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TURNING COLLEGIANS
INTO FIGHTERS
By B. W. ELSOM
BEFORE AND AFTER
This student was afflicted with a decided curvature ol the spine, and could n r have been accepted (or military service.
How well this was corrected in a short space ol time shown by the photograph at the right.
W H E N Canada issued her
call for troops two years
ago, it was the young
men of her colleges and
universities who were first
In throng to her enlisting stations.
Today the United States has toppled
over war's precipice. Will not our country
look to the same source for the heart
of her volunteer army? Certain it is
that our college halls contain thousands
of the finest young men of the land.
W'hv should not the United States depend
on these?
We arc a nation of optimists, so we
hear those on all sides who shout "Yes"
to this question, and who then proceed
In call to our minds how eagerly the
young men of Revolutionary times gath­
ered about George Washington in time
of need. But there is one point that
these enthusiasts overlook; sometimes
"the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak." The young men of today are
not of the mold of their forefathers
who rallied fresh from the vigorous life
of farm and woods. For the most part
they are city men, and city life has decreased
their fitness for the hardships of
army life. If our college men of todav
fail to make good soldiers, they will fail
not from lack of patriotism, but from
lack of physique. This statement is not
a mere theory; it is a stubborn fact.
We may prove for ourselves to what
extent it is true by looking at the physical
examination records taken at some
of the universities. The Universitv of
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