Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 118, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1919 — NATION’S DUTY TO HER FIGHTING MEN [ARTICLE]

NATION’S DUTY TO HER FIGHTING MEN

Return Them to Suitable Employment After Their Discharge From Service. GENERAL WOOD URGES ACTION All Lines of Effort Should Be Organized and Every Opportunity Given Men to Settle Down in Civil Life Contented. By LEONARD WOOD. Major General Commanding Central Department, United States Army. Appreciation of the work done by our soldiers, sailors and marines in the great war can best be shown by aettye measures to return them to suitable civil employment upon their discharge from service. It is a national duty and one not to be shirked hy a nation that stands for justice and square dealing. Our soldiers were sent- to their..training eamps—to the battle line —with every demonstration of a nation’s appreciation of the sacrifice that these men Were willing to make. Now that the active operations of the war are suspended we are inclined to lose interest in those who made our success possible. This is the time for the nation to show that it understands and appreciates the sacrifices which our men willingly made when they answered the call for national service. The 4,000,000 men inducted into the service, less the dead, are being returned to their homes. We must organize all lines of effort so that every possible opportunity Will be given them to settle down happily contented In civil life. Some of them we will find a bit difficult ,to handle’, and we must have considerable patience with them. They have been through a big experience. Some are a bit unreasonable In a way, and perhaps It is hard for them to settle down. Ambition Is Aroused. In seeing that they are returned to suitable civil employment—and by that I mean employment in which they will find contentment—we will find It at times difficult to deal with them. We must remember that many of these men, before going for the great venture, had never been far from home, had never seen the big things of life, had never had the opportunity of finding themselves. During their service in the army they found out that all men were equal except as distinguished one from the other by such characteristics as physique, educai tion and character. They discovered that men who are loyal, attentive to duty, always striving to do more than required, stood out among their fellows and were marked for promotion. Naturally many of them now see that their’former employment will not gi'o them the opportunities for advancement which they have come to prize, and for that reason they want a change. They want a kind of employment which offers opportunities for

promotion. Many such men are fitted for forms of employment which offer this advantage, and they must be given the opportunity to try to make good In the lines of endeavor which they elect to follow. It Is not charity to give these men the opportunities for which they strive. It is Justice. Others are not mentally equipped to take advantage of such opportunities if offered, and with these we will find it more difficult to deal. They must be reasoned with, and directed, if possible, into the kind of employment best suited to their characteristics. We will find many of the men have temporarily lost efficiency in the lines of employment which they followed before entering the service, but for that reason alone they must not be deprived of the opportunity to regain their efficiency in those lines, nor can they be offered reduced wages during this period. Give Them Square Deal. Our soldiers, sailors and marines offered themselves. for the great adventure." Many of them have been through the great.adventure._ln which they offered their lives, to the end that justice might prevail and the world be made safe to live in. Those who did not come face to face with tl*e great adventure nevertheless were ready to do so, and It was through no

fault of theirs that they did not have the opportunity. In training camps working from early morning until late at night, fitting their bodies to meet the physical hardships of war, fitting their minds to meet the mental shock of combat, and in the battle line under soul-stirring conditions, these men stood ready to make the great sacrifice. Let us remember that a square deal for our honorably discharged soldiers, sailors and marines will strengthen the morale of the nation and will help to create a sound national consciousness ready to act promptly in support of truth, justice and right.