National Defense: School for Soldiers

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"Far too many soldiers consider that they are in service only because the Government ordered it." Having reached this gloomy conclusion, tall, tough Lieut. General Ben Lear ordered the 125,000 men and officers of his Second Army to prepare to attend classes, in the first over-all educational program ever undertaken by the U.S. Army.

The three-month curriculum, as described by General Lear: 1) geography and the rudiments of international trade as affecting this nation; 2) history of the United States and the meaning of the Monroe Doctrine; 3) the Constitution and the background of man's struggle for liberty (this phase will give the historical background of democracy, with particular emphasis on the growth of constitutional government. Object: to bring home the personal meaning of the guarantees of the Constitution and a soldier's responsibility toward the maintenance of that bulwark of free men.); 4) contrasting political systems: a discussion on Nazi, Fascist and Communist political states in contrast to the American way; 5) the present world crisis: a summary of conditions that led up to World War II.

To launch his educational program, which the rest of the Army watched with interest, General Lear chose seven officers from his staff as a faculty nucleus. All are properly equipped with college degrees. Heading the military pedagogues will be Major Ronald Shaw of the Second Cavalry Division, onetime assistant professor of history at West Point.

For the three-month course, which will begin the second week in January, Ben Lear and staff this week were searching officer lists for 400 more faculty members. Meanwhile, he announced two notable additions from "the outside": Yale's Dr. Ralph Henry Gabriel, professor of history, and Dr. William Fletcher, instructor in geography and foreign trade. Both will serve without pay.