or neglect to present himself to such mustering officer upon being
called forth ... shall be subject to trial by court martial, and shall
be punished as such court martial may direct.”
The law creates a vast reserve army now rapidly being perfected. The
law, especially as amended recently, gives the President power greater
than is possessed by some of the most dangerous and hated tyrants on
earth today. Issuing a general order by telegraph and post, the
President could suddenly place under orders from five to ten millions of
the strongest men in the land—including the strikers themselves; and to
neglect or refuse to obey such orders would mean a “court-martial” trial
with rigorous punishment. A court-martial jury is not noted for
gentleness; famously different from a jury of one’s “old neighbors.”