Omaha daily bee., 1920-02-19
Military and Vocational
Training Combined
From the Minneapolis Tribune.

How to induce men to- join his army is one
of Uncle Sans problems.
We are supposed to have a standing army
of several hundred thousand men and recruit
ing for that army is going on all over the cour-
try, but it is not bringing in with desirable
rapidity the necessary number of men.
Probably one reason-we are inclined to
think the chief reason-is that, to use we'll
worn phrase in business the War department
has been lacking in salesmanship." They have
not been able to "sell' the army to the young
men of the country. Yet, we believe il the
facts were known the "sale .would proceed sat
isfactoriy.
In an address in this city yesterday General
Wood explained the governments plan and
what he had to say may be found i'll full IN an
other column of this paper What the govern
ment offers is calculated, it seems to us, to
meet with favor with many thousands OF
young men when they knew what it IS.
Enlistments are called for for periods OF
one, two or three years. Prior to the war en-
listment in the regular army was generally re-
garded as an engagement to enter upon rather
humdrum, uninteresting experience, with moth
| ing much to do and dull time generally. But
enlistment today means not only military tram
ing, but superior opportunities for general and
vocational education.
= At Camp Grant, in Illinois, which. is taken
as an illustration of what is to be provided
everywhere, provision is made for 10 different
educational and vocational courses. The quail
fcations, physical and mental, having been COM
Piled with, the amount of general educational
preparation is not vital factor. In addition to
the military training, courses are provided in
electrical engineering, in mechanics in bus-
ness, in agrculture-in fact in preparation for
almost any vocation which the enlisted man
may elect, in addition to which those who need
or desire it may pursue the studies of the pub
lie schools. Lectures are also given by special
lists in the arts and on the principles of our gov
ernment. the duties of the citizen etc In fact
fine educational opportunity is linked up with
the training in the rudiments of military science
so that the soldier student has chance to
make himself more efficient man for civil litc
at the governments expense. While taking this
training, the student-soder is not only pro-
vded with every necessity, even to the matter
of laundry. but is paid regularly soldiers pay
When before has there been a proposition
made to the young men of the country that
they go to school for one, two or three years
with all their expenses paid and $500 year
for Spending money? There is, of course, the
obligation for military service, but that obi
cation would exist whether enlisted in the army
or not and the men trained in the army school
would unquestionably be the more likely mate
rial out of which to make officers in case of
war
This is really wonderful proposition. 1t
has attracted more men for the one-year period
OF enlistment than for the longer periods, but
or course the longer periods provide more
tralnlng-vocational and general-and the
cruting officers are very confident that the
longer periods of service will be filled up largely
by re-enlistments. The one-year period offers
a man an opportunity to try it for compara-
tively short time and to quit if he does not like
it. The longer periods create an opportunity
for further training and higher proficiency in
the arts acquired
And not only is this plan calculated to pro-
vide the country with lot of men ready for
military service in various grades but the train
ing taken under these conditions is of itself the
best kind of preparation for citizenship. 1t not
only will give US trained army, but it will give
us hundreds pf thousands of young men in civil
life with right attitude of mind toward their
country, proper conception of their duties as
citizens and better equipped in point of ef-
hciency for every form of industrial and COM
mercial activity.