Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-19
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

INHE readers, III any, OF tnese
Il dispatches may have Won
dered lately why they have
come from Fort Bragg and Fay
etteville, N. C., while dealing
only in the most general terms
with affairs of the army.
The explanation is that I
thought / would do some pieces
about the army. which is really
an amazingly good one to the
naked, inexpert eye. and much
further along now than its daddy
was at a corresponding time in
the effort of 1917.
But l spent a few days at
Fort Dix. down toward the
southern coast of Jersey, then a
week or so in Washington re-
newing acquaintance with a lot
of officers drawn in from every
where TO work in the war de-
partment, including General
Marshall, the four-star chief of
staff, and finally came down
here a week ago, and I still
seem unable TO back into the
story.
/ think the trouble is BASH
fulnesS in the presence of a
+ story so big, awesome. solemn
and, / am afraid. ominous that,
+ for the first time since old man
/ Conkle sent me out TO work the
+ stockyards fire in Chicago in
1910. am suffering from buck
fever on an assignment.
THIS army is enormous, and
the soldiers seem so much
/ better than l expected to find
them. the morale is so good and
the program is pushing along so
well that / am afraid TO trust
my own Judgment.
Incidentally, have discovered
an almost pathetic appeal for
/ newspaper and magazine pub
liclty TO arounse the public to
the fact that such an army
does exist and is growing day
by day and may have to fight
the Germans and not neces-
Sarily on German soil. and a
fear that the publicity. when il
does come, will be unsympa-
thetic or possibly nasty.
An example of nasty publicity
occurred recently when some
congressman returned to Wash
ington after a personal tour OF
several Of these big camps, and,
in the words of another con-
gresham. whose name wasn't
given. was said TO have backed
four generals against wall and
10 have fired questions at them
IN such a manner that they
looked as though they would
have preferred TO face firing
squad.
WELL, in the first place. so
w far. as any one here knows.
there was no other congressman
present 10 bear witness TO the
interview. which did take place
all right and, in the second
place. nobody is backing any OF
these generals against any wall.
Any one who tries anything
like that, whether congressman
or whatever. will get popped
right on the nose.
II is all right for a congress-
man TO ask questions about the
army. but no officer or enlisted
soldier would be worth having
who would let any civilian back
him against wall and make a
quavering monkey out of him.
don't know why any officer
should be afraid that our papers
and magazines might knock the
army, but probably we have
here an example of the influence
OF the jerked-English and low
down school of journalism.
If any officer is falling down
on the job. the war department
probably will boost him aside to
make room for some hustling
ambitious party who can turn
out results.
After all such men as Mar
shall and Henry Stimson are
Americans. not Germans. and
no congressman or journalist is
any more eager than they to do
this job efficiently and fast or
to eliminate incompetents.
UNDOUBTEDLY many Off
- GERS will be relieved as the
effort goes along, just as Per-
Shing relieved unfit men in
France. and it stands to reason
that a lot of these casualties
will be Guard officers who are
over their heads in rank and
probably, in some cases, better
politicians than soldiers.
/ don't think General Marshall
would be afraid to get rid of
militariZeI civilian politician
who was lacking in professional
ability because President Roose-
welt picked him for his job and
the President backs up his men.
Moreover. il would be hor-
rible thing to keep a mediocrity
or incompetent in a command
TO the jeouardy of soldiers lives
and the national safety just to
placate some state political ma
chine.
Nor do / mean by this to sug-
gest that the Guard officers are
inefficient as group, but only
that, in view of the employment
of the Guard as political army