The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-08-27

ENGoN ,,4 a ', s,,a,.s srai staff blamed defeat on the break down of morale among the people behind the lines. The same prin- ciple applies to the United States today. Soldiers don't suck all their ideas out of their thumbs, and maybe the doubts, theA uncertaiu- ties, and the blind staggers which are supposed to affect the military are nothing more than Q reflection of the confusion of the boys and girls and the pops and rnomS they left behind them.
 The job of bolstering the civilian morale now seems to be split three ways, and they're all indirectly linked to the military. First is the Office of Civilian Defense under Mayor La Guardia. Next is the United Service Organizations un- der Tom Dewey. Third Is the Of- flee of the Coordinator of Health, Welfare and j Related Defense Ac- tivities under Paul McNutt, who is also federal security. administrator. LA GUARDlA LEADS
 FIRE FIGHTERS
 The big effort of Ia Guardias ! outfit so far has been the mob. ili2ation of aluminium pots and pans. It is setting up schools to train fire fighters and other home defense workers, and under state and local supervision these volun- teer home workers have been reg tStered and card indexed.
 USO, working through Catholic, Jewish and Protestant churches, the Y, K of c, JWB, Salvation Army. Legion and 8 host of other relig- iouS and patriotic bodies has con- ducted its drive for funds and in its own way is going about its busi- pess of using civilian effort to bol- ster the morale of the military in off hours.
 The Health, Welfare and Relat- ed Defense Activities organization is the official government body ca- tering to the civilian morale. and If the handsome phiz of the hand some McNutt has not been a beacon and banner to bolster your morale thus far, we'll what's the matter with you, anyway Get in there and fight, as the coach would say.
 If ever government official was handed a golden opportunity to sell himself to the American peo- pie as 8 hero and 8 natural lead- CT, 1t is Paul Voorhis McNutt.
 McNutt'S job as federal security administrator alone was enough to endear him to the masses, passing out social security benefits, better ing education, helping youth in dis tress, providing jobs for the un- employed, improving health, keep ing the foods and drugs pure and properly labeled. When on top of that was piled the responsibility of "'affording social protection to individuals and communities suf- fering disproportionate burdens as a result Of defense activity" as the government manual so feelingly puts it, there was created per- feet set-up for any statesman or demagog to make himself a great guy with the voters and a builder upper of pep.
 MORE FOR McNUTT
 Three million dollars were given to McNutt as the co-ordinator of health, welfare and related defense activities. It is now gone. If you den't feel three million dollars worth better because of this cx- penditure, that's your fault. A sur- vey is being made to see how much more 1t will take to do the job, and if the President ever signs tte order supposed to be on his desk, transferring the McNutt activities to the Office of Emergency Man agement, 1t is assumed that DEM and the Budget Bureau will get to- gether to hand out more.
 Under the circumstances, Me- Nuts Related Defense Activities" are getting along as best they can. Roughly, they divide into the ,le- partments of recreation, nutrition. health, and sin.
 The recreation work, under Mark McClosky, New York's capable dir- ecor of recreation on loan, is do- ing all right. It has small staff out in the field, actually doing something to provide advertisement or just place to sit down for soldiers on leave.
 The health program under pr. Irwin Abel, chairman of the Amer ican College of Surgeons, has good ideas but no money. The nutri- tion program got off to bad start in a Washington conference last spring, and the medical doctors and nutritionists are stiu wrangling about it.
 The sin program, as it's called, has to do with preventing prostitu- tion in the vicinity of Army camps.