Milford chronicle., 1948-11-26

DWTFgW I'm AAAO4 III y "A q . -
might deter the
men who are needed most from en-.
tering or continuing military ca-
reers.
A fiFst-claSs man won't take
that kind Of abuse or disrepute.
And when the rate Of pay is
considered in comparison with
that Of construction workers,
the man with the true qualifiCa-
tiOns for rank must reflect that
he is only a peaCetime Tommy
Atkins himself.
When bricElayers can get $25 a
day regardless Of incompetence or
production, a cOlonels' SIPS a week
after 20 years service is not inn
pressive.
Omcero This time it will
be necessary to
In start over with the
D.- H. induction Of the
D'S " "'S elected Federal Gov.
ernment. Big wars have always
lowered the average competence.
character and reputation Of the of
ficers, although they suffered far
less in these particulars in World
War than they did in the second
one. There were several obvious
reasons. The first war was soon
ended. There were far fewer tenn
porary officers. Woodrow Wilson
had a personal code as austere as
that Of the West Point corps Of ca
diets and Of the corps Of officers Of
the army.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, on the
other hand, debauched not only
his own Office by his open con-
tempt for honesty as an insti-
tuition but every other office
from the supreme court to the
park service. He reveled in his
title of COmmander-in-Chief,
but the C-in-C's family had had
their feet in the trough for
years, fattening on the by-prOd-
uct Of our highest elective Of
fee in a way that would have
disgusted even Warren G. Hard
ing.
He let the air force clique pull
Elliott out of the cruel war to bull
through a contract for Howard
Hughes and accept from Hughes the
equivalent Of thousands Of dollars
in feasting and boozing.
Under the 95th and 96th articles
Of war, Elliott could have been
court-martialed. He defaulted his
debts to John Hartford and others,
which is a triable charge entailing
dismissal, and in accepting the
favors Of Howard Hughes, he vio-
lated a direct order and warning
from Gen. H. H Arnold.
General Arnold should have made
charges, but he was holding his job
by Roosevelt's whimsical favor.
, Had he made a move, Roosevelt
would have quashed the charges
against Elliott and Arnold would
, have been sent to the University Of
/ Missouri as an instructor.
RlnboR Every knew
this and the enlist
, In ed soldier, being no
, -. M fool and army-wise,
Lust " "F realized that all life
4 was a racket in that army. The out.
rageous cheapening and imitation Oi
. rank to accommodate Hollywood
! draft dodgers, tinid New Deal law,
. yers from Harvard Law and thou
sands of restless white-collar bum.
who were having wife trouble was
! a calamity to the prestige Of com
mand. Captains became majors and
" majors colonels who were absolute
ly useless for any military duty
= But they consumed the best ration'
and whiskey. broke up more thar
their quota Of homes, including, il
many cases, their own. and occu
! pied quarters according to rank
all to the denial Of the combat Of
ficers and soldiers.
It was, altogether, a disgrace
full imposition on the fighters to
throw commissions to such
. sightseers and tOmCats. The in-
J. jury continues now in the
81 mOrOse prejudice against OIL
- GERS.
It The Roosevelt politics also cor
le tinues today in the regular service
u all the way from the Office Of tn
Secretary Of Defense down throug
the desks which are known by tn
\, esoteric name Of echelons. The 70
10 of victims with long and honOrabl
ss service whose careers were stoppe
" dead because they wouldn't pla
7S politics is the roster Of sileT
pogrom.