The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-26
WILL EDUCATE
 TANK SOLDIERS

Paris, May 26. Correspondence of The Associated Press. "A great new educational force in the shape of the being in the United States in the near future if the present plans of gov ernment officials, army officers and prominent civilian educators are real ized.
 Briefly, it Is proposed to make Un- cle Sam s standing army a huge uni versity in which the young men of the country will receive not only physical and military training. but will be giv- en opportunities to acquire academic and vocational learning which might be beyond their reach in civil life. The old days of virtual wastage of time which represented almost blank pages in the life diary of the soldier will be thing of the past. Instead of be- ing turned back into civil life in a more hopeless state than when he en- tered the army ne will be equipped to wage O vigora IsNight for his place in the sun of the business or pro fessional world.
 The possibilities of this plan have been demonstrated in the wonderful work done during the past few months by the Educational Commission in the American Expeditionary Force in France Since the signing of the ar mistice something like 450,OOO Amer ican soldiers have been apprecjably benefited by the army schools. which have been put within reach of every man and which have provided facili- ties to study almost every conceivable subject, from farming to philoso- phY.
 Few of the army educators in E'ranCa ren1izad the how great a work they were starting. The avidity with which the enlisted men and his officers have seized upon the proffered opportunities has astounded them.
 With this object lesson before it. the army has been inspired to carry on this work at home in the stand ing forces. The project assumes, it is understood. that the standing army of the future will be a comparatively large one. and that there may be a short period of compulsory training for the youths of the country. all though the scheme is not dependent upon the compulsory feature.
 Under the new system all subjects would be taught, from A. B, C's for the illiterate, up through perhaps the first year of university work Vo- cational training would naturally form a most important phase of the program. Boys who had no oppor- tunity for schooling before entering the army would be started on their way and would be permitted to reen- list at the expiration of their ser vice in order to carry on their stu dies. Others. who perhaps had fin ished high school. would be given chance to begin their college course so that there would be no waste of time in case they were planning to go into professions or business.
 There would be military training, of course, and the soldiers would be made as nearly physical perfect as possible. A large part of their time, however. would be devoted. If they so desired, to improve their minds. Thus, the army believes. any boy. no matter what his standing in society. would be materially benefited by his period of service with the colors.
 Probably the man who would profit most would be the one who had ac- quired either no education or had been forced to leave school at an early age: for example, a New York East Side boy who has left school to help support the family and has no equipment to enable him to secure lucrative work and so drifts about in unskilled labor. If he enters the army. he is to be put to work in the school. housed and fed, and paid a regular wage that he can send home to his people. At the end of the year 1t Is expected that he will be profi- cient enough in his trade so that he can secure a job with good prospects. The gate to the broad highway will be opened to him.
 It is believed by educators that xUi11 devote not only one year to the army but will re- main for several years. in orcer to acquire at least some higher edu- cation.
 This. in brief, is the plan which is being worked on in Paris now by prominent men who have every hope that it will be carried out.