Evening star., 1938-11-27
DEGREES OF CROWD CHALLENGED
Harrington in Magazine Article Raises Totaliarian Issue
Comment Social Conscience and Atruism-Prevaent
Political Doctrine in Literary Guse-Advice From Army

1885, to the effect that what Is
needed is not heavy taxes or doles,
but encouragement to business so
that, by installing chronological inn
provements, business can offer more
and more goods cheaper and
cheaper. But business is getting
precious little encouragement these
days.
The reviewer has long had q
proper patriotic respect for the
United States Army and, while she
has never called upon the troops to
defend her, she has always felt, as
every American should, that CO.
lumbia is the very gem Of the ocean
and that the Star Spangled Banner,
II she has anything to say about it,
certainly shall wave. And these feel
ings, not often articulate, to be sure,
are In some manner connected with
thoughts Of those brave heroes
whose brave heroism keeps the foes
naughty hosts properly slapped
down.
Now, in recent weeks, the reviewer
has received military communica-
ton which convinces her that her
admiration for the Army is justified.
For the Army, acting through the
editors of the Infantry Journal (she
does not know why the cavalry has
ignored her, and wonders) has sent
her an impressive document called
Table for Settling Clothing Al
lowances, Fiscal Year 1889" Can
you do better than that? When the
Army-even If only the infantry
Of Nation sends the Nations book
reviewers help in settling their
clothing allowances, is not the state
Of the country reassuring? Or is 1t?
Well, the reviewer fell to study
ing that table very promptly. 1t
has, certainly, neat martial ap-
pearance. 1t is all ruled of into
tiny blocks, up and down and back
and forth, and in each block Is a
figure representing dollars and cents.
One-haH of it is headed "Non-
Tropical and the other half "Tropi-
cal" Plainly, it has been big Job
Of typing, and the reviewer almost
burst into tears at the thought of
the honest soldiers pecking away,
hour after hour, to produce table
for her clothing allowance. What
splendid fellows the infantrymen
are, to be sure! The cavalry-in-
deed.
OF course, they do rather hold
the expenses down. That, no doubt,
is just the working of the stern,
stoical, military temperament. None
theless, the amounts do seem small.
For example, If the reviewer is to
go to the tropics, she notes that the
Army considers her proper allow
ance for the first day to be 80 cents.
Well, that would buy a can of
tooth powders. If she bought very
cheap tooth powders, she could
squeeze out paper of bobby pins,
too In the tropics, of course, one
doesn't need much. And then, on
the second day, she would get go
cents. With that she could add a
comb, a pair of cotton whoopy socks
and a cake of soap. And the next
day, having 80 cents, she could get
but no. She couldn't. She would
have to wait several more days for
that, her allowance creeping up in
this strange 30-cent manner. Maybe
it would be better to go to the nom
tropical country after all.
Well, even there, the Army Is
individually conservative. Forty
three cents is all 1t allows an ar
rival in a strange non-tropical land
for clothing on her first day and sup
posing it was downright cold.
How many silver foxes could you
get for 43 cents? How many coons?
Perhaps it would be better to buy
handkerchiefs. Or maybe. just stay
at home.
The reviewer is terribly sorry not
to be able to accept the infantrys
attractive table. When she consid-
ers that it covers three years, and
thinks of the work which the good
soldiers have put into it, she feels
like a very migrate. She will have
the document framed, anyhow, and
hang it over her desk and show it
to visitors, too. AS far as she knows,
she is the only woman for whom the
infantry has gone to such labors.
December Esquire Is out-swollen
with Christmas advertising and
Hemingway on Spain. Some Of the
ads are grand.