World's War Events, Vol. II

by Unknown

On the 6th day of April Congress declared "That the state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government which had been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared." By this declaration and the proclamation of the President pursuant thereto, the United States entered the great conflict which had raged in Europe from August, 1914, as a belligerent power, and began immediately to prepare to defend the rights of the Nation, which for months had been endangered and denied by high-handed and inhuman acts of the German Government both on land and sea. The peaceful ambitions of our people had long postponed our entrance into the conflict; and adherence to a strict neutrality through long months of delicate situations delayed the beginning of active military preparation. At once, however, upon a declaration of a state of war, Congress began the consideration of the measures necessary for the enlargement of the military forces and the coordination of the industrial strength of the Nation. It was understood at the outset that war under modern conditions involved not only larger armies than the United States had ever assembled, but also more far-reaching modifications of our ordinary industrial processes and wider departures from the peace-time activities of the people. The task of the United States was not only immediately to increase its naval and military forces, not only to order the agricultural and industrial life of the Nation to support these enlarged military establishments, but also to bear an increasing financial, industrial, and agricultural burden for the support of those nations which, since 1914, have been in arms against the Imperial German Government and have borne not only the full force of the attack of its great military machine, but also the continuing drain upon their economic resources and their capacity for production which so titanic and long-continued a struggle necessarily entail.

The whole people wish to help.

Benevolent and philanthropic societies.

The first response from the country to the act of Congress in declaring a state of war came in the form of offers of services from the people, and for weeks there poured into the War Department an almost bewildering stream of letters and visitors offering service of every kind. Without distinction of age, sex, or occupation, without distinction of geographical location or sectional difference, the people arose with but one thought in their mind, that of tendering themselves, their talents, and their substance for the best use the country could make of them in the emergency. Organizations and associations sprang up over night in thousands of places, inspired by the hope that collective offers and aggregations of strength and facilities might be more readily assimilated by the Government; and benevolent and philanthropic societies began to form for the purpose of taking up as far as might be the vicarious griefs which follow in the train of military operations. There was at the outset some inevitable crossing of purposes and duplication of effort, and perhaps there may have been some disappointment that a more instantaneous use could not be made of all this wealth of willingness and patriotic spirit; but it was a superb and inspiring spectacle. Out of the body of a nation devoted to productive and peaceful pursuits, and evidencing its collective spirit only upon occasions for the settlement of domestic and institutional questions, there arose the figure of a national spirit which had lain dormant until summoned by a national emergency; but which, when it emerged, was seen to embody loyalty to our institutions, unity of purpose, and willingness to sacrifice on the part of our entire people as their underlying and dominant character.

Great national strength in a free people.

Those who believed that the obvious and daily exhibition of power which takes place in an autocracy is necessary for national strength, discovered that a finer, and freer, and greater national strength subsists in a free people, and that the silent processes of democracy, with their normal accent on the freedom of individuals, nevertheless afford springs of collective action and inspiration for self-sacrifice as wide and effective as they are spontaneous. The several Government departments, the Council of National Defense, and other agencies of a more or less formal character subdivided the work of organization. Congress rapidly perfected its legislative program, and in a few weeks very definite direction began to appear in the work of preparation.

Act to increase Military Establishment.

The act of May 18, 1917, entitled "An act to authorize the President to increase temporarily the Military Establishment of the United States," looked to three sources for the Army which it created:

Regular Army to be increased.

1. The regular Army, of which the actual strength on June 30, 1917, was 250,157 men and officers. The provisions of the act, however, contemplated an increase of the Regular Army to 18,033 officers and 470,185 enlisted men, the increase being effected by the immediate call of the increments provided in the National Defense Act of 1916, and the raising of all branches of the service to war strength.