MILITARY COLLEGIANS

The army has a way of coloring enlistment in its rosiest hue for the young men who are eager to learn. Its latest scheme makes it clear that there is a "chance for enlisted men of the army to get a thorough college education" after the period of their enlistments. Some thirty-nine colleges have signified their co-operation by offering free tuition, and fifty-two offer aid in one way or another. Unless the men are distinctly eligible the colleges will suffer. Just where this plan is of value to the individual and to the colleges is not clear; its value to the army is obvious. If the men can not qualify by the admission examination then no amount of army service can make them desirable students, nor will the education be of value to them. If they can qualify, it seems a waste of time to teach them the Manual of Arms.

If the army thought certain qualified men would profit by further training, it might send them off to college and keep them on the pay roll at the same time. The objection to the present scheme is that the army gains recruits at the expense of our colleges. The safe answer to such a plan is Princeton's: "that while there are no scholarships to be set aside for the purpose, money is available to pay the expenses of qualified enlisted men." Long before the army ever thought of this device, money was available for qualified men. Offering it on these terms to enlisted men simply puts the burden of proof on the army. It would behoove all aspirants to a college diploma to think twice before choosing a method that involves a military discharge as well.