The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-12-20
(sy Roger w. Babson)

Camp Devens, Mass, Dec. 20-l
have recently visited one OF the
largest Army camps for training
L. :. Draftees. Having heard Of
sitdown strikes manufactured ill
nesses. and even suicides there,
decided 10 see for myself what's
going on. / returned with a def
mite conclusions The fault is MT
with the young men in the camps.
but rather with those on the out
side. that Is, those who have not
been drafted
Beware OF Only War Booms
Sleeping sunday mornings will
not win the War with Japan. Our
World War efforts will be OF little
avail until We all think less about
having a good time and more about
doing a coed job. From the south.
west, there comes an editorial
which has the right idea. 4 Texas
newspaper editor in san Augustine
writes that there is not so much
wrong with the country as there
IS wrong with the people in il. Too
many have gone "good-time' crazy
and are working just TO get money
for playing. Too few are playing
with the purpose Of building up
energy for work.
These crates and manias go In
cycles just like everything else.
Since World War II this good
TIVE" bug has spread like an
epidemic.
NO longer the moon alone can
hold in spell the Eomeos and Ju.
lets of 1871 1t must be dinner
a show, after that some dancing.
and then some 60-cent chicken
sandwiches, TO say nothing of gaso-
line, oil, tires, fines for speeding,
and wrecRs-of car or Of character,
or both. How the average men N
average circumstances, good
time crazy himself. and with n
"good-t time" crazy wife and chill
dren, makes both ends meet Is Il
mystery TO all of US. The answer
is that he is not making both ends
meet, not even one end.
1t would be dull life n we
could not occasionally reach for a
sweet. But the coed books, the
sunsets. the forests. the birds and
the flowers that Emerson, Lowell,
Longfellow, and the hosts OF other
great men have sung about seem to
have lost some of their appeal The
family circle is the streering wheel.
Family prayers or simple in, oca-
tons at the dinner table are some
thing we tell our children about
that happened in the long ago"
We adults talk and act as If we
were going TO live forever. We
forget that in a few years We must
turn our government, banks. and
business over to these youngsters
whom we are now neglecting.
Subsidies and DoIes
Subsidies and doles never yet
" II war. y dole is nothing more
than dope, like oil OF cloves for
aching teeth. The worst dole cases.
however, are not among the poor,
but among some of the self.styled
upper classes. | refer TO the reck-
lessness and wsstefulness Of young
people who live on dolss supplied
by foolish parents. This spectacle
gives more encouragement to COM
munism than to patriotism. 1t also
greatly hanGicaps law enforcement
when criminals see the lawlessness
OF children of ostensibly best fam
lilies. This profligacy, according
to one analysis. is creating more
economic waste than all the sup
posed inefticiency OF government
and all the alleged corruption Of
politics"
The present generation OF young
people may be just as sound fun
damentally as my own generation;
but if so, surely they have Worse
parents, Today's parents have
invented and are giving to their
children most dangerous doles N
the form OF automobiles. radios.
taxis, speed-boats. movies, road.
houses, dinner dances. and cloths
that would have made Croesus and
Midas feel like village school
teachers working on part time.
This would not be so bad II we
increased character training 70
counterbalance these temptations.
but most fathers are too busy
making money to spend their time
training children.
Wasteful Spending
! don't blame John and Mary so