Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1919 — BETTER PUT A CURB ON SOME SENATORS [ARTICLE]

BETTER PUT A CURB ON SOME SENATORS

Another senator of the United States has raised his voice—very guardedly—in protest against the treatment of American soldiers, this time not in Europe, but in the ( United States, where by contrast with Europe, soldiers live and travel very comfortably, not to say luxu- ( riously. Senator Chamberlain states; that -certain” soldiers debarked at' a -certain” American port, and were carried from the port to their home camp in cattle cars, traveling four days with no lights but lanterns, and subsisting on canned ( food. The government allows Senator Chamberlain 20 cents a mile to defray his traveling expenses from Washington to Portland, Ore- ( gon, and the contrast between his allowance and that of his fellow-, government employes, of whom ,he ( makes such circumspect mention, may be the cause of some of his pain. The fact Is that as a rule soldiers ( in this country travel In Pullman cars, and in most cases field ranges} are set. u.p in a baggage car In the center of the train, and hot meals are served three times a day. How-J ever, at least 90 per cent of the ( American soldiers who have been in France have traveled in any and all kinds of- cars and enjoyed it, not because it was. a particularly comfortable way to travel but because French and British soldiers were traveling the same way, and, it was considered rather a sporting proposition. It was a good Introduction to field service conditions, when any kind of shelter was often inaccessible. The trouble often is not with the railroads or the army transports-' tion service, which, it stands to reason, prefers to treat the sol-, diers well, but with men like Senator. Chamberlain, who presume to become champions of the seasoned , veterans of a hard European campaign by implying that American soldiers can not travel in any cars ( that are available. All the soldier ( asks is that the government give him the best that It can, and not the worst. To the American overseas soldier, who knows from experience that his government treats ( him well, the implication that he is a featherbed soldier is embar- [ rassing. Abroad, he feels obliged to apologize for the unseemly speech j of public men in this country. If there is substantial ground for a grievance, it should be thoroughly aired, , but In this case little has been aired as yet but politics. The soldiers presumably will want to ( get home as soon as possible. If the government, must act quickly, the men will accept the best that can be done in a hurry as satisfactory. What possible reason would there be in transporting soldiers in freight cars if better can be had?— Indianapolis News.