National service

“ The industrial forces of the country, men and women alike, will be a great national, a great international Service Army,—a notable and honored host engaged in the service of the nation and the world ... Thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands, of men otherwise liable to military service will of right and necessity be excused from that service and assigned to the fundamental, sustaining work of the fields and factories and mines, and they will be as much part of the great patriotic forces of the nation as the men under fire. ”

“ Such, again, is the labour of the army and navy; they, at the best, prevent a country from being conquered, or from being injured or insulted, which is a service, but in all other respects leave the country neither improved nor deteriorated. Such, too, is the labour of the legislator, the judge, the officer of justice, and all other agents of government, in their ordinary functions, apart from any influence they may exert on the improvement of the national mind. The service which they render, is to maintain peace and security; these compose the utility which they produce. ”

“ Experience in other democratic Nations at war--Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand--has shown that the very existence of national service makes unnecessary the widespread use of compulsory power. National service has proven to be a unifying moral force based on an equal and comprehensive legal obligation of all people in a Nation at war. ”

“ Everyone with the desire to serve will have the opportunity and will meet social needs that for too long have gone unaddressed. National service will be a great gift for the next generation of Americans. ”

“ Pending action by the Congress on the broader aspects of national service, I recommend that the Congress immediately enact legislation which will be effective in using the services of the 4,000,000 men now classified as IV-F in whatever capacity is best for the war effort. ”

“ In our present trouble good and true men have a chance of taking things into their own hands, which has been denied to them for many generations.
This book has been written to establish the Need for National Service, in order that the British Empire may maintain itself securely in the present {422} circumstances of the world. If this contention be true it is obvious that a corresponding Duty lies upon the whole nation to accept the burden of military service. ”

“ Through all our defense discussions and legislation, one amazing thing has stood out very clearly—that the great majority of private citizens in America recognize no compelling obligation to place themselves, their time, or their resources at the disposal of the nation. ”

“ Whether, in the absence of a great dramatic crisis, we shall attain that heroic spirit by which a nation is finally welded together remains to be seen. America needs nationalized vision and action. America needs universal service from each [Pg 20] and every citizen. America needs to get together, to study itself, to have records of its needs and action, to organize, to plan, to standardize its efforts. ”

“ It must be borne in mind, however, that official duties were simple as compared with the functions of the modern public officer, and that, in the absence of foreign travel, standards of comparison were lacking. ”

“ The hundreds of volunteer, happy-go-lucky, hit-and-miss organizations throughout the country that have divided public attention with Congress have accomplished their task. We are entering upon the serious business of investigation, organization, and administration. We are ready for a policy, a program, and a leader. We are ready to act as a nation and not as the spokesman for any section or race.
A thoroughgoing policy of national preparedness to insure national unity and action cannot comprise less than five main divisions, all proceeding together toward a common goal. ”

“ We owe these obligations to any country in which we are guests. We still find ourselves, after generations of American citizens, debating whether we shall train our young men to defend America. We find the best life in the country not in government [Pg 95] service, building a strong nation, but in business, building an individual fortune. ”

“ The work would be so national, and the request made to you proceeding from the Government, your position would ensure the respect and consideration of every one, especially in a service where official rank carries so much weight. ”

“ Through initiatives such as America Reads, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the National Senior Service Corps, the Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps, Americans of every age, background, gender, and race are experiencing the rewards of helping others, and in the process becoming more responsible citizens. ”

“ The State and society shall respect and provide preferential treatment to servicepersons, guarantee their social status and protect their lawful rights and interests, carry out various activities to support the military and provide preferential treatment to the families of servicepersons and martyrs, and make military service a socially respected profession. ”

“ Military service bodies at all levels and grassroots people's armed forces bodies shall handle military service work in accordance with the law, attain their task of conscription in accordance with the orders of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, and ensure the qualifications of the enlisted. Relevant State bodies, people's groups, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and other organizations shall complete their militia and reserve work in accordance with the law, and assist in completing the task of conscription. ”

“ The country is to be congratulated upon the fine spirit with which organizations and groups of many kinds, some of them of national standing, have harnessed themselves together under the leadership of the government's agency in a common ministry to the men of the army and navy. ”

“ Of course, the base of all this tremendous work of Government is our unparalleled Civil Service. Our Civil Service is our glory and our pride. It is the admiration of all foreigners who see it, but it is, and I think I can appeal to you, sir—it is much more the admiration of those who as political Ministers are called upon to witness its working from within. They constitute the wheels and the springs on which moves the great Juggernaut Car of the State, and if these were once to get out of order, it would be an evil day indeed for Great Britain. ”

“ Behind Chapman’s professorial appearance—his wire-rimmed glasses and three-piece suits and unkempt hair—was a man who had been a colonel in World War I, a man who had resolved to make the dream of a national park into a reality. ”

“ To point you to the state of the various Departments of the Government and of all the great branches of the public service, civil and military, in order to speak of the intelligence and the integrity which pervades the whole, would be to indicate but imperfectly the administrative condition of the country and the beneficial effects of that on the general welfare. Nor would it suffice to say that the nation is actually at peace at home and abroad; that its industrial interests are prosperous ”

