OCR Text |
Show LEAVES FOR SOLDIERS. About two million American troops are in France, all of whom will in due time bo brought back to the United States. The news dispatches tell us that several thousand are already on their way home, and preparations are under way all over the country to provide pro-vide work for these returning soldiers. Indeed, it is looked upon as the first of our big reconstruction problems to get these men back into peaceful occupations. occu-pations. A Salt Lake business man has suggested sug-gested to The Tribune a method which may well relieve the situation to a considerable con-siderable extent. He assumes that a large number of these young soldiers of ours will be anxious to see Europe, and he proposes that, instead of bringing them back immediately, soldiers who desire de-sire them be given leaves of absence for one month, or three months, or six months, which they may spend in travel or at work in Europe. His belief is that a very large number of men will take advantage of this offer, and ho points out the great advantage it would be to them to spend a few months visiting vis-iting the historic places of Europe. This proposition is well worth consideration. consid-eration. Peoplo who can afford to do so have always visited Europe in large numbers, and the educational and cultural cul-tural value of such trips is undoubtedly great, particularly when made at a time when the mind is open to impressions, as in youth. "See America First" is admirable doctrine for Americans, but it would seem a sheer waste of opportunity oppor-tunity for those now in Europe not to see as much of it as feasible when it is possible to do so at an exceedingly small cost of time and money. |