform of the war, like the Japs, and we were the guests of the Japanese government; and he called my attention to the propriety, and I think I suggested to him that we were neutral and we had to be very careful of our p's and q's, like we have been very careful in the army for the last two years, and it has been very hard work, — and so I cautioned them all. The Mikado gave a magnificent dinner to all of this party, and we came there officially. Probably never such a dinner was given before, and there was a large table like an E; and I looked back and told Colonel Wylie, 'Now, be careful what you say no proJapanee we are neutral.' Presently I saw his glass go up, like that [illustrating], and this Mikado, like an old walrus, looked around, and it annoyed President Taft, and it annoyed me, and President Taft shook his head at him. And then there was another ebullition, and I said, 'Colonel, what did you say there?' Everybody looked around. There were about two hundred people. He said, 'I will tell you, Edwards. Upon my word I appreciate the caution of that man Taft. I would die for him, and the propriety of the occasion, and the appropriateness of circumstances were such that I appreciated your words; but now I just tell you this, I looked around there and I saw that prince, and then I saw that count, and I saw fifteen sets of wine glasses down there, and they were just anxious to shove things into my person and under my skin, and I never have seen such courtesy in my life, and sea gulls and cigarettes, and I just forgot myself, and I just raised my glass the first time you looked at me, and I said, "Here is America and here is Japan, and to hell with Russia!" And then he said, 'The second time I looked over there, and I saw that old walrus there, and I just raised my glass and said, "The first time I get back in my Congress I am just going to vote a pension for that old sucker, that is what I am going to do.'

Boston's Welcome

"So that is the way that Colonel Wylie paid attention to that caution of silence. Therefore the story came to my mind when I heard these expressions. I am perfectly conscious that there are probably a lot of reporters here, and I tell you it is going to cramp my style in expressing my appreciation. And so, keeping off of dangerous subjects and touch me, General, when I slip when I left that command in Panama, where we had worked and slaved together in the junglewhere we were all regulars and we had a common object we all saw