[Transcribed from The Summerside Journal 3 February 1940]
LEGION EDUCATION SERVICES WILL HELP OUR FIGHTING MEN RESUME LIFE AS CIVILIANS - By F. H. Wooding
The men of this country who have volunteered for service in the present struggle, have, by their action, identified themselves as good citizens. Unlike the armed forces of totalitarian states, theirs is a war not of conquest but of defense of freedom and the preservation of those spiritual values which alone make life worth living.
Democratic armies have nothing to gain and much to lose. They serve simply to protect the rights of nations and individuals from the brutal onslaughts of Teutonic demagogues who threaten to destroy civilization and recreate human thought and action according to their own satanic liking.
Canadians have answered the call because they, like their fellow Britons and gallant Allies, the French, refuse to be bulldozed into subjugation. They stand firm in their determination that the wayward course of Nazi-Bolshevik anti-Christianity must come to a definite and final end before the future of our nations and our children can be regarded with any measures of security.
The disturbances of war can, if allowed to go unchecked, impoverish civilization for generations to come. The experience of the last conflict proved this, for, even though the tumult and the shouting of 1914-1918 have faded there are still visible evidences of the horrible drain it made upon society.
War today is a different undertaking, from a mental standpoint, at least, than what it was twenty years ago. There is no so-called patriotic flag-waving and band-playing, and Canadians - those who already have seen service and those who have suffered from the aftermath - do not consider it a glorious adventure fraught with thrills and excitement. Young and old they know the full meaning of the tremendous sacrifices they will be called upon to make.
They have entered this war because they are good citizens. They have left farms and cities, schools, jobs, homes and security, and they have denied themselves - yes, even those whom society was unable to provide for in peace time - of their own measures of freedom. They are men whom Canada can ill-afford to lose.
Most of them will come back, just as their fathers and brothers did in 1919. But during the process of winning the war they will undergo terrific strains and mental upheavals. The moral convictions, courage and eagerness that now are theirs will be taxed to the limit. They will find themselves face to face with hardships, sufferings and deprivations that might easily turn them into bitter, distrustful cynics, robbed of their faith in humanity. That is, unless preventative steps are taken.
The Old Soldiers' Duty
Old soldiers, more than anyone else, realize this from experience and it is logical that old soldiers themselves - those no longer suitable for active service because of age or physical disabilities - should feel it their duty as well as their indisputable right to provide for the well-being of those who have accepted the new challenge.
By means of their great ex-service men's organization, the Canadian Legion, they have, accordingly, volunteered to co-operate actively with the authorities in providing essential services for all branches of the forces - navy, army and air - not only in Canada but in England, France and, in fact, wherever the fortunes of war may take them.
For this purpose they have created a special non-profit making body known as the Canadian Legion. War Services, Incorporated, to which the Directorate of Auxiliary Services of the Canadian Active Service Force has entrusted certain important duties. These duties are provision of (a) educational facilities, (b) personal service bureaus, (c) entertainment, (d) subsidiary services of various other types whenever the need arises.
The Legion realizes, of course, that the primary purpose of the armed forces is to win the war and that all auxiliary services must be provided in such a way as to contribute rather than to distract from the end. Its activities, therefore, both in Canada and abroad, have been planned carefully so as to synchronize with all constituencies of the army, navy and air force in such a way as to further military efficiency.
Education Most Important
While all branches of the Legion's war work will be of in-estimable value in maintaining the morale and esprit-de-corps of the fighting men, its education program may rightly be considered the most ambitious ever launched under such circumstances. The seed of this great enterprise actually was sown during the post-war years of 1919 when thousand of Canadians who lost the three or four years that normally would have enabled them to become self-sustaining for the rest of their lives, returned home to find their position gone. This, coupled with a military outlook that made them intolerant of civilian matters, contributed greatly to a state of mental unrest and a consequent inability to "settle down". Despite the noble sacrifices they made, their lack of training in specific fields of endeavor made many of them unemployable and even today there are those still wandering about trying to fit themselves into life as useful citizens.
That was one of the great tragedies of the last struggle and one which the Canadian Legion is determined shall not be repeated. In the words of Alex Walker, of Calgary, acting Dominion president of the Legion, "our objective is to permit every man willing to learn to leave the service after demobilization, with both feet on the ground."
That such a program as this is feasible and can be carried out successfully is perhaps doubted by many civilians. But the answer is that it can. Unlike the last war it is probable that under present service conditions a greater number of troops will occupy positions in the area behind the actual line of fire and that there will be greater freedom of individual movement between the front and the back areas, bases, and the areas occupied by the civilian populace. In addition, men on leave and in convalescent hospitals will be given sufficient opportunity to avail themselves of the Legion's facilities, and it is possible that these can be extended to neutral countries where Canadians might be interned as prisoners of war. Apart from the possibilities of these fields, it is likely that selected men, recommended by their Company Officers, following a stated period of service under fire, will be permitted special leave of one month to take coursed specially prepared on the plan of the "summer school" now in operation at many universities.
It will be appreciated, of course, that much of the work to be carried out will be of a straight forward high-school character, but that the approach will be that of methods of adult education since in many cases the men will have Grade IX or better academic standing as well as considerable knowledge gained from war experience.
Diversified Program
The various types of education to be provided by the Canadian Legion War Services will include vocational, technical, "morals" building, and professional training. In vocational, for example, the men under arms will be able to study mechanics, wood-working, electrical engineering, stenography, typewriting, bookkeeping and secretarial work. It also will be possible for them to study agriculture since livestock standards and types in Great Britain and France are such that good work in this field will be feasible. The opportunities are particularly excellent in Great Britain for those interested in technical work.
In the matter of "morals" building the Legion is of the opinion that instruction in social sciences will have a great bearing on the development of an active interest in citizenship. Here a great field exists for reinforcing morals. An important base for such study would include history, civics, economic geography and related subjects and there would be unrivalled opportunity to correlate English literature with new scenes. Instruction, furthermore, will also be arranged for those interested in dramatics, music, art and architecture. In this connection use will be made of art galleries and museums where collections are still available.
Many of the new soldiers are men who enlisted before their university or other forms of advanced study were completed and the Legion is making special facilities available for them. Through arrangements made with certain universities correspondence courses will be open so that they may obtain their matriculation and even their B. A. degree.
The method of instruction followed is principally that of modern education, such as talks, discussions and allotted reading rather than mere lectures. The importance of visual education has not been overlooked and moving pictures will be utilized extensively for this purpose. For instance, traveling lending libraries will be stationed at the front where men will be able to borrow books, magazines and newspapers. To amplify this, mobile moving picture units, by means of which the men will be able to enjoy Canadian documentary and educational films, will be in operation.
