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Show Behinlm Released by Western Newspaper Union. ! WHAT SERVICEMEN 'ARE THINKING I WASHINGTON.-LOnly people freely free-ly speaking their minds these days on the issues of the day are the men at the front, or just back. Although they are millions strong, and will be the prevailing influence influ-ence in the country after the war, their views are seldom publicly reported. re-ported. You can find out what they think only by talking with those at home on leave or reading their letters let-ters to their families, j Their common line of thought (as far as I have been able to Judge in conversations) is fairly accurately presented in a letter from an army captain, received by his father, a newspaper editor. His views seem an average of men who have rubbed elbows with allies and matched fists with enemies to achieve a better, realistic understanding of both, as follows: "Things look different out here '(Southwest Pacific) and there is plenty of time to reflect on past life because life out here is so primitive, so basic, stripped of all luxuries and niceties that as American kids we took for granted as part of our country. coun-try. But now that we are giving, we have gained a much finer perceptive per-ceptive a finer appreciation. "And I for one do not desire to quit until we've wiped out not Just beat down to an unconditional surrender sur-render but wiped out the youth of Japan and Germany and Italy. For if we do not, we shall have children who will, in 25 years, have to fight the children growing up in those countries now with warped minds. I "But will America get soft? I believe she is yet, and will go easy on them. I suppose the American people still refuse to face imperi- alism. But they damn sight better learn quick. "English mandates are being handed back on a silver platter out here to the English governor as he moves in again islands practically bathed in marines' blood. There is one I can think of at present and 'back to dear old England it goes. "This all may sound bloodthirsty to the average civilian very comfortable comfort-able and safe in an easy chair in a carpeted home. Changed? No, I haven't changed at all. I always thought thus. I Just got acquainted with primitive instincts that I figured fig-ured I would never have to know. But I must rely on them now to pre- 'serve the civilization I learned at I Amherst. "It seems strange in a way to get 'acquainted with the ways our old pioneer ancestors did things. We, like they, hew our homes out of the forests, live simply and plainly. "Strange how habits stick to a fellow good and bad. The desire 'to keep clean, for instance, under the most difficult of conditions. They tell me marines would bathe and wash clothes in rivers and streams almost under fire so strong was the habit from earlier training to keep clean. "Even now, washing clothes is pretty primitive. I usually do mine I on the hood of a jeep with the front end half way into the stream. Makes a good wash board, and a fast running run-ning river furnishes plenty of water. "Don't think just because we are in the service, we don't have opinions." opin-ions." Yes, and they will be bringing them back a. strengthened respect for the American way of life, a firsthand first-hand knowledge of the inferiority and competition of other systems, a hatred of political deceptions, or small talk propaganda, in short, a new realistic knowledge of the world. S $ LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM DEFIES ANALYSIS In and out of congress, the reaction re-action to Mr. Roosevelt's many-sided many-sided new legislative program sounded sound-ed partisanly squeaky or devastating devastat-ing ly quiet This was almost necessarily so. The ideas themselves defied straight comment or analytical sifting. For instance, the President proposes pro-poses to get the power to draft people peo-ple into Industry in order to prevent pre-vent strikes. But there already is a law supposed to prevent strikes directly, the Smith-Connally act, providing a cooling-off period, government gov-ernment seizure and penalties. (Union (Un-ion leaders shouted a few months back this was fascistic robbery of their right to strike.) Mr. Roosevelt docs not propose to amend that or make it stronger. This new law which he now wants Is not one to draft strikers into the army or make them work, but to allow al-low him to draft everyone, women (18 to SO) as well as men (18 to 65), ; Into any work he chooses by proclamation. proc-lamation. Thus the proposition is to punish all for the sins of the labor unions. Then again, this Austin-Wadsworth hill was proposed a few years ago strictly as manpower shortage measure. But the President did not mention a manpower sin tI age as a I justification for attempting to re I vivt It |
