The Coconino sun., 1919-02-07
SOLDIERS SHOULD BE
 ALLOWED UNIFORMS

Senator James E. Watson, republi- can, Indiana, has introduced a joint resolution in the United States Sen ate authorizing and permitting enlist ed men of the army, navy and marine corps, who are now or who have beer at any time engaged in active ser, vice since the declaration of war by the government of the United States against the Imperial government oi German, and who have been or who shall be hereafter 'honorably discharg, ed from the army, navy or marine corps, to retain and keep as their owr individual property all of the uni. forms, including overcoats, possessed by them at the time of their discharge
 The present law requires that they must surrender all such equipment with the exception of underwear ant socks, within four months from ths time of their discharge. In connec' ton with the introduction of this res olution, Senator Watson observes that the veterans of the Civil war on botl sides were permitted to retain theil uniforms and were very proud to wear them in after years.
 Not All a Matter of Sentiment.
 There is something in this resolu tion, however, in addition to the sen timent attached to it. At the present price of clothing it costs quite a sun for soldier to equip himself with ar entire civilian outfit, as the majority of the men discharged from the army will have to do because of the change in their physical stature since they entered the army. It is universally reported that the training in camps and the active campaigning in France has so modified the stature of the mer who entered the army, that the over whelming majority of them cannot wear the civilian outfits they pu aside when they were called to ser vice.
 In addition to those two features there is yet another. The Kansas Cit. Star relates the story of a soldier wht was wounded in overseas service, sen home to Camp Funston, and ther' honorably discharged from the army He went to Junction City, Kansas where it took every cent of his say ings to buy himself complete civil ian outfit, he having, under the pres ent law, been compelled to turn owe all of his soldier outfit to the govern ment.
 : At practically the same time, conscientious objector" was release' i from Camp Funston, under order O i Secretary of War Baker. His dis charge slip showed that he had no rendered any military service, that h. i had refused to wear any military un form, that his military career wa bad. Nevertheless, an official of tn government accompanied him to June 1 tion City, Kansas, and there, unde 1 the rules of the war department bought him a complete new civilia outfit, the government paying tn bill. ...
 Why Favor the Slackers?
 There can be no defense of a sys tenn which compels men who hay honorably served in the army, an navy to give up all of their militar clothing, and at their own expense bu civilian outfits, which, at the sam time, enables men, who have refuse to fight or even to wear the uniforr of their country, to reclothe them selves completely at the expense O the government.
 The Philadelphia Enquirer, in con tmenting upon the law which Senate Watson would amend, says in an edi torial, under the caption, Must Uncl Sam Become An old Clos Man ?"
 "Under the present army regula tions enlisted men discharged froI the army are required to turn bac within four months time one suit c uniform outer clothing, which Ger March interprets to mean hat, an hat-cord, a flannel shirt, servic coat and ornaments, pair of breecf es, pair of shoes, a pair of legging belt, over coat and slicker. The SO dier may keep his underwear an socks.
 "What does the government war of the soldiers old clothes? Tn ouartermaster's department is stocke with clothes enough to supply an al my of 3,000,000 men for a year, an although the efficiency men of the d partment are very keen on the matte of salvage just at present, the valu of these old uniforms even for COT version into shoddy, is inconsequeI tial. Possibly their value to the indivit ual soldier will not be greater in tt majority of cases, but if here ar there a soldier may find himself
 such circumstances that part of h uniform will serve his need for a p riod beyond the regulation fol months, he ought not to be indictab
 or liable to a military search warral , for retaining the property. And the uniform which daddy wore wht ] he fought the kaiser's Huns is to hay no other mission than to tell it's ow 1 rtor,r tn tha childran and fhe chil.