Detroit evening times., 1945-03-06
BEHIND
THE NEWS
BY Paul
MaIlon

" The straw polls are Gallup
ing over the country, heralding
or drumming up what is called
IAN overwhelming m ority
support" for compulsory mill
tary education.
/ doubt them. l do not think
the proposition has any great
support, let alone majority fol-
lowing, and l will tell you why:
1t was o. Henry who once
wrote that straw votes show
only how the hot air is blowing.
These polls ask such-queS-
tions as
"Are you for military train
lng?; should. ii be universal" ,"
Nearly every one is for mill
tary training" and not one in a
hundred thousand people IN this
country realizes that "univer-
sal, " in this case, is not being
used in its dictionary sense, but
to cover with diplomatic Lam
guage, bold drafting of II or
1S-year-old youths from their
homes and schools, and the sur
roundings in which they are
being raised, for a year of Serv-
ice TO the army,
WHY do not the polls ask the
w people what they mean,
namely:
do you favor a compulsory
peacetime draft of the teen-age
youths of this country for a
year in the army"
An equally great deception
upon the people is being Prac-
ticed by pollers who also ask:
DO =you=favor= nationai-de-
fenSe for this country after the
war and military training
therefor ?"
Who is against national de-
fense or training TO get it? Not
a handful, but that is not the
proposition involved.
If all the youths were drafted
for a year, you would still have
10 provide an army and navy
for national defense. Such kids
could only be a feeder reserve;
they could not be either the
army or the navy.
As for the military training
part of -it.-there- are dozens of
ways in which this could be
accomplished without taking
teen-agers away from their
homes and schools for a year
including the installation OF
compulsory training In their
high schools and colleges, en-
largement of the national guard.
creating several more West
Points and naval academies in
the country, on the West Coast,
Great Lakes. in the politicians
should like this) South.
DUT are such intelligent ques-
ID tionS asked the people? ? Not
in a single polling instance to
my knowledge.
You might expect the maga-
zine and newspaper pollers 10
make such glaring omissions in
their gathering OF pubic
thought, but now comes an edu-
cational group, polling college
presidents, and making a some
what similar mistake in en-
phasis
They ask about delaying the
proposition until after the war,
about types of training, ages,
duration under universal mill
tary training" but allow only
one-fifth of their space for a
few alternatives all Of which
and more 1 have suggested from
time to time in this spot. They
do not seem to realize what the
proposition is. CThey are in good
company in this as the cham
Der of commerce hardly allowed
any thought of alternatives TO
be expressed in its pollD
I started out against this un-
democratic youth-draft Cthat IS
its right name) last September,
writing that l knew it could not
be stopped because 1t had the
support of Mr.. Roosevelt, the
army and navy, but denouncing
il anyway and recommending
specific means of obtaining the
same detectives.
NOV I tell you, | believe the
INpropoSition has been stopped
dead. that it will not get through
Congress because a strong ma
jority of people are against it
a fact the hot air polls have not
discovered yet. but which is
apparent in my mail and news
gathering. If they want 10 ask
a cold air question. why do they
not ask mothers and fathers:
"Do YOU want your sons or
daughters taken away from YOU
for year by the state at the
age Of II or 1872"
That will get them an answer
more 10 the point than the ques-
tionS they are asking. Also ask