The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-10-25
Warrington Digest
By BAUKHAGE
leased by Western Newspaper Union,

CRsleased by Western Newspaper Union.)
Baukhage. NBC Commentator.
whose voice on the Farm and
Home Hour is heard daily by
many OF our readers. is the author
OF the following Washington col.
umn. Soldier. ,Urifer and broad
caster, for the last quarter OF a
century, Baukhage has covered
foreign and domestic ne,Us from all
parts of the United States and prin-
cipai capitals Of Europe.
WASHINGTON.-It is just about
as far from the executive offices OF
the White House on Pennsylvania
avenue to the broadcasting studio as
1t was from our house on Spruce
street back home to the store where
my mother used to send me for q
loaf Of bread (and stick Of click
rish" il had an extra penny. It
was on my way to the store one
day that I first saw live man wear
ing the uniform of the United States.
1t was my Cousin Ned just starting
| off for the Spanish-Americanw war in
his sailor suit.
I've seen a lot Of uniforms, since,
on the avenue in Washington, too,
but I couldn't help thinking as I
walked along the other day scuffing
the dried leaves that had fallen from
the immemorial White House elms,
that lot of nine-year-old kids and
older ones, too, are soon going to
be seeing plenty of uniforms for the
first time, on the streets of the home
town, just the way did, 40 years
ago.
Right now that is something that
Washington and every other city.
town and cross roads in the country
have In common. In the corridors
of the marble buildings beside the
Potomac they are talking about the
same thing that they are on Main
street and at the general store.
wouldn't be surprised If certain gen.
tlemen in certain foreign capitals
were talking about the same thing,
too: Our new citizen army.
Need for Conscript
Army in Peacetin1e
There are certain things about con-
scription that people are thinking
about. According to a lot of letters
get, what many people want to
know is why we need a citizen army
in peace time.
put that up to a military man
and this is the way he answered me:
"Speed is what counts in an army
today. We aren't calling out these
boys to fight anybody. We are call
ing them now to train them so they'll
be ready if we ever need them.
The United States can always raise
big army if war is ever declared.
But neither we nor any other coun-
try can raise a trained army over
highland lot can happen in the
night these days. What we want
to do is train men for a reserve.
They will still be part of our de-
tense after their active training is
over.
If this war ends and a disarma-
ment agreement is reached with all
nations we won't need to train any
body any more. Meanwhile these
men when they are through their
years service will go home and slip
back into their inches in civilian
life. But il war comes they can
step into the ranks over night as
they would if we we're in danger any
how. But they will step back as
trained soldiers, not raw recruits"
That seemed TO me a new way of
looking at il. 1t explains why there
is a need now. A fire engine
| rfN 10 koI
to teach the firemen how to use it
after the house started burning.
Triple Alliance POWers
Haze BelIigeTent Attitude
Is our house actually in danger Of
catching on fire now?
Well, / am a reporter, not a
prophet The profit motive isn't
overemphasized in the reporting
business. Furthermore right now
the air in these parts is so full of
political speeches and other wan
talk, just as it is out your way, that
you can hardly see across the Poto-
mac on a clear day. The political
speeches are so belligerent and the
war-talk, especially what we are get
ting from Rome, Berlin and Tokyo
is so political, 1t takes a fine-tooth
comb to separate them.
A dispatch from Rome says the
axis doesn't want to get us into war
and wants to stop our aid to Britain
Berlin says that If we attack
Japan, Germany and Italy will at
tack us. That would get us into the
war which Rome says the axis
, doesn't want.
Tokyo says that II we don't lei