The Wilmington morning star., 1946-01-27
Equal Privileges
nv MARQUIS CHILDs

wAsu1NcToN-on of the chronic gripss Of
the az during the war was the privileges and
prerogatives enjoyed by officers as contrasted
with the ordinary soldier. The officers got the
fine clubs. they got the liquor, they monopo-
lized the time of the Red Cross glr4s.
Thus went the familiar complaint IN every
theater in which there were any privileges
and prerogatives to be enjoyed. Now EongIes %
has discovered that this inequality extends TO
rehabilitation
Offices in both the Army and Navy are en-
+;+1ed IA terminal leave. Depending on the
amount of leave they have accunouated-1otA
months is the rnaximun-they can take Tune,
on full pay with allowances, to look around
for a Job and begin the process OF readJust-
ment to civilian life.
Enlisted men in the two services &c not
have the same privilege. They must go 10 d
separation center and there wait out the pro-
cess Of final discharge.
AS DR.. Howard A. Rusk pointed out IN a
recent article in the New York Times TINS
gives the officer a great advantage over the
enlisted man. It tends to make the process OF
adjustment much easier for the offlcer, says
DR.. Rusk who, as a colonel in the Army AR
Forces worked out the air forces splendld
rehabilitation program.
Today the combat enlisted man goes directly
to a separation center. He is discharged
rapidly as possible and, when he gets his tlnal
discharge papers, he is out OF the Army. his
means that he cannot avail himself OF Army
medical facilities. The officer, in contrast, IN
his months of terminal leave, can 60 into an
Army or Navy hospital instead of having to
take MS chances in a crowded veterans nos
pital.
For some months, Congress has been nam
merlng away at this nequty. There must be
dozen bills which have been introduced in the
House alone. The War Department was asked
to submit figures on the cost of extending the
privilege of terminal leave to enlisted men as
well as officers.
The War Departments recommendations
were submitted to the Bureau of the Budget
which has not yet passed on them. They put
the cost at the staggering figure of 2,788,-
000, 600, which would cover both officers and
men.
Admiral Louis J. DenfeId chief of the Nays
Bureau of Personnel told congressman some
time ago that the cost for the Navy would be
approximately 1900, 900, 600. He recommended
the extension of the leave privilege to enlisted
men but pointed out that the cost would be
considerable.
The reason the cost would be so great
more than "a, 1000, 600, 900 for both services-is
because the privilege would be made retroac-
tive Both on Capitol Hill and in the services,
the feeling is that those who have already
been discharged without benefit of terminal
leave should at least get the additional finan-
cial compensation.
But the millions Of men already out of uni
form would not get the kind of benefit that
terminal leave is meant to give-the cushion
ing of the shock of transition between military
and civilian life For them, it would be merely
a kind of bonus. Inevitably it would feed the
present trend toward initiation.
Just to put such program into effect would
take vast governmental machine. The War
Department estimates that 5000 clerks would
have to work three months just to set up the
system.
In spite Of all this, there seems to be a
fairly good chance that a Congress acutely
sensitive to CT grievances will adopt a bill
granting terminal leave to all service men and
women, officers and enlisted personnel alike.
No mention of the proposal was made in the
Presidents message on Monday.
Representative Mike Mansfield of Montana
liberal democrat is one of the most active
sponsors of the proposal He introduced a bill
last fall calling for equalization of the leave
privilege.
The sad fact, Of course, is that this was not
done at the outset of the war, SO that it would
have ben accepted as a part of the wars
cost. Some of the headaches of rehabilitation
might then have been avoided.
copyright 1916, by United Feature Syndicate,
1nc)