Communication

(The Crimson invites all men in the University to submit signed communications of timely interest. It assumes no responsibility, however, for sentiments expressed under this head and reserves the right to exclude any whose publication would be palpably inappropriate.)

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

That the Yankee doughboy is not the best paid soldier in the world is settled definitely by Mr. Flinn's articles in Tuesday's CRIMSON; unfortunately, many of us have entertained contrary illusions in regard to this matter.

Some of Mr. Flinn's other points fall to exhibit the convincing power of his first statements. He says that a lack of common sense was shown in suggesting that our obligation to the American soldier ceased at the signing of the peace ternls. If we pay a man a fair salary while he works for us, give him a bonus when he leaves, and then hunt up a job for him, we certainly are treating him squarely.

Mr. Flinn goes on to say that the writer of the CRIMSON editorial advocated our breaking faith with our fighting men. I am somewhat at a loss to know exactly what our faith was. Should we load them with gifts? Apparently not, for Mr. Flinn advocates a "normal war service gratuity", a very pretty term, indeed; but is it much different from the "common or garden variety" pension? We are not proclaiming our treatment of the Civil War and Spanish War veterans from the housetops; but they re ceived practically the same thing as a "national war service gratuity."

Help the soldier and his dependents by getting work for him, but do not lavish gifts. A dollar spent in hunting him a job is worth ten given gratis.  A. B. NICHOLS, JR., '21