Evening star., 1951-09-21
To the Editor of The Stor:

While the primary purpose of my letter
Of September II. comparing the pay of
an Army captain and a GS-l1 in the
civil service was to quiet those COM
planning about the "inadequacy" of their
pay. cannot deny the deductive ability
OF those who have replied to 1t in direct
ing their main efforts to a vigorous
defense of the present pay few points
were raised in these replies that merit
answer.
AS reflected by the incident on the
floor of the Senate the other day when
Senator Douglas showed his exaspera-
tion at having his motives questioned
for examining the military appropriations
bill, there exists an extraordinary con-
dition in the minds of a great many
people about the military The profess
Sional soldier is not to be looked upon
as super-patriot who by his selflessness
has forsaken all for his country; rather.
he should be regarded as an ordinary
American who has selected a military
career after weighing the same consid-
erationS of economics, security and hap
piness as influence any other man in
the selection of his life work It must
be assumed that he prefers the mill
tary life.
A part of this life is the periodic
transfers all over the world; incidentally,
the educational benefits derived from this
travel would cost many thousands of
dollars to duplicate. The inconvenience
of these moves is ameliorated by pro-
visions of law which permit the termi-
nation of leases by servicemen acting on
- <@
advantage; by the Grating and shipping
of household goods at Government ex-
pense, and by extra allowances to cover
travel expenses.
Now for the most important and COM
pelling argument upon which my answer
ers rely-combat. When war comes, the
bulk of the fighting force is provided by
the civilian population, including, I'm
sure some GS-11s. While the combat
soldiers and captains in the Army are
in the minority. it is perfectly true that
they are underpaid. Congress could not
appropriate enough money to pay them
acknowledgement services must be as
cribed to an obligation Of free citizen.
The military man is a good American,
vital to the needs of the country, and
very adequately paid indeed.
Julian w. Hayden.
should like to add to the captain
GS-11 dispute. have occupied both
positions at one time or another, from
private to captain and from GS-7 to
Gil. At the moment am unemployed
and this debate arises at q peculiarly
appropriate moment since am faced
with choice between going back on
active duty as captain and trying to
obtain civilian position. with a prob
able GS-11 rating. Thus, I have no
prejudices in the matter.
Before offering my conclusion,
should like to point out few fallacies
in the letters on the subject.
First. many made the mistake Of as
slming-tha most GS-11s are in Wash
ington and that most captains are in
Korea. Actually, they will find that only
a small portion of the captains are in
Korea and that the majority of the
GS-1ls are not in Washington. Oddly
enough. they will find that even GS-11s
have been killed in wartime while some
captains never left D. c. My own service
as GS-11 was in foreign country and
not under too pleasant circumstances.
The argument that GS-11s don't get
killed or wounded in wartime is an
obvious non sequitur. No doubt there
are many GS-11s who gave UP Govern
ment positions to join the service and
subsequently be killed And men who
have been wounded and shoot at are
now GS-11s. Probably two-thirds of
my comrades in arms have, since the
end Of hostilities. held Government posi-
tions, though not all with II ratings, of
course. And there are many captains
who have never seen a gun fired In
anger.s
In the long run, the officer has an
easier life than the civilian.
Reader.
My heart bleeds for both Mr. Hayden
and the Army captain. They both have
it tough.
am GS-3. take home pay of Sits
month.
My husband was an ArmySman, dead
these 10 years from wounds in World
War I. The Army gave me the mag
nif1cent sum of $75 a month to finish
raising his three young children on, so
at the age of ~ and unframed, I went
to work to get all three through high
school,
My son joined the Army and went to
Korea and one daughter married. The
other share expenses with me. We pay
$50 a month rent for decent place to
live. 1t has taken me seven years to
attain this magnificent pay check and
I am darned grateful for the inde-
pendence it gives me. Of course. had
completed what most people called a
life's job before started to work, taking
care of four children and an invalid
husband. However, am thankful for
job and my health and I feel so sorry
for these people with so little, and if I
retire soon, / will be entitled to S42 a
month from the VA. although all the
stronger sex in my family have served
the Army in peace and in war.
I am not complaining, but I do feel
sorry for these others with so much less
to live on.
k. M. X.