Show t fr A t ewt i rife wiM yb 0 attitude etude against postwar F 0 service sways congress public joins influential organizations in objections to training need for interim security force argued by news analyst and commentator service 1 1616 eye street NW washington D C in the days that followed president Tr message to congress urging universal military training we in washington waited to see if there would be an echo to the presidents words spoken so earnestly but with so little effect on the audience before him there was an echo all right but it was an emphatic rumble of negation 1 I surprised I 1 read my listeners letters it was interesting to see the way the members of congress reacted to the presidents message as he delivered it I 1 watched them with one eye on the text of his speech as I 1 stood squeezed into the crowd in the gallery of the house varied reaction to proposal here are some of the sentences which I 1 checked as bringing response 4 above all else we are strong because of the courage and vigor and skill of a liberty loving people who are determined that this nation shall remain forever free applause well that was a general non compromising sentiment nothing to do with the subject in hand Ther ewas the statement that we lack faith in the united nations organization on the contrary with all we have we intend to back our obligations and commitments under the united nations charter mild applause this time then came the response to the first direct appeal for the measure in hand the president said the surest s way to guarantee that no nation will attack us is to remain strong in the only kind of strength an aggressor can understand military power applause again but I 1 had the feeling it was for the sentiment and not the suggested means of implementing it when he said that the basic reason for military training is to guarantee safety and freedom from an aggressor there was another demonstration but not quite as energetic and many members I 1 noted refrained from any applause at all the last note is the most ost emphatic good a applause ap pp a asep followed the presidents affirmation that until we are assured that our p peace bace machinery is functioning adequately 1 we must relentlessly preserve our superiority on land and sea and in the air but that is just what the congress is not willing to do because it believes the country is not willing to have them do it I 1 am sure of that because I 1 know they have been receiving as I 1 have far more letters against military training than in favor of it must sell public program today a man who keeps his fingers on the pulse of congress assures me that there will never be a universal military training act until a great deal more selling has been done by those who believe in it than has been attempted so far this man like the writer is a convert to the cause so his expression was the reverse of wishful thinking both of us though members of the american legion lt gion never favored their program for universal service urged upon congress beginning shortly after the last war there is too much organized opposition my friend said such powerful influences aa as the federal council of churches some influential members of the catholic church virtually all of labor so far and this includes the CIO and the which often nullify each others efforts the colleges and the unorganized group which might be called simply the mothers where do the returned veterans stand it is too early to say if they follow in their fathers footsteps they will eventually vote for preparedness it is the tendency of men who have seen service to place a high value on thorough preliminary training but they will not become vocal until they join the ranks of the world war I 1 veteran organizations or build others of their own there is however another force which may change the picture a change in the international setup set up which will inject the element of fear into the peoples attitude and since fear starts the adrenalin flowing t that hat usually means action meanwhile there are those who feel that complete preparedness not on only ly is essential in the interim even though a future world security organization is moving swiftly to fruition but that it will also act as a stimulus toward such a goal the argument runs briefly we must prepare to enforce peace or prepare to fight a war many members of congress realize this and would undoubtedly support the presidents program if they felt they could do so without flying in the face of the majority opinion of their constituents I 1 do not intend to use this column as a platform upon which to debate the issue now but I 1 would like to present a viewpoint expressed by a medical man which made considerable impression on the comparatively few washington tans ians who heard him address a recent meeting in the capitol the speaker was dr G B chisholm one of the worlds foremost psychiatrists who served as chief medical officer of the canadian army and is now deputy health minister of canada maturity needed for peace his thesis is that this is a sick world with an old chronic but evermore extensive and serious sickness its sickness has recently become acutely dangerous and the future is uncertain indeed it is a sickness which has made us them the kind of people who fight major m ajor wars every 15 or 20 years the cure is education just as individuals divi duals become neurotic because they are not mature and thus are unable to cope with the situations they must meet so the world has developed a behaviour pattern which produces something which nobody wants war we must have enough people who can show tolerance be patient and above all have the ability to compromise these are qualities of maturity dr chisholm points out and people mature in this sense would not want to start wars and would prevent other people from starting them but the doctor realizes that education will not produce such maturity in one generation but such a state must be realized or we face one of two alternatives either we must become a race of trained killers 0 or r a race of slaves I 1 until we can achieve education sufficient to avoid such horrible fates for so long as it may take to change the bringing up of children enough in this world our close watch on each and everyone in the world should not be relaxed for a moment the first step in eradicating war is an attainable stopgap P dr chisholm believes security must be achieved and the valid fear of aggression eliminated this means legislation backed by immediately available combined force prepared to suppress ruthlessly aej an appeal jo to force by any peoples of the world the administration of such a force is a delicate problem but it can be devised if and when the great power really wants it the second step would be to provide the opportunity for all peoples to live on economic levels which do not vary too widely either geographically or by groups within a population this means a redistribution of material this is possible since there are enough resources in the world to go around it is impossible in this space to do justice to dr chisholme Chis holms views but the main points are these he feels that man has developed one consistent pattern of behaviour which causes him to indulge in a major war at frequent intervals that going to war represents immaturity that immaturity can only be cured by education beginning at childhood with an accent on the sciences of living that until we achieve maturity we must unite ruthlessly to suppress the effort on the part of 0 any nation or anyone in any nation to start a war fryc may zy not solve the problem of world peace but it is safe to say that immature laymen wont either meanwhile what congress must decide is how dry the country wants to keep our powder |