Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-09-15
S+imson Hit
For Attack
On Newsmen
johnson Terms Parallel
With Civil War Inept
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

geSted thdt the morale OF the
army could be improved, our
venerable secretary of war
seems to want to lift their scalps
or put them in Jail beyond the
reach of the writ of habeas
corpus-or something.
At a recent press conference
he quoted Lincoln's famous let
ter in the dark days of 1868:
unjust 1 shoot supplemented
soldier boy who deserts while 1
must not touch a hair Of q willy
agitatOr who induces him to de-
sert: l think that. I'm such
a case, to silence the agitator
and save the boy il not only
constitutional but withal a great
mercy"
Mr.. StimSon is said 10 have
indicated that this was written
TO vindicate the suspension OF
the writ of habeaS corpus.
IF MEMORY serves, and I am
L not where l can check the
facts promptly. it was written
in connection with the Valland-
ingham case. Vallandingham
was congressman and a states
rights Democrat from Ohio.
He was doing a lot of intern
porate oratory, demanding
negotiated peace with the South
during the darkest period of the
Civil War.
He was arrested by the army
in Ohio. tried by a military COM
mission without jury and sem
fenced 10 long term of
Imprisonment, which was COM
muted to exile.
The principal row was over
the drumhead method of his
trial and not over suspension of
the writ of habeas corpus, which
is especially authorized by the
Constitution during instruction.
One factor in tagging army
morale. the secretary is reported
10 have said. is critics who have
been free TO criticize "the whole
purpose for which the army Is
being trained"
What is that purpose? APP
parently Mr.. Stimson doesn't
know. for in almost the same
breath he seems 10 have said
that another difficulty in morale
is that the troops have no con-
crete objective 10 train for and
that il is like training a foot
ball team which has no games
scheduled.
He also felt that there must
be a wholesale wedding out of
inept officers 10 improve morale.
4 MORE scrambled collection
"A of self-contradictory state
mentS could hardly be com
pressed into so few words. The
morale IS good, but the reasons
why it ISN'T good are thus
and so.
This is not. with this writer,
case of If the cap fits you
put II on | have said that
morale must be improved and
that it is not better for some
of the reasons the secretary
assigns.
/ have made no criticism that
was not ahead OF most com
mentators Including the secre-
tary) IN insisting on what we
are now doing
But If the secretary doesn't
know what we are raising,
training and equipping this
army for, / can tell him. II is
TO have the best trained. organ
lied and equipped army of its
size on earth for the defense of
this country against any danger
OF attack anywhere.
The secretary's words on this
score are not disturbing. they
are ill-considered and rather
garrulous. But his scarcely con-
cealed Impotence with any
criticism even to the point of
an indirect suggestion of the
suspension of civil rights for
critics is a horse OF different
color.
THERE is no parallel between
Il the problem Lincoln faced in
1863 and Mr.. StimSon's direct
responsibility for the morale Of
the army now. Mr.. Lincoln was
at war and threatened with de-
feat.
II was an insurrection-a war
between brothers. The country,
even the North. was divided
against itself. The condition can
hardly be more wildly ex-
pressed than in the old federal
Civil War song. Just Before
the Battle. Mother" which said:
Tell the traitors all around
you, that their cruel works we
know, In every battle kill our
soldiers, by the aid they give
the foe"
That was a very different
situation from our present Pc
riod of blind fumbling 10 create
a defense, when suppression Of
informed. intelligent. expert
enced comment on our short
comings in that vital task could