Evening star., 1925-07-18

Editors note-The follo1ping is the
nth of series of sir articles, lCrit-
ten for the Associated Press. deScrib-
ing activities of the Army Of the
United States during the Summer
months OF 1920
AS a Nation we are fortunate to
have abundant natural resources,
splendid Industrial organizations, pro
Gressive commercial and financial in
stituttons. These are priceless ma
tional defense assets
But our greatest asset is not our
material resources. 1t is the Ameri.
can himself Our greatest potential
asset is not to he found under the
ground nor in inventions. II is the
youth of our country. the boys of to-
day, who will be the American men
of tomorrow
For years we have had our De
partment of Commerce, which has so
successfully fostered the foreign and
domestic commerce of the Nation
We have had our Department of
Agriculture. which has assisted the
farmer in making his fields more pro-
duCtive and his cattle of better stock.
As result OF these and other de-
partments, great strides have been
made in our material resources.
IeODte StfPnStD DecllIllIlS.
But what of our people? The
World War revealed a startling de
cline in their physical strength. One
young man in four had TO be turned
down for physical disability of
some kind. Every other man was
unfit for battle service. one in four
could not read or write. Few knew
much about American ideals or prin
ciples. We had been assuming that
our people were healthy. and that
they were American. Not until the
national defense act of 1920 has our
National Government had a depart
ment devoting it's attention to the de-
, Velopment of our youth. OF course,
for generations, the Army and Navy
had been training men who enlisted
In these branches of national defense,
but these have always been small in
numbers, totalling less in size than
q medium sized American city. No
department is better qualified for this
work than the War Department, for
it is strictly non-partisan and purely
American in character.
Our Summer camps are great
schools in citizenship, where courses
of instruction are given on the
Meaning of Liberty" ''Constitu
tional Government" the Duties of
Citizenship" and American History"
These, to my mind, however, are not
as far-reaching as the practical les
sons that are taught by the eXpe-
riences gained in actual camp life.
Camps Bring Education.
In these camps the young Ameri-
can learns by actual practice the
meaning of service TO country, self
discipline. cooperation. respect for
the rights of others, the Importance
of law and order, the value of leader
ship and teamwork and what is con
structive as opposed to negative citi-
Zenship. They feel the thrill of being
an American and understand the
sacrifices that have been made and
are being made by others that they
may be Americans. They realize how
fortunate they are to be Americans
and the duties they owe for the rights
that are theirs. The Regular, Ma
tional Guardsman, Reservists, as well
as the boys of the r. o. Z. c. and
G. NJ. T. c. are taught and inspired
by such lessons and surroundings.
Courses are given at our Summer
camps in hygiene, the prevention of
diseases and physical health. But
these, to my mind, are not as impor-
tant as the practical lesson that is
derly, active lives and eating proper
food. The remembrance of that will
stay with him. Great physicians are
now saying that the military training
given during the World War has ac-
tually saved many more American
lives than were lost upon the battle
field. This is undoubtedly true. There
are no battle deaths at a Summer
camp, but, on the contrary, vigor is
given to life.
All Glasses Put Together.
There is no better illustration of
the citizenship and health producing
benefits of our military training sys-
tenn than the citizens military training
camps. Thirty-five thousand young
men will be gathered together this
Summer from every State in the
Union. There will be young men from
the slums of the large cities; there will
be young men from the homes of our
most wealthy and most prominent citi-
zens. The son of the President of the
United States will be on the same
plane, at this coming Summers camp,
as the son of a recent emigrant TO our
shores. Young men from farms will
mingle with young men from the in
dustrial centers. These camps have a
great leveling influence and give the
young men attending. a splendid op-
int