The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-08-28
PUT MILITARY
SATRAPS into
CANADA SCHOOLS
Cadet Movement a Cloak
for Training

CANADA, Aug. &c. The military
authorities Of Canada have invaded
the schools of the various provinces
thru the cadet movement. Under the
guise Of physical training" a species
of military training is being imposed
upon the boys Of the Dominion.
Education In Canada was, by the
British North America Act, placed
wholly within the jurisdiction Of the
provincial authorities. The Minis
ter of Militia Mr.. Macdonald, on June
"a, 1926, told the Canadian parliament
that his department Took no initia-
tive" in instituting cadet corps In the
schools and entered no school until
the application had been endorsed by
the Supt. of Education" In each prov
ince. A letter from Capt. J. Willis
Chandler to school principals in Mani
toba, bearing date March ~, 1925,
urging the formation of cadet corps In
the schools gives categorical denial
to the claim that the department
takes no initiative, and the state
ment of Mr.. Cannon, Minister Of Edu-
cation for Manitoba, that neither he
nor his department has given any au-
thorization to the cadet system in
Manitoba, seems to dispose Of the
whole case Of the Minister OF Militia.
School Heads Not Consulted.
The department of education in
Manitoba knows nothing about the
number of cadet corps in its schools,
etc, and on April Z, 1925. the minis
ter wrote to Capt. Chandler of the
militia department asking for the nee
essary information. On May Is, Capt
Chandler replied that he was instruct
ed by the district officer commanding
to state that this information could
not be given. This means that the
military authorities have invaded the
schools without the sanction OF the
Department OF Education, and in def
ance OF the B. N. A. Act, and that IT
refuses to give information as to its
activities to the educational authori-
ties. Challenged by j. s. Woods
worth, M. P. on the floor of parlia-
ment June "a, 1925, the Minister Of
Militia said that headquarters would
! give this information.
In the year 1856 the militia de-
partment spent $S4,972.O5 on cadet
J training. For the year 1925 the sum
! voted is 100000, and for the year
1924-25 the sum spent was 1857, S2s.34.
The number of cadets in training in
I 1914 was 61,911, and this year it has
increased to 1852. In 1914, the mum.
Der Of cadet corps was 432, and March
1925, s56.
Flimsy Abb.
The Minister Of Militia denied that
the cadet system was militaristic. He
said, physical training is
the basis of the whole system of ca
det training and the military exercises
are only an incident" He was i'm
mediately asked why he did not in
clude girl training if it were physical
training; why the military depart
ment paid for it; and why the federal
authorities invaded the educational
realm since the B. N. A. Act speci-
fically placed this under the jurisdic-
ton OF the provinces. Satisfactory
answers were not forthcoming. The
Minister of Militia stated that his de-
partment had authority from the min
isteHs Of education in the various prov
inces and he would bring these down
the following day. 1t is significant
that he did do this, and in Manitoba
the Minister Of Education says that
he has given no such sanction.
Miss Agnes McPhail, Canada's only
woman member of parliament. dealt
effectively with the physical train
ing" claim. She showed by authori-
tative quotations that military train
ing was not efficient physical train
ing and that the great military ma
lions of Europe gave gymnastic train
ing to their recruits for the very rea-
son that the military exercises failed
to give the necessary physical train
ing.