Evening star., 1926-11-07

~ ALL. bTRdHlIlDS tHcHl 1OF war, Is
the surest way to bring on war. 1t
is not preparedness against war: it
is definite and deliberate preparedness
for war. At a time when the whole
movement of mankinds endeavor Is
toward preparing international substi-
tutes for war. we are asked to go In
for a reactionary, drastic. Prussian
militarism never dreamed of in all our
history before. After the Mexican.
Civil and Spanish American wars the
War Department did not attempt TO
Prussianl America. Why are they
trying 1t now?
We are actually asked to make
compulsory military training the
price which a youth ambitious for an
education has to pay for getting It,"
But. DR.. Fosdick. Il again inter
rupted, do you recall the criminal
waste in wealth and life We expert
enced in the late war before we got
our boys on he battle front. We had
to train them then. Why not have
them already trained so that If
another war comes we won't waste
lite needlessly in hurried and inefti-
cient training? Furthermore. how can
we dare to risk. the slightest et-down
in war preparations? There are
plenty Of war clouds visible today a
How can we stop inventing new hor-
rors for war. or training men for can
non fodder? If we stop, somebody will
out-invent or ut-prepare us, and that
will mean national ruin.
Turn Face to Peace.
THE trouble is" said DR.. Fosdick.
that too many people assume that
another war is inevitable. Suppose
h. hni ~
not permanently going to be idiots.
Suppose we assume that America has
learned her lesson that it is poor busi
ness trying to fight Europe's wars for
her. Suppose we risk the hypothesis
that if we keep our accustomed mlll-
tary establishment. reducing 1t on the
basis of International agreements as
at the Washington Conference, we
will be prepared enough for .prObable
emergencies. Suppose we turn oui
face toward peace. not war. Some
times that must be done or civiliza
tion is doomed. The counsel of the
militarists is the counsel of despair
Let us train Americas youth for q
decent future. not for a slaughter
house. Let us have as little mill
tarism as possible. We don't need to
dragoon. our youth into compulsory
military training as the price Of their
education in order to prepare for any
probable emergency"
"Dr. Fosdick," I asked. do YOU
think that military training has no
benefits in the nature Of building
clea My. manly, courteous and dis
ciplinary habits for life?"
Its benefits ire not considera BILE.
l had military training when I was
a hoy. | enjoyed it. When I first
took command of company I felt
more important than l have at any
time since. But it was voluntary
training. It was not forced on me
by school. 1t was not mill that
| was run through for the price of
my educa ton. was fortunately
born when America was still Amer
lea, before we had whipped the Prus-
slams outwardly and then been
whipped by them inwardly to adopting
their pet policy Of conscripting youth.
Holds Talk Blind.
"All the talk about military train
ing As though it were meant to teach
merely or mainly tidy, clean cour-
teous and disciplinary habits for life
is blind. The evidence for this is
in plain print. The Junior r. o. T.
c. manual in pa assage addressed to
parents says this: The purpose of
this book is not to make soldiers out
Of your boys. but to develop them
physically, mentally and morally into
the best types of citizens But the
department also issued a book Of in
structions to its Army officers for use
with the r. o. T. c. manual The
parallel between the two Is deadly.
The War Department says to the Of
ficers Always remember that the
men are the material being trained
and nodded for the work Of battle
They are being trained to be
soldiers
Let there be no mistake about
this. The country will not forget
that military ma anual over 32O, 900
copies Of which have been used. in
which such choice directions were
given to our college students as the
following:
To finish an opponent who hangs
on. or attempts to pull YOU to the
ground, always try to break his hold
hy driving the knee or foot TO his
crotch and gouging his eyes with
Your thumbs
THAT obviously is not intended to
promote tidy. cleanly, manly, cour-
teous and disciplinary abits of life. ;
College Presidents Oppose.
What educators think of military
training as a developer Of character
Ia notorious. Prof Dewey of Colum
bia saws that 1T is undemocratic, bar.
barrie and educationally wholly un.
wise Presidents Lowell Of Harvard,
Faunce OF Brown. Garfield of Will.
liams, Hadley of Yale, Jordan Of lie.
land Stanford. King OF Oberlin are
dehnitly on record as opposing such
military training as is proposed In our
schools nd
tional effects"
Well what about the physical
benefits of military training? Isn't
II notorious that college athletics de.
Velop only the few while military
training exercises the many? Couldn't
military training he made into a ma.
tional body-and health building sys.
tenn"
Distinctly no. Military training
cannot he made into national BODY.
and-health building system All mil.
tarv training under our War Depart.
ment In the schools will he training to
fight and kill.
One straightforward Army officer
has put the truth plainly:
Good citizenship, he saws. is an
excellent thing and SO are religion.
f1lial affection and hrotherly love. But
| they are not the ends of an army.
An army exists to kill when ordered
to Kill irrespective OF justice. 1t
should train its men to that single
end. If we object to any Of our
citizens thus specializing on murder.
our and un-Christian activities. we
should abolish the Army. II we want
an Army. we should not lie about It
being a school for citizenship or man
ual training. nor clutter up its drill
=
relevant arts
For Physical Training.
THAT Is straight thinking and 1t
ought TO put an end to this vain
camouflage of pretending that mill.