Milford chronicle., 1920-01-23
THE PROPAGANDA FOR UNI
VERSAL MILITARY TRAINING
Mr.. Editor:

AS your correspondent in tn
chronicle OF January 10th has YER
aDly stated his views regarding Uni
Yersal Military Training, will Won al
low the writer, also. the same priv
lege?
When the boys were struggling wifi
the Hun, we cheered them on with IN,
declaration that this war was to over
throw forever Mighty Mars. Now h,
our agitation of universal service. etc
seemingly we are either saying t,
them' You failed in your object. fol
tHe Iod OF Mars is still a dreaded foe"
else we are proving false to them.
Never have We failed to win a war
never so hard pressed as in the recent
/ eohnlct; never so surprized, nor rude
n ly awakened from such profound
" siumber; yet, what did we2 We are
pow awake, and never shall be so
Ken unawares again. But what we
on so brief notice, and so little
rlence, shows what could be done
"a occasion require, without thus
nlnS everyone. We condemned this
systemA IN Germany; have compelled
her TO Moreover abandon the practice.
and thatA which we thus condemn and
prohibit Nn another, shall we adopt
for ourselves?
AmericaNizadon." Yes. Is this
lacking IN thS country or, generally. in
the cities? pur youth do not lack
patriotism, arf not deficient in the
spirit of America True. in the CON
gested cities thAre are aliens literally
and in feeling, gho must be assimiI-
ated among us, bpt must all our voutb
be made their tutors? NVill the bow
who knows English only be ouartered
with the one why speaks Yeddish
alone0 Is there nF more economical
and practical systsNu2
There are some Nwnciples of hv-
giene and morality To- be learned and
physical development Ito be obtained.
yet epidemics take greater toll in
death where many are nbassed loathe-
some diseases may be acquired bv the
innocent there more than in civil life.
while as to the moral tralnine GD.
The writer has talked with both pri-
Yates and commissioned Officers re-
turned from overseas andN from the
camps; mature, educated an6 cultered
men, not one 'Of whom haS spoken
favorably in any respect of hiA exper-
family of Delaware, one previous to
the war much interested and aStive
in matters military, one naturally rep |
resented by commissioned officers of /
higher rank who experienced service /
in both camps and foreign service. |
One of these men told the writer that |
he had had enough of military life;
that army experiences were not what /
they were considered. He spoke little
but they were 'winger words" Others
have made similar statements, even
voicing actual disgust. With but one
possible exception, all have impressed
the writer with the feeling, 1T was an
awful experience; 1 hope it may never
be duplicated" Even the one excep-
tion mentioned had no word of com
mendatiOn. confessed satisfaction at
being again in civil life, and no desire
to continue in the service. If camp
life is so advantageous as your cor
respondent describes, why do these ex-
perienced, educated, worthy citizens,
officers and privates, some of them
medical men, men who have tOiled at
the front, themselves loaded shrapneI
into the cannon; others who have
known camp life only, and men from
various camps as WE'LL why do they
all speak the same thought? To whom a.,
shall we give heed those who like ,
these speak from experience, or those :
who never smelled powder? Again, :
there are those who are soldiers by !
profession; there are those who are !
or have been, citizen soldiers. The
latter are of us and, seemingly, to :
them should we give heed. High off :
cials, naturally, desire a following, q
must have subordinates, but ere we
too quickly surrender our sons to
-hem let us investigate more fully and
count the cost =
1t is generally conceded that the !,
country is suffering from lack of pro- :,
luction; that this is the chief reason 4
If the H. c. L." Manufacturers say it h
S difficult for the returned soldier to o
adjust himself to routine labor again; 4
hat he is restless and can not produce h
he normal amount of work. Perhaps -
Xix months in camp would not thus y
lct upon the boys now, but. Again, !,
n the rural sections especially, there p
S a distressing scarcity of help, and -
1t least for few years to come every y
me is needed for production. During fr
ne great war great SdCIlHC6S were n
made ito win the war;, but these y
annot be continued indefinitely. We h
re exhorted also to give our sons the u,
est education possible; that the fu- II
ure shall call for brains, and yet p,
lore brains; hence, whether in n,
chool or at labor, America must re-
rain from trammeling our youth. Six !,
lonths in the life of a boy at eighteen ~
ears of age means more than at first, o'
lay be considered; then, to extend ~
MS to every boy in the land, should -
give us pause. Before thus surren- - l..
ering to a theory, or a military min ~,
rity at least, when no immediate dan ~
er threatens, let us take time to con- e.
der and wait until production is -, &c
iOre nearly normal. 81
The writer begs to differ with ynmr - -
lrrespondent in regard to the popu ~
rity of this measure. 1t is a scheme a,
from a minority desirOus -
personal advantage, or, unduly th
armed, and such as he himself, may ~ -
, the unconscious workers in their ~
'opaganda. nj
G. F. Smith.