Evening star., 1942-03-10

be getting nicely taken care OF ex-
cept the soldiers. Industrialists are
doing all right with their contracts.
Labor is getting its share with time,
time and a half and overtime.
But the soldier-well, We have
found the real forgotten man at last.
The man in khaki is the real thing
along the forgotten-man line. He
Is the real Mccoy in the way OF
overlooked gentlemen.
He volunteers or he Is indicted
into the Army and of he goes TO a
camp, building dreams Of what he
can do with his handsome salary OF
S2l q month. AS he rides along to-
ward the camp or during the first
few days in the camp, he spins a
few more castles In the air. This
s2l a month Is all his. At last he
Is in the dough. For nothing more
than risking his life his Government
has put him on easy street.
Boy. oh boyl Twenty-ons dollars
q MONTH
Disillusionment, however, pays him
q visit while the incubation shots
are still hurting his arm. All Of .
sudden he learns that the s2l q
month Is not all his TO throw around
with o free hand.
The Government starts putting
the bite on him A nibble here, q
nibble there, until finally it's q
pretty good sized bite, and q man
making only s21 a month can't
stand too many nibbles.
Nosing around Army camps all
over the country have found that
this Is the least that happens to the
pay check Of the s2l-a-month
private.
The specter of old age Is shown to
him right away by the 25-cent de-
duction that goes for the upkeep OF
old soldiers homes. II our Army
goes to the 5,ooo,o 900 or 100000
men you hear about, We should
have some real fancy old soldiers
homes before long. II I were
soldier and didn't flnd . swimming
pool and badminton court on the
grounds. Id let some one have II
over the head with my cane.
Laundry accounts for s2.s5 Of the
private's monthly pay check. The
rule book demands that he stay well
starched, well creased and generally
clean and neat. So clean and neat,
In fact. that in addition to his laun-
dry he must foot q tailoring ana
dry cleaning bill that averages
around So q month.
The Government gives q private q
razor, five blades, a tooth brush ana
tooth paste when he arrives In camp.
with some vague idea that this
eouipment will last him for the
duration Of the war. Because they
don't give him any more Of these
things, when the original grant Is
rome he must restock out Of his
own pocket. He must buy his own
toilet soap, too.
Add all OF these things, plus bus
fare back and forth from the camp
to the nearest town, and you see
what the soldier has left out OF his
tremendous salary.
As Nation we are great on rais-
ing money for anything and every
thing away from home. Well throw
In all sorts of money to further the
happiness Of distant folk, no matter
what their race, color or creed.
That's fine. That's commendable.
sH&s
But. before We buy rattles for the
children Of Khyber Pass, bells for
the cats OF Belgium, shaws for the
shahs OF Persia, wouldn't 1t be
nice thing, and q smart thing. to
take care of the men who have
picked up guns for our very own
defense, and let them have a little
more fun, a little more security.
little more peace of mind before
they 90 out and face bullets for us'
II a soldier doesn't deserve the
best in time of war, who In heavens
name does?
You, with your hand up, I'm still
listening for your reasons to keep
the soldier on starvation wages
distributed by McNaught Syndicate. 1ne)