The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-08-29
Rx THuRRER LEWIS


w soldiers" at Citizens Military
Training Camps is taken UP with
strictly military routine such as drill,
inspection, fatigue etc, there is q
limited period devoted each of the
thirty days of the term to sports and
citizenship training" We have al
ready had occasion to show that these
non-military occupations come to take
up less time as the student advances
In his course of training from the first
to the fourth year when he becomes
eligable for the reserves. We are in
,terested now in showing in what
Consists these citizenship courses and
what object the war department has
in introducing them into the training.
The Main object.
ONE would be naive indeed to be-
" lieve the publicity of the war de-
partment that says the c. M. T. C.'s
are operated for the primary object
of making strong men and good citi-
Gems out of the recruits that agree
to go to camp for thirty days. Most
assuredly the war department is the
last to believe this. If the camps had
any other end in view but the making
of soldiers you can depend upon it
that they would long since have
passed into the jurisdiction Of some
other branch Of the government.
So chat one approaches the course
in citizenship" with a suspicion that
citizenship is not its primary object.
Mimeographed Courses.
r HAVE before me two mimeo-
4 graphed courses in citizenship for
the use of officers in instructing
classes at the camps. One is of SS
pages the other of so. One is special
outline for courses to be given to the
C. M. T. c. unit at Camp Custer, Mich,
and is unsigned except by the Camp
Commander, brigadier general Of no
very great note who need not be sus-
pected of having written it. In all
likelihood it was prepared in Wash
ington, The other, the so page course,
is by Maj. Chas. A. Stokes Of the 18th
U. s. Infantry and appears to be writ
ten for use thruout the nine army
corps areas by the company command
ers Of c. M. T. G. units as sort Of
mine for suggestion and guide in Civ
ing citizenship instruction"
Before we begin to examine these
two very interesting documents it is
amusing to note that much of the ma
terial in them has nothing whatever to
do with citizenship or civics. A good
part of the two outlines deals with
what seems a very much padded at
tempt to impart a general education
to the lads. Fancy, education in the
army when one Of the chief qualifica-
lions Of good soldier is his ability
to do a minimum of thinking.
The Red Peril.
TT is not very difficult to discover
what portions of the outlines are
intended to be stressed by the teach
ers, all of whom are regular army Of
1cers-usually the company command
err A soldier need not be expected to
put near as much fervor or time in
the teaching of a topic like fire pre-
yention" as one much nearer his heart
such as Preparedness and National
Defense" And when you let a hard
boiled army lieutenant loose with an
outline under the title 1.-THE Red
Peril" you can expect him to wax very
eloquent in his vulgar, military way
and to find the inspiration for much
original comment of his own.
preparedness"
WE turn to page IL of the Camp
w Custer outline. The chapter is
called Conference on Preparedness
and National Defense" A note says,
ITO be used in company conferences
by company commanders. The whole
question of future war is put on the
basis of national defense" There is
no mention of the fact that in the
last war the troops that Fought did not
shed a drop of blood on American soil.
The foremost question is made "prel
paredness."
We read, "If you were told today