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Show Kathleen Norris Says: What About Military Training? Bell Syndicate. WNU Features. 'lt is only fair to our boy to have them ready. We didn't want it, we tried to do without it, but for 50 years to come I believe we must maintain a huge force." By KATHLEEN NORRIS MORE than 500 American Ameri-can women have written writ-ten to ask me what I think of compulsory military service for our American boys and girls, I don't often let political po-litical or international questions ques-tions get into this column, but this is an exception and I want to answer these women in this . way: In a word, I'm for it. I think we might well emulate the Swiss system, sys-tem, which means only a few weeks out of every year, or at least we might make a serious study of that system. But if we are to be drawn into Europe's eternal boundary disputes dis-putes and imperial quarrels in each succeeding generation, then in the name of common sense let us be ready for it, and save the lives of thousands of our boys by preparedness. prepared-ness. It was my dream for many years that by keeping the peace herself America might set the pace for the world. I still believe she might have done so. I still believe that if European countries had known, i definitely and clearly, that we would not interfere in their old quarrels, they would have managed their affairs af-fairs very differently in the last 25 ! years. The northern, civilized countries, respecters of boundaries and of individual in-dividual rights, would then have gotten got-ten together. They would have presented pre-sented a solid wall to Germany; in the very beginning of her anti- j Semitic purges, they would have i united a dozen weak armies into one invincible one. They never did. Holland, England, Norway, Sweden, France, Poland, Belgium, Russia I what mightn't they have done against Germany's growing war menace! They never got together. Europe Won't Unite. It is my sorrowful belief that they never will. Their claim, when any such federation is suggested, is that their differing languages, religions, I backgrounds, traditions, histories make it impossible. This sounds i funny in American ears. The truth is that their varying imperial ambitions ambi-tions cross and intercross after a thousand years of shifting loyalties , and ineffectual wars, and now can- I not be untangled even by their I most brilliant statesmen. I So I have no hopes of them. Each i one will do what some wise or unwise un-wise minister believes best for her, and chaos will result. Meanwhile we have our own magnificent mag-nificent record, our long friendship with our neighbors, our peaceful skies, our unguarded borders. We know countries may live in peace together, and prosper all the more for that peace. But the deadly virus of war has been scattered everywhere ev-erywhere now, and who knows what country will next break forth with improved guns and bombs and gases for a surprise attack? I It is only fair to our boys to have them ready. We didn't want It, we tried to do without it, but for 50 years to come I believe we I Ironing out class consciousness. A HARSH NECESSITY After many years of advocating advo-cating neutrality and non-in-tervention, M iss Norris has come to the conclusion that the only security in the future for America lies in a large, , permanent force, land, sea and air. This great army and navy will mean universal military training for young men. The women's auxiliary corps will require many thousands of girls too, although a draft of women probably never will be instituted. There are certain benefits to military training, as Miss Nor-ris Nor-ris points out, that to some extent ex-tent offset the, objections. Better Bet-ter health, wider experience and broader viewpoints are valuable by-products of army life in peacetime. must maintain a sea and air force of perhaps three millidn men, and an auxiliary force involving perhaps per-haps one-third that many women. These will be our police. A great city without a police force would be in the same position as a great nation with its navy sunk and its men disarmed. Other nations must know that we are ready to implement imple-ment with the guns they have forced upon us what we say in defense of decency and honesty. Might Have Been Stopped. If our three or four million army had been in readiness eight years ago, when Germany's fanaticism broke forth in her anti-Semitic purges, we might have seen the danger dan-ger then. We might have warned her then that her maniac leader was starting on the death trail. We might never have had the headlines that you and I are reading today. Too late for that now. But it is never too late to learn, and I, who preached non-interventionism and neutrality for so many years, from so many platforms, see nftw that we are a part of the great commonwealth common-wealth of the world, that we cannot can-not impress upon other nations our own ideals of unfearing friendliness friendli-ness with our neighbors, that we must accept a certain degree of militarism until all nations are wiser, and be ready to say "thus far, and no further," when the next Hitler pops up his ugly head. Military training is essential to dictatorship, true. But it may be a democratic thing, too, ironing out some of the class consciousness of our boys and girls, helping them to physical fitness, increasing their appreciation of home love and home comfort, broadening their viewpoints in a way that will be beneficial to them all their lives. I haven't come to it easily. But I've come to it now. We have to have universal military training, and be ready. It may mean, to other oth-er countries, an increasing desire for war. It won't be that, to us. We're smarter than that. Girdles Still Scarce Synthetic rubber is slowly becoming becom-ing available for manufacture of girdles, gir-dles, but larger quantities of synthetic synthe-tic rubber than natural rubber are required to make the same amount of elastic thread. Also the supply of cotton fabric is still exceedingly short. All this makes it necessary that you get as much wear as possible pos-sible from the girdle you now have. Wash it frequently with the 'same care you would give your best hose, and dry it away from direct contact con-tact with any -adiator |
