Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-05-29

commands of their officers much less
their technical instruction. They can
not read the notices on the bulletin
4 ards at the head of company streets.
They cannot sign their names to mus
ttr roll or payroll. The llanual of arms
is q Greek text book to them. Why
they cannot read their letters from
home nor write to home folks or
sWeetheartsi
ION, yes, Y. M. C. A. secretaries and
Red Cross men and nurses in the
hospitals must often act as amanuen-
sis for some strapping illiterate sol
der and st down in cold ink the burn
ing words of love and devotion which
the big fellow can feel but can not
express on paper.
These soldiers and prospective sol
diers of limited English education nat
urally divide into two groups. One
the foreign born man, who may be well
educated and may be able to use his
speech fluently. The other-the litter
ates who were born and reared in the
United States. For the latter, we as a
people are responsible. Too often our
school laws are inadequate or are not
enforced. Some states have no M
pulsory schooling laws at all.s Some
neglect the blacks-others make no
provision for the education of the for
eign- born people. Pennsylvania, with
excellent school laws still has TO-,
600 one room school houses.
However startled we may be by the
illiteracy in the army the situation is
no better in the remainder of our adult
population. OF all our people, twenty
years of age or more at the census of
10, four and half millions were Hit
crate number equal to the total
1f re ion
states Half of this Large number was
white persons and of these one and a
half million were native born Hitter
ate whites.
AS for the foreign born, America
has been called the melting pot" re-
filming all that is cast into it. America
is an army soup caldron into which
everything goes and out of which
comes a rich, palatable, wholesome
"slum the army stew. "E pluribus
unum" may mean from many races
one people.
Discovered by English, French,
Dutch and Spaniards; colonized by
these and also by swedes, Irishmen,
Scotchmen and German redo nption-
ers, America has welcomed to her
shores a polyglIt population. The Irish
fleeing in great numbers from the IA
mine were here saved from starvation
to become policemen and politicians
The Welsh became bosses in the coal
mines. The Norwegians became sub
stantial farmers in the great north
west. The Germans made Milwaukee
famous The oppressed Jews found a
haven, if not the new Jerusalem in
Americas great cities, while Italians,
Austrians, Slavs and indeed Syrians
and black Africans have found profit
III =
trial centers.
Non English speaking foreigner : and
illiterate natives above school age
should at once be gathered into classes
for instruction in reading and writing
the English language Attendance
should be compulsory. No m g pat
riotic service could be undert ken by
any community, but such instruction
should not be left to local initiative
The federal government should organ
iZe and supervise these classes on a
comprehensive scale and be respon-
sible for the utcome.
1t is too late to wait until these men
have been drafted, called and assigned
to some unit OF course even then,
, chaplains the young mems Christian
association ard other organiza-
tons may give intensive training in
6l6iHeHtdiy EISIlSn out unUef very
adverse conditions
Let America wipe out adult Hitter
acy and provide adequate education
for every child and young person.
The good intentions of the electo-
rate are sometimes thwarted by lack
of information. Patriotism is weaken
ed by ignorance. Illiteracy is a subtle
foe of democracy and must be exter-
minated
G. B. L.