“ And, my lords, be the period of my Administration longer or shorter, not only shall I have obtained the highest object of my personal ambition, but I shall have fulfilled one of the highest ends of human being, if, in the course of that Administration, I can in the slightest degree advance the great object of peace on earth, and good-will among men—if I can advance the social, moral, and religious improvement of my country, and at the same time contribute to the safety, honour, and welfare of our Sovereign and her dominions! ”

“ A well-known American statesman once said, — of course in private, apropos of a pension bill, that the fact was that the grand army of the republic saved the country, and now it wanted it. It has been shown, from time to time, that military service has been thought to entitle a man to civil office. ”

“ A Government that shows the line of Britain's duty must be able to utilise the whole energies of her people for its performance. A duty laid upon the nation implies a duty laid upon every man to do his share of the nation's work, to assist the Government by obedient service, the best of which he is capable. It means a people trained every man to his task. ”

“ Huddled together and shivering in the wind, they are at first loath to accept this world of sight and sun, so different from the soundless wrappings of dark, warm soil. But soon, as with all young animals, curiosity leads them to investigation and then to boldness. ”

“ Several civil organizations coöperated with the War Department in work for the welfare of the soldier in training and overseas and very greatly aided the Government in its effort to enable the men who composed the army to return to their homes better and more capable men than they were when they left upon their country’s service. ”

“ So now, after all the years and all the tumult, the cattlemen have their grazing rights on the national forest lands and the right to drift their cattle across national park lands to reach those permits: people still have their homes, dudes still come to the dude ranches. No one, Oldtimer or Newcomer, would now deny that the national park has vitalized the economy of the valley a thousandfold. ”

“ As a partner in progress, government can expand and strengthen this great American legacy. AmeriCorps, the Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America now provide service opportunities for more than a million of our citizens. ”

“ The courage and the dedication of these men and women reflect the best tradition of our Foreign Service, our Armed Forces, and the other departments and agencies whose personnel serve our nation overseas, often in situations of great personal danger. ”

“ The report of the Secretary of War herewith attached, and forming a part of this message, gives all the information concerning the operations, wants, and necessities of the Army, and contains many suggestions and recommendations which I commend to your special attention.
There is no class of Government employees who are harder worked than the Army--officers and men; none who perform their tasks more cheerfully and efficiently and under circumstances of greater privations and hardships.
Legislation is desirable to render more efficient this branch of the public service. ”

“ To this end Congress has provided that the Nation shall be organized for war by selection, that each man shall be classified for service in the place to which it shall best serve the general good to call him. ”

“ The fighting Services, as the word itself so properly implies, are simply the People's servants, though they take their orders from the Government. So far, so good, within the limits of civil control, under which, and which alone, any national resources—in men, money, or material—can lawfully be turned to warlike ends. ”

“ Perhaps, the few prairie-dog sentinels that had stood motionless in the March wind wished that the spring would come. The sharp wind divides the dense fur of their winter coats while they survey the snow-skiffed ground of their silent town. They almost appear to regard the sun wistfully, wishing it strong, the snow gone, and the grass resurgent once again. But at last the meadowlarks lose their winter-long quiet, and the horned larks now lift up with extravagance, unhuddling from their long ordeal. ”

“ For this purpose, those of the civil government, the army, and navy, will need revisal.
When we consider that this government is charged with the external and mutual relations only of these states; that the states themselves have principal care of our persons, our property, and 10 our reputation, constituting the great field of human concerns, we may well doubt whether our organization is not too complicated, too expensive; whether offices and officers have not been multiplied unnecessarily, and sometimes injuriously to the service they were meant to promote. ”

“ The soldier is relieved from every care but that of his service; statesmen divide the business of civil government into shares; and the servants of the public, in every office, without being skilful in the affairs of state, may succeed, by observing forms which are already established on the experience of others. They are made, like the parts of an engine, to concur to a purpose, without any concert of their own: and equally blind with the trader to any general combination, they unite with him, in furnishing to the state its resources, its conduct, and its force. ”

“ Recognizing that instruction in the duties of citizenship, and providing information which will enable Americans to have a better understanding of their national affairs, is part of the arch of morale and of a strong uniting comradeship, the Armed Services nevertheless hold that the keystone of the arch, among fighting forces, is the inculcation of military ideals and the stimulation of principles of military action. ”

“ Throughout all the many services of the Council of National Defense during the war, its organization of war machinery, its mobilization of material resources, its bringing together of leaders in all phases of national life and showing them how they could aid the country, its vital work in enabling the humblest individual, and all the individuals in the nation, to become efficient in action for the war, the two most conspicuous features are, the voluntary character of all the effort and the universal willingness of the equally universal coöperation. ”

“ The submission you avow to the civil authority, an indispensable principle in the character of warriors in a free government, at the same moment when you make a solemn proffer of your Lives and Fortunes in the service of your country, is highly honorable to your dispositions as Citizens and Soldiers, and proves you perfectly qualified for the duties of both characters. ”