Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-17
By WESTBROOK PEGLER


i ent to me. in certain CONVEX
sations with officers of the
regular army and some of the
reserves, here and elsewhere.
that, although Hitler is all that
: his worst enemies have said OF
him and his Aryanism is glib
berish, we are not entirely kind
or wise ourselves.
Just now great numbers Of
young Americans are struggling
into an unfamiliar life as sol
diers of the republic, represent
ing many strains of blood and
race and many crossbreeds which
have resulted from the marriage
of sons and daughters of Euro
pean immigrants.
The Negro, who is certainly
a 100 per cent native American,
is honorably represented. too.
and altogether this army, like
the last one. is mixture of all
the kinds who make up that
which Hitler and his contemp-
tible little dog-robber. Mussolini.
have called the mongrel breed of
the United States.
IT is the American belief that
L this is great breed. and GER
tainly all are expected to do
their parts.
That being so, it would be wise
to make a conscious effort 10
discredit definite smugness
among some of those who call
themselves the Anglo Saxons
and think of their kind as being
somehow. if not exactly. the
chosen people of this country.
then. at any rate. the Grade A
members of the club and think
Of the others as probationers or
Summer members.
The United States Is not a
country club. and its national de-
Tense. fortunately. is not the
exclusive privilege Of the Anglo
Saxon.
On the contrary, the Anglo
Saxon would berate the others if
they were TO hang back and let
him enjoy the sacrifice exclu-
sively. and in such a contingency
we would be a pushover for
Guatemala, because there would
be nowhere near enough Anglo
Saxons to do the actual fight
ing. 10 say nothing Of the manu-
featuring.
THE region just around FAY
L etteville. n. c.. is described
by local authorities as almost
purely Anglo-Saxon or Scottish,
which seems TO me 10 involve a
contradiction right there. al
though l will waive the point,
not being prepared 10 argue il.
Because of their common
blood. the people have certain
common characteristics. physical
and tempermental. being mostly
on the blond side, religious and
dignified.
They are also quite independ-
ent. and il was their firm un-
willingness TO be jcrked around
and told what they had TO do by
outsiders that built Fort Bragg
without the special permission
OF certain unions. at a saving 10
themselves of money which they
had honestly earned.
IN THE subject OF Anglo
" Saxonism l can speak as
member Of the lodge. and will
observe that any man who goes
around stretching his vest but
tons because Shakespeare was
one of us-if he was-is very
hard up for pride.
1t is safe to say that most
Of those who are proud to be
of the breed that. produced
Shakespeare found Shakespeare
a great bore. if they ever read
him at all. just as many Ameri-
cans of Italian blood are only
mounting names when they
speak so proudly of the great
Italians of literature, politics
and art.
The men of other strains who
are coming into this army will
differ in many characteristics
from those officers who are con-
sciously Anglo-Saxon.
Many of the new crop of Of
ficers will wear names ending
in the vowel or resembling. in
print. that printers pi which.
of recent years. has been the
roster Of the Notre Dame foot
ball team.
A NY tendency to patroniZe or
"A low-rate anyone in this army
because of his complexion. the
spelling of his name or the shape
of his nose-for which. inciden-
tally. there is no standard spe-
cification even at West Point
will be a disservice to the
country. because il will make for
snobbery and i'll feeling in any
army which should be a national
varsity.
Their handling of soldiers from
the big cities. who certainly will
not be Anglo-Saxon. will be an
important test of the profess
sional ability of officers who
have this habit of thought. for
they will simply have TO make
do with many such men. and the
gods OF war viii pay OFF on re-
suits. not prejudice.
To keep the record straight.
will say that | have encountered
no outrageous snobbery. but.