Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1945-07-27
Whats
New?
By
Edward Duck
With The
Infantry
in Germany
OUR OBLIGATION

sented them on the field of
battle is to take a very pop
ular position indeed, with
Japan still to be conquered,
and with the memory of the
recently concluded European
phase of the war still fresh
in our minds.
What is more important
than reiteration of a policy or
expression of sentiment is the
doing of something concrete.
You people in Toledo. for
example, must be all too
familiar with the radio pro-
gram of one of your home
town concerns which inappro-
priately enough is entitled
Something For The Boys"
This firm recently denied the
request for something like
$470 which was sorely
needed to enable the service
mems club of that plant to
enlarge its contribution to its
servicemen at Christmas time.
Soon the war will be ended
and people will still be talk
ing about taking care of
the boys when they come
back"
The boys are coming back
now-hundreds of thousands
of them. The nation is not
ready for them and cannot
take care of them properly.
In certain sectors particularly,
the decline in employment is
astounding. And it is only the
beginning.
! say that not only do the
American people owe their
fighting men something, but
they owe themselves and their
children something also. What
is good and desirable for the
serviceman should be good
and desirable for the vast
majority of the people.
PROGRESS MUST COME
The chief obligation of our
nations people is to acquaint
themselves with the problems
facing them with the wars
end. Economic and social pro-
gress must come, not from
above the common man, but it
must come directly from him.
Those who hold elective posts
must not do our thinking for
us. They must carry out the
dictates of the majority, and
that majority must be an en-
lightened, well informed ma
jority.
Things like taxation, for
eign policy, the national eco
nomy, and the all important
question of establishment of a
foundation for international
peace of a lasting nature are
not things "out of this world"
to be discussed only in the
drawing rooms of the diplo-
mats by people who choose,
evidently, to consider these
problems as properly belong
ing to themselves.
1t is you and all the other
millions of unknowns who
pay the price when wars are
fought, when taxes are raised,
when depressions envelope
the nation and the world.
Therefore, all Of us have a
right to take part in the for
nation of policy or legisla-
tion affecting us so vitality.
But we do not. And there
are wars, depressions, and So
cial evils galore. Most of us
assume the attitude that we,
as individuals, make so min
ute a contribution that it is
unnoticed and hardly worth
the effort-that our time and
effort might better be en-
ployed in doing almost any
thing else.
OUR CONTRIBUTION
But our individual contri-
button is noticed. There are
thousands of us whose COM
bined study and effort is striv-
ing toward a better world for
the industrial workers and
their families has won out
over many obstacles. The real
test is yet to come, and it will
not be long in reaching its
crisis.
Professor Alvin II. Hansen,
in his book, Americas Role
In The World Economy" de-
clares that without full en-
ployment in all the major
countries there will be "an-
other depression, another Hit
ler, another war!"
Cooperation in the diff
cult and delicate sphere of
economics is necessary to save
the world from future war
and terrible disaster" states
Sydney Justin Harris, in re-
viewing Hansen's book in the
Chicago Daily News. The
critic also refers to IAN edu-
cational system that turns out
economic illiterates by the
millions" and concludes with
the statement: 1T is UP to a
well-informed public to see
that the peace is made dur