The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-07-26
Bruckarfs Warrington Digest
Compulsory Military Training
To Be Live Topic in Campaign
Nothing More Vital National Policy Has Come Over
The Horizon in Long Time; Might Destroy
Morale of Army.

never would accept the responsible
ity-then the morale Of your fighting
force Is gone. Any one knows that
maintenance Of high spirit among q
fighting force Is the frst essential.
Moreover. il the army was discred-
tied, smeared, blackened by polit-
ical attack, who among those willing
to enlist will want to be associated
with 1t thereafter. The number
would be surprisingly few.
have omitted reference thus far
to the fears that have concerning
use OF such national policy upon
the nations general attitude. Once
before, in these columns, I wrote
that the fall of every nation, disin-
tegration or its subservience to die
tatorship, was preceded by forced
training of all civilians. They be-
came the tools Of few leaders and
those few leaders eventually were
knocked off, even as Hitler and
Stain and Mussolini have done.
Yes. am convinced that universal
military training constitutes another
and an important step towards die
tatorship. 1t may be called I'M
American in principle.
Since the war In Europe gave Mr..
Roosevelt an excuse to get excited
and to spread hysteria throughout
the nation, to seek and gain appro-
priations of $40, 900, 600, 900 more
from congress, this compulsory mil
itary training idea has been spawn
IN 7 - ~ h.
posals for the sensational expansion
of the army and the navy. 1t was
the next and the logical step. With
plenty Of money to spend and no
plans for spending 1t. comes now
the program for universal training.
Things like that happen when the
wedding takes place after courtship
Of two days.
Naming Knox and Stin,son
Might Be Political Trick
Nor can figure out why Mr..
Roosevelt resorted to the appoint
ment Of two Republicans-Col.
Frank Knox and Henry L. Stimson-
to be heads of the navy and war
departments, respectively, unless 10
was q political trick. While these
two men may be, and probably are,
good men, 1t strikes me that there
surely were two good Democrats
available somewhere among the
135, 900, 900 Americans.
One has to 60 back several months
to understand these appointments.
/ have recorded in these columns
before the hapless type of Harry
Woodring. who was forced out Of
the job of secretary of war. I have
told likewise how the late Claude
Swanson was unable to do his Job
as secretary of the navy because of
illness. l have told of the strife
within the war department and IL
was common knowledge that Charles
Edison was named secretary to sue
coed Mr.. Swanson only to boost his
political stock, now shaped up in q
campaign for governor Of New Jer-
sey. All of these things obtained
through months past, when-as we
are told these days-the Chief Ex-
ecutive knew the war In Europe was
coming headon. The fact also re-
manned that there was no great
movement on the part of Mr.. Roose-
welt or any of his advisors to place
big men" in the jobs which direct
military preparedness.
l wonder, in view of all of these
things, whether any one can be
blamed for smelling politics? I
wonder, also, whether any one can
feel that the appointment of Colonel
Knox and Mr.. Stimson represented
anything more than the cheapest
type Of politics, stirred into the
bowl just few days before the Re-
publicans met in their national con-
vention TO nominate Mr.. Willlkie.
It is to be hoped that the two new
secretaries will be able to do q good
job. The secretary Of war, Of
course, will be the man TO have
charge Of the universal training, II
congress ever enacts 1t into law.
But Secretary Stimson, q Repubii-
can all of his life, becomes the
mouthpiece Of the President Of the
United States who appointed him.
He cannot, he dare not, be anything
else, and it is not a situation that
convinces me Of a real desire for
national unity.
So, instead Of all Of this hula
balloo, why not have some honesty
and common senseI Why not let
the army go ahead with its program
Of expanding slowly and as Il IL
capable of taking care of the job7
That would bring us nine great divi-
sions, ready to move on "A hours
notice in case Mr.. Hitler's airplanes
started landing In Kansas City. an
Mr. Roosevelt onca aafr uyas -.