Evening star., 1946-06-29

on current Army reforms. The Star is
to be congratulated for courageous ad-
herence to principle on this and other
issues.
One wonders how many real soldiers
will be attracted into this new Army.
In the event of Army Navy consolida-
ton, will the time-tested traditional
military standards of the Navy and Ma
rine Corps remain?
WILLIAM r. KINTNER,
Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. A.
To the Editor OF The Star:
Mr.. Berryman's cartoon and your
editorial on the subject of Army uni
forms in The Star of June 27 will no
doubt be resented thoroughly by vir-
tually all of us who ever wore the uni
form of an enlisted man. The point of
view that you express would be even
more ranking II 1t were not so obviously
untenable. Apparently. you feel that
the morale of our Army is not i'm
paired by Quitting millions OF enlisted
men with the ill-fitting. unfiattering
clothes-ably caricatured by Mr.. Berry,
man-so long as a few hundred thou
sand officers are smartly dressed. Did
1t ever occur to you that the uniforms
could be uniformly smart instead Of
uniformly sloppy?
The whole tone Of your editorial is
negative. Instead of seeking to improve
the appearance Of the enlisted man
you contemplate dragging the of1icer
down to the CT level. You also seek to
drag us down to Russias level of politi-
cal democracy. Russia is an absolute
dictatorship and has been one for hun
dreds Of years. The methods Of dicta-
torship are accepted by the Russian
people and therefore are most effective
in their Army. But these methods are
hardly calculated to obtain the most
from the American who has been reared
In the ideals of democracy.
OF course, the American soldier recog-
nizes that strict obedience to lawful
orders is essential in any Army. Rank
must have the privilege OF authority
But it Is the other privileges of COM
missioned rank that the enlisted man
resents-unnecessary trappings such as
saluting, reservation of choice theater
seats for officers, and artificial social
gaps typified by such things as differ
ences in the uniform.
The idea that these things are neces-
sary in order to obtain obedience under
battle conditions Is SO much poppycock
1t Is just as essential for the riflleman
advancing under fire to obey the staff
sergeant who is his squad leader as 1t
is for him to heed the commands of the
lieutenant who leads his platoon or
even the general who commands his
division. Yet the rifieman lives with the
staff sergeant. eats with him, sits
next to him at the theater, doesn't
salute him. and-horror Of horrors
wears the same uniform.
LEONARD EsKIN.
Defends Future Mother
To the Editor Of The star:
In a recent letter, Mrs. James D.
Mclean speaks Of Future Mother as
complaining about the amount OF food
we are sending abroad.
I fail to find in the letter from
Future Mother" any complaint on
that score.
All she asks Is enough nourishing
food so that she may have a healthy
baby.
She also sees the terrible pictures of
starving children, and that is what she
is dreading for her own child, if she
cannot get adequate food for herself
and him.
There are some sections of the city
where it is very difficult to obtain some
foods, and some women who must
spend good part of the day. going
from store to store, or making two or
three visits to the same store, trying
to find adequate food for their children
and very often do not get it.
Mrs. Mclean, indeed, is fortunate that
her grocery basket always is laden with
good, nourishing food, and that her
child is chubby and strong, but there
are many right here in our own city
who are not so fortunate as she seems
to be.
have no criticism for Future
Mother" She and her husband both
served in the armed forces. She has a
right to have proper food now. L.Y.
N. B. Seventh Armored Veterans
To the Editor of The Star:
We feel sure that many of your read
~ s,a%&
7th Armored Division Veterans Asso-
citation has been incorporated under the
not-for-profit corporation act of the
State of Illinois.
Full details on the association, its
national organization and its future
scope and plans may be obtained by
writing the undersigned at Box 333.
Libertyville, III.
JOSEPH A. REDDY, Jr.