The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1920-04-22
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
MEN CHANGED BY BATTLE
Soldiers Have Learned What Can es
Accomplished ~ the uss Of Force.
stprnly and Efficiently
Applied.
Article TX
~ PRANK coMERFoRp.

DOES more than change the clothes h
wears. Il changes the man. Mel
who had never owned = revolyel
or rife, who had never even shot ons
on, who had never killed anything II
their lives, were given firearms. Thej
were drilled. taught to shoot, taught
| 10 kill. The education was thorough
aud scientific. They learned TO look
down the sight of = rife. pick out
human heart Tor q target. fre and
eagsrly watch for the man TO fall.
! They were trained TO rush fnadly At
= wall Of human beings and drive bay
| onets into mems heads and bowels.
Many Of these men = few years be-
fore would have tainted In a stock
yards where cattle we're being killed.
For four years they have been in a
human slauRhterhouse. not only as
spectators, but as part Of the place.
II steeled these men. Many Of them
contracted the undertaker's point Of
view towards life, fatalism without
fenr
Experience In battle taught them
the meaning Of the word force.
They discovered that the individual
was only important and efficient when
he acted In concert with great group.
Everything depended upon team work.
Men learned that . group OF men
working In harmony. with nerve and
rifles with nxed bayonets. could do
wonderful things They could take an
objective. In other words. take the
thing they wanted aud needed. When
these men came back into civil life
and took OF khaki and put on over
alls, the taking on of the khaki and
the putting on Of mufti did not erase
from their minds this lesson the war
had taught them.
This lesson has borne fruit. The
men look at the employer as an en-
envy. The employer thinks OF them
AZ commodity. Hatred Is cordial.
The men want something. They de-
mand II, The employer refuses.
Their objective Is to get the thing
they want and need. The war taught
them there Is n way @eapon-Force.
To-day IN Europe men reason, III we
cant get what we want. ana need we
must take IT, We have the force.
Having grown hahited to suffering, ac-
cnstomed To blood ana death' they
look with Indifference ON the question
OF tnnger. OF price. They saw that
when nations conln not agree they re-
sorted To force. Ihey discovered that
victory generally went 10 the nation
possessing the greatest force
Threat Of Direct Action"
In the labor movement OF Europe
we hive this Idea In what IL called
"direct action" Direct action" Is
nothing more or less than applying
wnr methods to peace conditions. It
is an effort on the part OF great groups
of working men to compel recognition
OF their demands. They seek TO Sc
cure their objective by force. No al
lowance In made Tor the fact that
methods Unsuitable In war are not
right In peace. Few people will deny
that war is the supreme expression
o. force.
Many men got their FIRST taste of
fresh alr and decent food while In the
army. Very properly the allied gov.
ernments gave the best Of everything
To the men In the armies II isn't diff
cult to get accustomed to good food
and fresh air; II Is hard to 20 back
to poor food and the tenements. Back
home. many Of the demohilized sol.
dlers are not eating ~ we'll or a.
much as they ate during their service.
No,w,,h.,sna,ns ths r,rid dlsc,pllne
a, .rmv NJ. men mr.. treated a. man
Ths hnmhls.t man in thu ranks has