Evening star., 1943-10-31
Veterans Education

- Wiz ~ ~
President Roosevelt's message urg-
ing Congress to take early action"
on a Federal program to guarantee
postwar educational opportunities to
honorably discharged service per-
Sonl1el me- and women alike -
covers but one phase of the huge
and complicated problem the Nation
will face when rehabilitation time
arrives. Yet it is most important
phase, and there can be no doubt
that it merits prompt and careful
consideration.
AS set forth by the Presidents spe-
cial committee on the subject, the
proposed program would have two
major provisions. First, it would
make 1t possible for every one who
has served six months or more in the
armed forces to have a maximum
of one calendar year of Federally
financed education or training. be-
ginning not later than six months
after his or her honorable discharge.
And second, it would offer to linz
tied number Of exceptionally able"
veterans an opportunity to continue
their studies for one, two or even
three additional years, provided they
lived up to certain fixed educational
standards.
The committees report, submitted
to Congress along with the Presi-
dents message, suggests that in ad-
dltlon to paying the one-year STU
dents tuition and fees, the Govern
ment should provide $50 monthly for
the support of the single student and
S75 monthly for the married STU
dent, plus SO monthly allowance
for each child. The same benefits
would be granted to those qualifying
for additional years of education,
with the further provision that the
latter would be eligible as we'll for
Federal loans up to a maximum of
$50 month. According to committee
estimates, a minimum of 100000
out of total mobilization of 12,OO0,-
600 in the Army and Navy would
probably want to take advantage of
such opportunities, and the resulting
cost to the Government would be
about one billion dollars.
In endorsing the main features of
this plan, President Roosevelt has
not specifically favored it's financing
setup. The committee itself consid-
cred proposals for assistance based
chiefly on loans or on grants made
contingent on a showing of need. but
1t rejected these in favor of outright
benefits with few strings attached.
What the congressional reaction will
be remains to be seen, but it is a
safe assumption that thoughtful
men in both the Senate and House
will subject the suggested program
to the closest inspection, particularly
to determine whether it is too lavish,
whether it is dangerously paternal-
istic and whether it could conceiv-
ably be used to promote Federal con-
troll of education, even though it
contains provision designed to
guard against that.
Senator Ebert Thomas, chairman
| of the Committee on Education and
Labor, says he will act at once to
| draft bill embodying the Presi-
dents recommendations When this
| is forthcoming, there will very prob
ably be plenty of room for vigorous
debate. Meanwhile, advocates of the
| proposal can argue persuasively that
its enactment would help maintain
the high morale of our troops, make
the labor market less crowded in the
| first months of rehabilitation, and
serve the welfare of the Nation by
seeing to it that the potential talent
and leadership existing in our armed
forces will not be lost for want of
an educational opportunity but will
instead have chance to develop.
Whatever may be its eventual fate,
| however, whether Congress rejects
it, greatly modifies it, or approves it
substantially as is, the proposal GER
tainly represents far-reaching and
even bold approach to the problem
of rehabilitation. When we remem-
Der, moreover, that it applies only to
a relatively small part of that prob
lem and still is big enough to be a
billion-dollar item, we get an ex-
tremely SOLDERING idea of how the
costs of this war are likely to carry
over deep into the future. If for no
other reason than this, there should
be an ardent American determina-
ton to collaborate internationally in
the next peace to prevent another
| global convulsion with all it's colossal
drain on blood and treasure.
A factory formerly making baby
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