Evening star., 1934-07-29

history Of the present century
On that day two years ago sF1okI
and the fumes 81 chemical warfar'
rose from 3 battlefield within
stones throw Of the halls Of Congress
BAyonets cleaned against the olivt
drab Of the Regular Army Fearfu
figures that the gas niasks makes d
modern soldiery moved relentlessll
npou q ahrieking. cursing mass Of ili'
clad American humanity. Twenty
thousand curious spectators stood or
the side lines. so 20 speak, and NOR
bidly watched the ingloTi0us rout o.
an unarmed phalanX Of destitutlon.
Between dawn and dusk on t1ai
day Federal tToops-khaki-clad sol
diers-forcibly evicted from the Ma
tion's Capital City some s,ooo-ode
ragged men and handful Of women
popularly termed the bonus army
These men and women had come here
in little human dribletS beginning
about the middle Of May. They came
demanding immediate cash payment
OF the unpaid balance Of soldiers ad-
tusted service certificates. They
serted notice that they intended &c
leave when. and only when, this bal
ance was paid.
The real message which the bonus
army brought 70 the Nation at the
time was that Of non-political pow
erful unrest demanding a change In
the old order Of things. The bonus
soldiers as a body were perhaps in
capable OF plotting the graph for such
Il Eh1fr
ence shrieked to high heaven for a
base on which lives might be pun
anew and stably. The bonus soldiers
were men and women become frantic
IN n cropping search for security.
The march itself was an ultimatum
however Intellectual. served by the
rank and file of American citizenry-
a blunt word from the men who make
the boilers, build the bridges, run the
factories and raise the families Of the
country Russias revolution got Its
start from movement not diSslmllaI
from the bonus march.
Out of the bonus march came a
macabre. national vibration felt in
the deep foundation timbers of the
Government In the story of the
bonus march lies saga OF unrest
reaching down and into that base on
which this Nation rests.
1t is far from impossible to conceive
that out of the movement motivatine
the bonus march came a national
thought and a national conception
that had much more bearing on the
fast-moving events of the present day
than meets the eye. At any rate, the
march stands as a brief tense epoch
of American history that is well worth
remembering in all its aspects.
Establishment or growth of the
bonus army here created very real
problem for the District Of Columbia
Essentially, the army was national
body. but its presence here was, on
the face of 1t, a menace to the thou
sands of citizens living in the District,
from every standpoint OF view Dis
trict health officials were in a virtual
panic, and, nevertheless, were power
less to do anything.
The marchers lived in quarters that
literally, had to be seen to be believed
Their homes" were incredibly rude
huts, made of all sorts of refuse wood
pasteboard. cloth and tin. The major
ity lived in colony hastily built upon
the mosquito o-infested mud flats across
the Potomac River in Anaeostia, to
the right OF the Anacostia Bridge
Until forcibly evicted by the Regu-
lar Army, called into action by Gen
Douglas Macarthur, chief of staff
the bonus army showed every indi-
cation of carrying out its promise to
remain until there was action on
the bonus. Every peaceable effort
was made to get the marchers To
evacuate. All these peaceable efforts
were of no avail. Finally the admin
lstration Of President Herbert Hoover,
tired of the marchers' eternal wailing
for cash from a Government already
just about strapped took the only
means seen by the President as ca
pable of accomplishing the desired
objective
Eviction of the marchers was ef-
fected by the Infantry, Cavalry and
a squad Of five tanks in a show of
military force which completely over
whelmed and routed the tatterde-
malion army of bonus seekers. 1t
was accomplished through a liberal
use of tear gas. A certain degree of
apparent ruthlessness thought neces-
Sary by Gen. Macarthur was ex-
hibited by the soldiers. The incident
marked the cruX of national con-
flagration of discomfort which brought
the bonus army into being. 1t evoked
a storm Of fiery criticism and vigor-
Gus defense here and abroad.
Today. the eviction of the bonus
army is interesting as a distinct
epoch in American history. Regard
less of the rights or wrongs of either
the administration or the marcherS
the events of July 2S two years age
threw the bonus army into fame
edged silhouette before the world
1t was an end in defeat for the
marchers as a unit laying siege at
the doorway Of the Government. Al
the same time it gave new begin
ming to national obligation already
set in motion by the marchers' spec
tacular, if futile, efforts to secure
payment of the bonus
The bonus battle, and the move
nent in which it had its source
formed a composite upheaval which
was in its fullneSS perhaps only par
TALLY glimpSed before its surface EVIL
dences were gone. but which Americs
as a people was wisely forced to pause
and consider
Just as surely as the sun shone
there cleaned in the bonus fires the
red-tongued flames of revolution
These flames abated in the shoulder
ing ashes of the bonus camps, but
Just the same they left their scars
The sudden movement against The
marehers invoked the bitter hatred OF
polyglot and wretehed aSSemblage
representing every State in the Union
1t is much more than q small thing
when thousands Of men, and even &
few women Of a Nation pull up theil
home stakes and physically take theil
troubles to their Government. That
is what the bonus army did.
Careful students of sociology anc
s of the history of this Nation sinc'
have ventured the belief that. had moi