New-York tribune., 1922-11-17
I)riye to Make
Better. Citizens
snapped Out
Flrcators, Called by War
Department, Consider a
WAY 10 Develop and 10
Educate Young America
Gee Lack of Skilled Men
i,eneral Lassi,er Outlines
Plan to Raise Great Ma
t;onal Force IN Peace Time

REMINGTON. Nov. 10. Under
,.s5Sssbip OF the War Department,
.ortssnsatiscs of American schools,
,sljssss and organizations dealing with
81 asasal and physical bettcrment of
IS face conferred here to-day in the
Asas II evolving method OF develop
n y6ang Americans to better citizen
SIP
4 4 basis from which to proceed,
,ss reference was told by Secretary
1; var Weeks that statistics OF the
gsr.tiEs draft system show SO per
eess II ahe men called for examination
Il k physically subnormal ard dis
s!osed q deplorable percentage Of IL
aissscy.
Ar. Weeks. General Pershing and
sriga3ier General William Lassiter
sressed the fact that war experience
ssd demonstrated great proportion
Il the physical defects disclosed could
IL corrected by proper systems OF
raining and development, beginning in
he schools. Mr.. Weeks pointed out
rs. good physical condition among
Addren would materially aid in their
zsntal advancement and the develop
sent Of such ideals Of citizenship as
Fsald go far 10 Offset waves OF popular
arest and the work of un-AmSrican
gators.
Draft Showed Lack Of Skill
General Lassiter said the draft had
sewn that only one third of the men
to claimed to- be skilled in their
tsaes actually possessed degree of
all to warrant rating of Journey
ssn, To meet the army's need Tor
isshnical skill of this character, he
la, it was necessary during the war
4 . give training to approximately
$4,000 men.
aoar industrial firms are becoming
,ssre of the necessity of definite
separation of young men to be skilled
Tsrkers and some of them are estab-
sang their own schools for provid-
IL such training" the General CON
rued, "but there is little co-opera-
y isa between the industries and the
& saools Of the country looking toward
81 increased output of technically
# Slled men. Thus, it is to be noted
+ sat in the manufacturing industries
s. nd transportation occupations re-
II sarng mechanical skill--there are
n now about 100000 male workers,
Il "PrttheImore, II does not appear
81 that there are any generally accepted
B Specifications. aptitude tests or tests
Il Of efficiency to guide schools in train
n ag young men according to their abti-
3 pdss. The lack of such definite
1 msans ioy the adjustment of the
4 youth 10 his task in life, and the lack
4 d equally we'll defined tern,inology
q Tor classifying men with respect to
n physique skill and knowledge, were
~ ameag tfe most serious causes of de-
"a lw civilization for the World
q Need of peace-Time Force
q Tsrsequently, from the point of
"a Nf both of preparation and citizen
81 asand of preparation for national
Fl Haa, it would appear that it is still
Miissfy to make we'll co-ordinated
"a On toward the establishment Of def.
3 ~ Standards of achievement foI
;alaing young men, for their occupa.
& 1ss in life.
j The foregoing, then, gives you the
sEsral plan on which we propose tc
nse, in time Of emergency, great
4 atcnal force. The units now being
aEnitely established will provide q
fscs Of about 100000 men, but with
tie machinery established we could
hen 90 on TO keep the ranks of these
snts flled up during war, and also
'oraiee additional units if needed. We
'aus have, for the first time, a COM
prehensive plan for developing the
serce required for national defense"
General pershing told the conference
Ne believed the hope of all thinking
men was "that out of this conference
nay come some suggestion or some
4 plan or system which can be applied
4 throughout our public schools Whereby
q pe lessons of patriotism and the obli-
4 gation to the country and those things
4 mat go to make up good citizenship
may be taught effectively, and which
1 nay pee adopted as general procedure
throughout the country"