DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE

The second case of dishonorable discharge in the history of the R. O. T. C. has just occurred. Two such discharges within a month are a disgraceful exhibition; we are face with another outbreak of "Harvard indifference" in its most virulent form.

By the last Washington order, the R. O. T. C. has becomes a cause for exemption from service in the draft army and is now a preparatory school for commissions. That is to say, any member of Military Science 2 cannot be drafted as a private without first having an opportunity to become an officer. Many men now in the corps are abusing this privilege; they are cutting drill as often as they think they can without losing their good standing with the Military Office. The two who have been discharged are not the only ones who have deserved the penalty,--they were merely a little less proficient at the game of "getting by," and they are therefore set up as examples of poor spirit. Yet their cases, if they will teach others a lesson, will have been worth while. The average student has to have facts knocked into his head; most of us merely shrug our shoulders at these two incidents and thank our stars we are not the unfortunate ones. We are even apt to idolize the men who have been discharged as martyrs to the cause of loafing.

This whole haphazard business must stop now. A few more such occurrences will show us unworthy of the Government's patronage, for we do not want to have the R. O. T. C. merely a motley array of undergraduates in uniform. It is recognized as a military organization and that it must remain. Discipline among friends is a difficult proposition; there is a constant temptation to visit the top-sergeant tell him a sad story about how much work you had, and then remind him of what good friends you two have always been. This is the easiest way to escape demerits, but it is also the most unmilitary. Letters from our men at Yaphank emphasize the fact that the Harvard men know the game better than the draftees, but that many others make more efficient soldiers because they are better disciplined. Lack of discipline is the fundamental weakness of our system. The time to reorganize our military morale is now. Soon it will be too late.