The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-11-12
FIGHT BEING MADE ON PED
Oilers In NAVY UNIFORM

, All the backing that the War De
partment can give it will be benin,
the New York City drive against ped
: dlers in the uniform of the Army O.
!, Navy who are found selling things il
public places. Hundreds of letters O
protest have reached the city's Police
Department, and it is announced tina
men in uniform will no longer be al
lowed to peddle or beg.
Secretary of War Baker, IN a let
ter recently made public, called at
tention to this nuisance which had
sprung up in many of the larger cit
les. Major General William G. Ham
l Nv in charge of soldier employment
for the War Department, is determ
ined to use every means possible to
uphold the sanctity of the Army and
Navy uniforms throughout the coun
try. There are practically no laws
| against such misuse, save in isolated
communities, and Secretary Baker
and General Ham hope to achieve
their end by calling on the general
public to cease patronizing such Of
tenders.
In statement issued from the Or
flee OF the, Assistant to the Secretary
of War, General HAN declares:
"A man in uniform seeking aims or
trying to peddle worthless trinkets or
booklets is living witness to the as.
sumption that the United States gov
eminent has neglected its fighting
ing men, leaving them to shift for
themselves.
In the minds Of the people of the
United States and in the minds Of
some Of the discharged soldiers dur
ing the first few months after demob-
ilization started there appeared to be
ground for the belief that the Govern
ment was neglecting it's ex-soldiers.
This was anly apparent, however.
The Congress desired that the sol
diers be properly cared for. It Gre
ated machinery to look after disabled
men by authorizing the organization
OF the Federal Board for Vocational
Training and appropriations consid-
cradle sums of money. 1t has taken
some little time for this Board to get
INTO operation. 1t is now, however.
beginning to do effective work.
"The Secretary of War on his own
account organized in his office a SER
vice which has looked after dis.
charged enlisted men out Of jobs, has
put them everywhere in touch with
employers and has enlisted the ser.
vice of the welfare organizations. the
American Legion and other bodies in
assisting them to get in touch with
employers and other activities anx-
lous to look out for their welfare and
give them employment. This Blu
reau, now known as the Service and
Information Branch, has done a ire
mendous amount of work by it's agen-
cies all over the United States for
the discharged soldiers and at the
present time it may be said that t
should not be necessary for single
able-bodied service man in the Uni
ted States to be loafing or to be with.
out a job.
"A discharged soldier, who appears
in public in uniform for the purpose
OF advertising the uniform or per ,
haps better for advertising himself
IN order to collect without ADEQUATE
work funds for his own benefit. is
postituting the good name of the SER
vice OF which once he formed a part
and in which the American people
feel a just pride"
Chlef Magistrate McAdoo, in
launching New York's campaign, has
advised the police to bring in all
persons who use military attire as
a means of almsgetting from a sym
pathetic public. He also denounces
the persons who have commercialized
the Army olive drab and the NAVY
blue by sending out their statesmen in
uniform to solicit trade.
I request the public to refuse to
patronize any concern that puts a dol.
lar mark on the soldier garb, exacting
a profit from patriotism" he saws. n