Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson
Title
Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson
Creator
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937
Identifier
WWP25308
Date
1918 October 24
Description
Secretary of War urges President Wilson to respond to question about the militarization of the Red Cross.
Source
Library of Congress, Woodrow Wilson Papers
Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
Subject
Davison, Henry Pomeroy, 1867-1922
American Red Cross
Contributor
Danna Faulds
Relation
WWP25309
WWP25310
Language
English
Provenance
Document scan was taken from Library of Congress microfilm reel of the Wilson Papers. WWPL volunteers transcribed the text.
Text
My dear Mr. President:
When I was in France, Mr. H. P. Davison, chairman of the War Work Committee of the Red Cross, called upon me to urge the militarization of so much of the Red Cross personnel in France as is immediately engaged in work associated with our Army. The number of persons involved, as I recall it, was some 725 whom he desired to have commissioned as officers in the Army, and about 1800 whom he desired to have taken in as enlisted personnel, both groups, upon being admitted into the Army of the United States, to be assigned to the Red Cross to carry on its work as they are now doing.
In the interview, Mr. Davison called my attention to a cablegram which he had sent you on the subject, and I agreed with him that I would send you a telegram expressing my joint concurrence in his desire to preserve the Red Cross from disintegration and its work from impairment. At that time I foresaw that there would probably be difficulties growing out of the fact that other organizations, like the Y. M. C. A., would feel that their personnel should be militarized under the same circumstances, and I further realized that if a start was made in this direction in Europe, arguments would be made for its extension to the United States, with the result that these benevolent and philanthropic agencies would in effect be privately managed branches of the Military Establishment, the officers and enlisted men being paid by the Government but their activities directed by civilians, and the work done by them in the nature of civilian service. Since my return I have given the matter serious thought, and have asked the Judge Advocate General to give me his opinion as to the legality of the proposed militarization. I enclose a copy of the opinion of the Judge Advocate General, which seems to me conclusive and shows that it would be unlawful for us to do what Mr. Davison desired to have done.
The situation with regard to the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., and the other recognized agencies employing men in connection with works of mercy and service to our soldiers abroad, is really serious. An effort was made by each of these agencies to secure its personnel from citizens beyond the draft age. Even then many of their representatives felt that a certain stigma attached to them in the eyes of the soldiers because they were not actively engaged with the fighting forces, and, while many of these representatives were in fact frequently exposed to the perils of battle they were never really frankly accepted by the soldiers, generally, as being engaged in patriotic work of as dignified and hazardous a character as that of the soldiers themselves. Many of these men are high-spirited and prefer military service. All of them, I think it may be said, are deeply anxious to serve their country to the best of their ability, and very few, if any, are using their present service as a means of avoiding more active military duty.
The extension of the age limits of the draft has of course greatly complicated the problem. Many of these workers are now within the draft and subject to its provisions, and those who for any reason would have a claim for deferred classification are either unwilling to make the claim or humiliated at having to make it or having it made for them. There is, therefore, a constant drift of these men into the military service in Europe, and when we seek to prevent their admission into the military service in order to retain them in the Red Cross or Y. M. C. A. work, they demand their right as American citizens to serve in the Army.
I confess I have not been able to work out a solution of the problem, not do I think there is any solution which is really satisfactory; but I think if you were to answer Mr. Davison’s cablegram in the spirit of the draft which I enclose, it would go far toward reconciling a good many of his important men to stay with their present work and at least give them the approving word of the Commander-in-Chief as an assurance against the doubts which their sensitive feelings are at present suffering.
Respectfully yours,
Newton D. Baker
When I was in France, Mr. H. P. Davison, chairman of the War Work Committee of the Red Cross, called upon me to urge the militarization of so much of the Red Cross personnel in France as is immediately engaged in work associated with our Army. The number of persons involved, as I recall it, was some 725 whom he desired to have commissioned as officers in the Army, and about 1800 whom he desired to have taken in as enlisted personnel, both groups, upon being admitted into the Army of the United States, to be assigned to the Red Cross to carry on its work as they are now doing.
In the interview, Mr. Davison called my attention to a cablegram which he had sent you on the subject, and I agreed with him that I would send you a telegram expressing my joint concurrence in his desire to preserve the Red Cross from disintegration and its work from impairment. At that time I foresaw that there would probably be difficulties growing out of the fact that other organizations, like the Y. M. C. A., would feel that their personnel should be militarized under the same circumstances, and I further realized that if a start was made in this direction in Europe, arguments would be made for its extension to the United States, with the result that these benevolent and philanthropic agencies would in effect be privately managed branches of the Military Establishment, the officers and enlisted men being paid by the Government but their activities directed by civilians, and the work done by them in the nature of civilian service. Since my return I have given the matter serious thought, and have asked the Judge Advocate General to give me his opinion as to the legality of the proposed militarization. I enclose a copy of the opinion of the Judge Advocate General, which seems to me conclusive and shows that it would be unlawful for us to do what Mr. Davison desired to have done.
The situation with regard to the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., and the other recognized agencies employing men in connection with works of mercy and service to our soldiers abroad, is really serious. An effort was made by each of these agencies to secure its personnel from citizens beyond the draft age. Even then many of their representatives felt that a certain stigma attached to them in the eyes of the soldiers because they were not actively engaged with the fighting forces, and, while many of these representatives were in fact frequently exposed to the perils of battle they were never really frankly accepted by the soldiers, generally, as being engaged in patriotic work of as dignified and hazardous a character as that of the soldiers themselves. Many of these men are high-spirited and prefer military service. All of them, I think it may be said, are deeply anxious to serve their country to the best of their ability, and very few, if any, are using their present service as a means of avoiding more active military duty.
The extension of the age limits of the draft has of course greatly complicated the problem. Many of these workers are now within the draft and subject to its provisions, and those who for any reason would have a claim for deferred classification are either unwilling to make the claim or humiliated at having to make it or having it made for them. There is, therefore, a constant drift of these men into the military service in Europe, and when we seek to prevent their admission into the military service in order to retain them in the Red Cross or Y. M. C. A. work, they demand their right as American citizens to serve in the Army.
I confess I have not been able to work out a solution of the problem, not do I think there is any solution which is really satisfactory; but I think if you were to answer Mr. Davison’s cablegram in the spirit of the draft which I enclose, it would go far toward reconciling a good many of his important men to stay with their present work and at least give them the approving word of the Commander-in-Chief as an assurance against the doubts which their sensitive feelings are at present suffering.
Respectfully yours,
Newton D. Baker
Original Format
Letter
To
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Files
Collection
Citation
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937, “Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson,” 1918 October 24, WWP25308, World War I Letters, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.