Show W Washington as h- h i Ington n Wh- Wh Whirligig i Ir ri I- I ig i g Telegrams Telegram's Correspondent By Ray Tucker Washington WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Several Several aspects aspects aspects as as- of the training of the United States army have been revolutionized as a result of the string of British reverses Though the shift may seem an indirect criticism of our allies' allies combat spirit it casts rio no such reflection Churchill's lads do not like to fight for the sa sake e of fighting They do not dash into battle lustily and brutally They seek to spare troops so far as possible pos pos- sible Moreover unlike the Russians i and Chinese they are dying in foreign lands and not in defense of their own soil solI There are no finer to the wall defenders but in this mad conflict there is no homely wall It is a vast melee of move move- ment The Japs and the Germans on the other hand kill in earnest Even in hi peacetime maneuvers they used real bullets and shrapnel shrapnel shrapnel nel to harden participants to blood and death In the united nations the only ones who display display display dis dis- play the same ferocity and tenacity are the Russians and Chinese Our boys are still untested So the ups higher-ups are making sham warfare as realistic as conditions will permit Against tanks and fortified positions they are firing live ammunition Giant phonographs reproduce all the awesome noises of battle as registered in actual engagements engage engage- ments Anglo-American Anglo hatred of mass murder does not mean that the sons of democracy have gone soft Each phase of their lives religious lives religious governmental social social exalts exalts the divinity of man whereas the totalitarians totalitarian teach that the individual is mortgaged to the state Paul V. V McNutt's war man manpower manpower manpower power commission is all dressed up with no place to go In preliminary preliminary preliminary pre pre- studies its members have discovered that trans- trans transferring transferring ferring a man from industry to the army army or or exempting him him him- is quite different from tapping a college boy on the campus campusand campusand campusand and asking him if he he wants to join Beta Theta Pi Although the creators of the theW theW W M C forgot it the selective service act prohibits the immunity immunity immunity im im- im- im of groups of workers such I as engineers personnel men or gas fitters That provision provision provision provi provi- sion was inserted to prevent the rush to the shipyards that saved many a husky from the draft during the first World war So McNutt will front for a supposedly scientific choosing process delivering eloquent speeches on the glory of equalIty equality equality equal equal- ity etc But the hard practical task of sifting soldiers from the producing ranks must be handled handled handled han han- by the local draft boards Leon Hendersons Henderson's embarrassments embarrassments embarrassments embarrass embarrass- ments on Capitol Hill have a personal and political background back back- ground Regardless of the merIts merits merits mer mer- its of the controversy the be be- the scenes reasons for cutting cutting cutting cut cut- ting his 0 O P A appropriation al almost almost almost al- al most 70 per cent reflects no credit credi t on the partisans Several Democratic opponents opponents opponents privately tried to persuade him to free their commercial constituents from price-fixing price provisions When he refused rather heatedly on the theory that that it would be unfair and unfeasible unfeasible unfeasible un un- un- un feasible he made a batch of formidable foes In his appearances appearances appearances appear appear- ances before committee executive executive executive tive sessions he and they fall to f and cuss cussin in violently The feeling aroused developed into a grudge fight Other congressmen congress congress- men were offended because they blamed his office though not him for getting them in bad on the gas gas rationing issue The X card bloc voted against him angrily and almost unanimously As the price administrator predicted when he took the job last winter he has become just about the most unpopular man manin manin manin in the country President Roosevelt may be interested to know why he is losing so many battles in an overwhelming Democratic congress congress congress con con- gress anent domestic reforms The explanation is that his sworn leaders are not fighting for him because they secretly favor repeal Time and again his spokesmen spokes spokes- men have delivered passionate speeches against endeavors to reduce appropriations for pet White House projects But when the hour came to vote they made madeno no attempt to round up votes The wrangle concerning preservation preservation preservation pres pres- of the civilian conservation conservation conservation conserva conserva- tion corps furnished the most spectacular evidence of this defeatist defeatist defeatist de de- de- de attitude Copyright 1942 McClure Syndicate |