The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-31
PUBLIC OPINION

To the Editor of The Farmer:
 An article has recently appeared, in The Telegram of this city, entitled ssThe Army and Civil Service, This article is a malicious attack, on the Army Legislation now before Con- gress- It is evidently written. by one who to say the least is a. dyed-in-the- he asks is: Is there any real reason why military service in the U. s. Ar my must be thus regarded, to make 1t attractive AHuding to a certain feature. of the bill which states that honorably discharged soldiers, with six years service, to their credit, seek : ing Civil Service positions, may ap- pear before as3zoard of Army Officers, for examinatiom, instead of being obliged to ceaforIh to the present Civil Service HN1es- He leaves the impression tFlat the service man. after passing Elef Honorable Army board, will be more than apt to prove incompetent, eto Such nonsense! Are U. S. Army Officials fools2 Would they be apt to passan utterly incom- petent man mere on the strength of his military ser1feR2 Certainly not. Army Officers are to-day in demand all over this old world, including the i U. s. A., because they possess a spe- cia1 training which fits them to hold positions of trust. They are certain ly fitted for the requirements of a mere Civil Service board of examin- CTS. In regard to the so-ca1led pref erence given the discharged soldier under present rules and regulations there is one small article in the whole, " hieh states that HonorabIy d1scnarB. ed soldiers or sailors, who |lave been disabled in the line of duty will not have to conform to the age limit, will only be obliged to attain an average percentage of 5 instead of the pre- scribed TO per cent in their exannina- ton papers and their names would figure at the head, of the list. An a1yzed this means that only wounded and pensioned soldiers and sailors are given direct preference. The vast majority of discharged soldiers and they are the gnWounded and non pensioned ones, are obliged to take chances with the mob of applicants. What little preference that may be given him is of cheap verbal variety and doesn't assist him in obtaining the job In nine cases out of ten a ci- viIian with the same average will be chosen. Yesi Some civilian who new CT served his country and never in- tended to. The poor ex-soldier who has faithfully served the Republic is left to shift for himself. If he ob- tains the position, very good, if not, then let him re7enlist and die sol dier. Unfortunately for the old moss
 
 ticians and present Civil Service 1n- cumbents, the country has awakened to the fact that efficient and thorough ly trained soldiers, in large numbers are needed and that the honorabIy discharged soldier deserves well of his country and that his army training and willingness to serve again when needed, is a valuabaIe asset to other qualifications he may possess. The old alarm cry of t'miIitarism and caste is being sounded by civilians who are afraid of their jobs and who seek their own ends. In reply Eng land or France will stand as examples. No well informed person can doubt the efficiency of the Postal Service in eith- CT of the two countries and positions there are largely filled by ex-service men. The American public isn't com posed of fools and now that they realize that present day conditions had bst be met with up-to-date meth ods and that a stitch in time saves nine are more than willing to assist and finance the government in it's pre- paredness methods. Such an attack on the Army Bill is unpatriotic and merits the contempt of all liberal minded people.
 A. R. STAMFORD,
 99 Grant St Ex-SoIdier.