Then  I  sat  down  and  wrote  my  first  letter  to  the  Presi-
dent. It  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  words,  but  in  forty-
eight  hours  a  written  apology  came  from  the  student,  and
the  incident  might  have  been  closed  but  for  an  announce-
ment in  the  public  press  that  the  Signal  Corps  of  the  Army
desired  to  enlist  for  military  service  a  few  young  men  of
education,  with  a  view  to  having  them  take  a  certain  course
of  study  and  then  be  appointed  observer  sergeants — board,
lodging,  tuition  absolutely  free,  abundant  time  for  other
study  and  exercise,  and  $50  per  month  pay  while  under-
going instruction.
I  thought  there  must  be  some  mistake  about  it  some-
where, but  the  conscientious  objector  obviously  did  not,  for
he  promptly  appeared  with  a  letter  from  the  President,
asking  me  for  a  letter  of  recommendation  for  the  bearer  to
the  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army.  I  took  that  letter  to
the  President,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  forgotten  the  young
man's  conscientious  objections  to  any  form  of  military
service — and  he  had.
