The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1919-02-27

s4SiAS NoN sNhtiS Pr = NA'e
grange, are self explanatory;
The article by the Pomona grange
in the Hood River News of February
II. ana several unsigned letters In re-
cent issues of our local papers, lead
me 70 say few words.
In the first place, the senate bill to
introduce military training in our
schools is a measure with a great deal
of merit. There is no better training
for our boy, physically mentally ard
morally than military training. This Is
self evident if one will look at and
study the men as they are coming back
from our camps. No one can deny
that they walk snsppier. stand up
straighter and are withal finer speci-
mems physically. They are more alert
and their minds are more active as a
result of this improved physical c0ndl-
tion. And the records of our camps
will show that moral conditions are
much better there than in our cities
and towns. Knowing these facts, and
no sane man or woman can deny them
when every passing train carries the
evidence, il is strange that some of
our prominent men, and especially
some connected with our school system
stand up and oppose this form of ath-
letic training for our children.
To call this proposed bill vicious
legislation and to state that military
training is demOrallzlng is an insult tC
the five hundred men of Hood River
county who have been members of our
army and navy during the past tive
years. Every person with a son, hus'
band or brother IN this war should per
sonally resent such statements.
1t is very plain that those who are
opposing this bill are people who were
active paciists before war was de
cared, were forced to keep quiet while
/ war was in progress, and are bobbinp
1 up again now that the war is finished
I 1t is those who had no sons or brothers
or husband in the war, in other words
it is those people who know least about
the subject 10 hand.
The pacifsts say that we do moi
want militarism and Prussanism drilled
into our boys, and we who believe il
preparedness agree with them; but
military training as advocated is az
far removed from Prusslanism as De
mocracy is from Bolshevism. No one
wants war and we all hope that tn,
League of Nations will in the future
prevent war. But we are very neg
ligent nation if war comes again ant
finds US as unprepared for it as W,
were two years ago. ii ad we durinl
the past ten years system OF mllitar,
training by which our boys in higl
school would have received six months
training. we could have put an effec
tive army into France twelve month
earlier than we did; the war woul,
then have ended year earlier than i
did million lives would have beel
saved, and year of war expense an,
waste would have been prevented.
We're it absolutely certain that W
would never again be drawn into war
! would still be an ardent advocate
Of military training because (D of it
value to the individual and ~ by it
value to the community, the state ant
the nation in bettering the physical
mental and moral characteristic of it
manhood. When such men as Gen
Wood, Sen. Chamberlain and man.
other prominent men are advocating
military training; when its decided ad
vantages can be seen in every return
ing soldier and sailor when Hood Riv
er county was patriotic enough to sem
five hundred men to this war, it is no
quite fair for few individuals to tr
to put Hood River county on record a
being opposed to tNis sort of valuabl
training for our young men. 1t is
case OF the tail attempting to wag th
dog. V. X. Abraham,
Major M. c. L, S. A.