Milford chronicle., 1920-12-10
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
BAKER SETS SLACKERS FREE
WHILE WOUNDED SUFFER


yes, know. When the next wal
comes all the yellow fellows will say
they don't think it's right to fight, just
so they can get out of it," said JACK
in a very disgusted tone.
what are you two kids fussing
about now?" asked Uncle Ted from
the other room. Can't you play with
out fussing all the timer"
Sure l can" replied Jack, "but
Sister makes me tired when she says
war is all wrong and that the fel-
lows who wouldn't fight were all right
They were just plain yellow. that's
all that was the matter with them
81 don't know about that" said IN
Gle Ted, but l do know that the way
Secretary of War Newton d. Baker
has treated the conscientious object
ors' is something that no man who
did fight in the war can swallow with
out feeling nightly funny l fought
in the war all the way through and" Z"
You bet you did" interrupted
Jack.
1T is nothing to brag about, Jack.
1t was my duty. My country needed
me and did what was right But to
get back to what / was saying. l
don't object so much TO the kind way
in which Secretary Baker has treat
ed those men who refused to shoulder
rifle but 1 do object to the way this
Administration has treated the wound
ed men who DID FIGHT and who are
now almost forgotten. If a Wounded
man goes to the War Risk Bureau they
send him to the Public Health Service
and the Public Health Service sends
him to the Vocational Education Bu-
reau and they say they can't do any
thing until they hear from the War /
Risk. He is simply showed from one /
place to the other.
Just a little while ago several men .
from the American Legion met in
Washington to try and remedy this
condition. They will have a bill in
troduced in Congress to bring these
three branches together so that the
wounded men will receive better treat
ment and so that proper hospital quar-
ters will be provided instead of the
poor ones now in use"
Didn't Secretary Baker let out
lot of those men who wouldn't fight?"
asked Ruth.
"Yes, he did. He let out a lot of I
them long ago after they had rested ]
in prison with good food and warm ;
beds as compared with the kind of [
food and beds the FIGHTING men had !
to contend with. l know that the first ]
men he let out received full army !
pay, too, for the time they were in i
prison. Now the latest thing Mr..
Baker does is to issue an order which [
sets all of them free. There were SO /
of them left. Mr.. Baker in his order I
sets them free because he says their ]
sentences were remitted to the peace {
time basis for the offense charged. {
How he can figure that is more than ]
know. Why should he put their |
sentences on peace time basis when [
they refused to fight at time when I
the country needed her fighting men S
at a time when we we're at war? {
Mr.. Baker has certainly been most
kind and gentle with these men ana
spent a lot of time seeing that they
got is just as easy as pOssible-at
least [ can't see anything else TO it.
The case stands on its own merits. v
But as l said before, that isn't so n
bad as the way he has NOT thought a
of the men who DID fight a
well. he won't have to worry about
the objectors now so he ought to have I
lot of time to think of the wound +
ed men, said Jack. S
..Yes, Jack" answered his Uncle, +
that is very true and just what Col. I
Galbraith, head of the American Leg )
ion. said when he heard Of Mr.. Bak- !
er's order. 4
However, kiddies, we won't have 5
TO worry with Mr.. Baker much long
er. Which reminds me, that Senator /
Harding is mighty busy now deciding ,
on a really big man to take his place /
and I'll make you both little bet, ,
that when he announces his cabinet ,
Won will find that every name in it is
the name of one Of the biggest men
in the country. well fitted for the par
ticular cabinet job which he will be
asked to hold. 1t surely will be Won
derful to look toward Washington and
know that men who are there con-
ducting public affairs are planning
the best things for this country, first,
last and all the time. There will be
no playing or meddling with the busi-
ness of other countries. There will be
no trips to Paris or London as the
self-appointed representative of Am ,
erican citizens. There will be an adj
ministration by business men that ,
will do more to bring down the high
cost of living and straighten out un- ,
rest than all the pleading may l not !
letters in the world. Now you both
run along to bed. Good night" /