Letter to General Crowder from J. Reuban Clark, Jr. - May 27, 1918
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May 27, 1918 My dear General:- Acknowledging yours of this morning, and having in mind your suggestion as to the other phase of your subject, I am sending you a few paragraphs which I hope may be of some general assistance. I have aimed to list the chief operations at which criticism might be aimed, and state we have precedent for them [ I have not
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[page 1] I must at the outset confess to some curiosity as to the reason why I was asked to speak upon this subject. What have we been doing at Washington or elsewhere that causes this topic to be assigned to the head of the legal corps of the army? That curiosity has been somewhat increased by the fact that after such examination as opportunity has been given me to make, I find that in this war, speaking now broadly and generally, both the Congress and the Executive have abundant precedent in our own history for the principles which underlie the most of their acts. Speaking in briefest resume, we may note as among the most important of our present activities that we have adopted temporary universal compulsory military service; but we had our draft law during the Civil War. We have provided State insurance for persons in the military service; but that is hardly to be distinguished in broad principle from a system of pensioning. We have taken measures to secure necessary supplies for our allies; so did we in the Revolutionary War, and in the Spanish-American War. We have lent money to our allies; we borrowed from our ally in the Revolutionary War, and advanced funds to our ally in the Spanish-American War. We have cooperated with our allies in military operations on foreign soil; so did we in the Spanish- American War. The President has created by executive action civil bodies to assist in the conduct of war preparations; so did Lincoln in the Civil War. We have requisitioned vessels for military use; this also was done in the Civil War. We have
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[page 2] requisitioned transportation systems and means for transportation; the former we did in the Civil War and the latter we have done in all our wars beginning with the Revolutionary War, with the possible exception of the Spanish- American War. We have requisitioned supplies for the army and the navy; but this we have done since we had any national existence. We have requisitioned land and provided for the taking over of the same by the government prior to the institution of formal condemnation proceedings; but this we did in the Civil War. We have passed laws fixing prices for articles taken over for the public use; the revolutionary statute books are filled with legislation of this character, and during the Civil War the Confederate Government passed similar statutes. Indeed during the Revolutionary War prices were fixed both for labor and materials, and not only as to transactions between the government and private individuals, but as between private individuals themselves. We have passed laws against hoarding necessaries; no other subject was more fruitful of legislation during our Revolutionary period than was this one. We have restricted the use of grains for the making of malt liquors and distilled spirits; so did our revolutionary fathers. We have taken over industries for operation during the war; so did we in the Revolution. Finally it is to be noted that in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War we impressed labor as such, both skilled and unskilled; this step we have not yet taken in the present war. It will be thus observed that none of the principles
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[page 3] which we are now invoking are new to our national life, and further that as a matterof fact that life has survived the application of other more drastic principles which, up to this time, it has not been found necessary to apply in the present emergency. But leaving my mere curiosity and coming to my text
Details
| Title | Letter to General Crowder from J. Reuban Clark, Jr. - May 27, 1918 |
| Creator | Clark, J. Reuben, Jr. |
| Source | Clark, J. Reuben, Jr. Letter to General Crowder. 27 May 1918. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | J. Rueben Clark Jr. wrote to General Enoch H. Crowder and compared the issues the military experienced during World War I to similar issues that occurred in past wars. This document is part of a collection compiled by Enoch Herbert Crowder, the Edinburg, Grundy County, Missouri native who served as Judge Advocate General. Crowder devised the Selective Service Act in 1917 which drafted America's forces during World War I. |
| Subject LCSH | Crowder, E. H. (Enoch Herbert), 1859-1932; World War, 1914-1918--Public opinion; Draft |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Site Accession Number | C1046 |
| Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | May 27, 1918 |
| Language | English |