"Not with military success—"
"Granted. But if these jackals break down the confidence of the people in the administration, volunteering ceases and we have no army."
"We must use the Conscription. It is inevitable—"
"Exactly!" the Secretary cried triumphantly. "And Conscription is the reductio ad absurdum of your dream of Constitutional Law. Why set up a Constitution at all to-day?"
"Congress must pass a Conscript law when necessity demands it."
"In their own way, yes—with ifs and ands and clauses which defeat its purpose."
"They must respond to the demands of our people when their patriotism is aroused."
"Our people have patriotism to spare if we can only guide it in the right direction. If it goes to seed in the personal quarrels of generals, if it exhausts itself in abuse of the Executive, while an overwhelming enemy marches on us—What then?"
The President lifted his head.