The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-11-25
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

By WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK.--A number of young midship-
men from Columbia university who will be
commissioned ensigns Wednesday received
swords as awards of honor for special merit
Monday afternoon in exercises which were
a capsuled version of the more elaborate
ceremonies of June week at Annapolis. They
were all clean, handsome young men who
might resent the rather pstronizing name of
kids, and all very earnest and idealistic in
their responses to the complimentary remarks
OF the admirals and others who delivered the
awards. One in particular, struck note
which seems to apply to the neighborhood
troubles that have disturbed some of our
cities of late. He recalled his high school
days, not so long ago. and the slackness
and indiscipline of youth, traced the change
in himself personally which hat been wrought
by the Nays training AMI reminded us that
this was the generation which had now turned
to and was beating the Germans and the
Japs. More by the implication Of his manner
than in so many words he conveyed the
thought that the individual citizen, in or out
of the service can nelp the United States and
preserve the, liberties which he is about to
fight for by being careful not to throw cigaret
butts on the floor. That, of course, is figure
of speech although it is one of the first les
sons that a serviceman learns, and in the
wider sense it means restraint and individual
responsibility, the lack of which is the basic
cause of many of our domestic troubles
The condition can be traced back to much
earlier beginnings, for we rough people
but the decline took sharp dig, back in the
more turbulent days of the deal when
for any reason they fe.. aggrieved or I'M
comfortable it would be all right to go into
the streets and throw rocks, TO pull the master
switches in municipal power plants and other
wise terrorize communities, to sack manu-
for nj ,,;4I,
tire irons and clubs anyone who resisted or
even disagreed with them. This being done
under taut permission of the federal govern
ment and usually with the submissive consent
of local authorities innbued with the same idea
there grew among many OF the people an
assumption that that condition which is de-
scribed by the political catch. PHI ase, under
privilege, relieves the self-pitying individual
of all normal responsibility for rough be-
havior. And by now i: is almost law among
US that any element of the population which
breaks over is to be pitied, not punished,
and placated W t piayg1ounos swimming
pools free doctors to mend those who
cut up in brawls, charming living quarters
provided in large part by quieter and better
citizens and some great public mothering in
stitution to relieve them Of the responsibility
of caring for their own young.
Against the living and shining refutaton
offered by the lives of such men as Al Smith,
Jim Farley and scores of oiner illustrlous and
useful Americans who were born poor and
had to improvise their rla grounds and games,
the notion that poverty and laWessneSS
identical or complementary still gains ground.
The cure most conmonl recommended for
many ills that all us is to make all the people
Well-to-do by some plan not yet formulated
beyond the preamble expressing this pleasant
intent. On the other tand there is abundant
evidence in many conspicuous careers of rich
H.
in the penthouse.
Mussolini and Hitler OF course preached and
enforced discipline and the communists live
by a discipline equally rigid, although they
deny it. Thus any suggestion that discipline
be imposed on us is scorned az un-Amerlcan
when the fact is that we have always used
force, implied or active, to keep the peace
among ourselves and are plagued now by
growing belief that this force has weakened
or been repudiated utte'ly
The truth is that our discipline is bad and
the flippant, name-callng political manners
brought in with the change OF administration
in 1888, the bear-baiting methods used
prominent individuals to make h e crowd
laugh are largely responsible. The individual
has been taught that if he throws his cigaret
butts on the floor something called the gov
eminent will pick them Up. ana, while the
Navy and the Army with thell continuing
tradition of honor, duty ana country have
1iops ~ cervicemen. inspirinr them to do
wight for the reward Of inner satisfaction
the tendency among too many civilians has
been Just the other way
-V------
We are aware that isolatlontssn today is
do",,o.nt ~ dead and is beginning to stir
now that postwar collabor atcn is becoming
INV. ~, issue President Marguerite Wells, Ma
tional League of Women Voters
They (the Russians) have no sps s ~
If an employe is 20 minutes aus ns - EVEN
trial by court Of empqysess; o p;ckerhsnn