Woodrow Wilson to Carter Glass

I beg that you will not think of enlisting in the Army. You are one of the men I shall most depend upon to keep the counsels of the country steady and the Congress efficient in the performance of its fundamental and all-important duties. Surely, you are just as much serving the colors there as you could be in the ranks of the Army. We are mobilizing the nation as well as creating an Army, and that means that we must keep every instrumentality in it at its highest pitch of efficiency and guided by thoughtful intelligence. In my own view, it is clearly your duty to stay where you are.
In haste, with warm regard and admiration,