The Washington times., 1936-01-04
Un-American
Attacks on
R.O.T.C.
BY JAMES t. WILLIAMS. Jr.

Whether foreign money is com.
ing into the United States to fl.
nance the insidious intrigue to
abolish the system Of training
with the Colors for national cit
izenship which Abraham Lincoln
inaugurated some committee Of
Congress ought to find out at the
present Session.
This sapping expedition was or.
dered from Moscow last summer,
and Communists have declared
for the abolition of this system of
training.
But the chief support for this
intrigue comes from the tools and
dupes Of alien propagandists who
are raising money in the United
States to finance their intrigue.
These tools and dupeS are raising
a million dollars to subsidize their
insidious attack upon a vital part
Of "The Common Defense"
STRONG SUPPORT
They are enliSting the aid of ?
number Of religious organizations
and they boast that they will have
strong support from certain Sena.
tors and Representatives in Con.
gress during the present Session.
Training with the Colors for ma.
tional citizenship was provided by
Congress during the Presidency Of
Mr.. Lincoln, who started this sys-
TEN in the Land Grant colleges
and universities.
It has been extended since that
time to other institutions Of learn.
ing, which maintain units of the
Reserve Officers Training Corps.
The graduates Of this Corps
have gone on record overwhelm.
ingly in favor Of the continuance
of the training they received. The
last general survey Of these grad.
yates brought opinions from TO-.
600 college graduates who had
completed the r. o. T. c. course
in military science and tactics.
OF the 9,636 replies received,
93.6 per cent heartily endorsed
the course, declared that it fur
nished graduates with a sense Of
individual responsibility toward
national welfare and security" and
did not create in any Of the grad.
yates an attitude toward national
defense that could be called mill
taristic" or un-American.
A more recent survey Of Prince
ton University graduates brought
testimony to the same effect
from the classes Of 1930-1934 in
elusive. To the question:: pa
triotic considerations aside, Is the
four years course in military
science of sufficient value to the
individual to justify its inclusion
in the Princeton curriculum?
96.4 per cent Of the graduates OF
the course at Princeton for the /
last four years replied in the
affirmative.
At the present session Of Con
sress there will be both frontal
attack and a flank attack upon
the Reserve Officers Training
CORPS, both of which aim at its
abolition.
FORMS OF ATTACK
The frontal attack will take
the form of a legislative proposal
that Congress shall penalize any
university or college that gives
to Abraham Lincoln'S system OF
training with the Colors the sta
tus of a required course. Such
a proposal is in effect, an at.
tempt to deprive the States OF
their power under the Const1tu-
ton to control education within
their respective borders.
It is an un-American proposal
in every sense Of the word ana
therefore naturally receives the
support Of Communists, and their
tools and dupeS.
The flank attack will take the
form Of opposition to the mainten-
ance of the commissioned strength
of the Regular Army at standard
sufficient to provide enough Regu-
lar Army officers to train the
R. o. T. C. units which now exist.
Some Of the supporters Of this
proposal will attempt to cloak
their real purpose under the
Specious pretext of economy.
If the Reserve Officers Training
Corps is to be maintained, now is
the time for the American Legion,
the National Guard Association,
the Reserve Officers Association
and all patriotic societies to go
to its support.