Letter from Cecile B. Adam to President Harry S. Truman with Attached Newspaper Clipping

Madison Branch we National League of American Pen Women CECILE BELLE ADAM, President KATHRYN AURNER, Vice President GEORGIA COLVIN HYDE, State President PEARL RICHMOND HAMILTON, Historian LILLIAN KRUEGER, Recording Secretary ELIZABETH MASON GOULD, Program Chairman SOPHIA ORMOND, Corresponding Secretary LILLIAN KRUEGER, Membership Chairman DELLA F. WILSON, Treasurer MAT-MOORE Taylor, Publicity PRF 10/23/95 MADISON, WISCONSIN can A 1121 University Ave. Oct. 25, 1945 The President of the United States White House Washington, D.C. Your Excellency: I am enclosing a copy of an editorial which apperaed in last night's paper here. It waswritten by William T. Evjue, editor of the leading paper of Madison, - The Capital Times. My purpose in sending it is because it expresses exactly my own opinion on the stand you have taken for the militarists in our country. Why is it when it is so obvious that the program of militarism failed in Germany and Japan, that we can't see that to introduce such a system in our country is nothing short of an affront to every American wi th democratic and peace loving ideals? You would install a system of militarists here that in no time would compare with the Prussians of Germany and the Imperialis- tic leaders of Japan. Why isn't it at least good sense to wait until we have had time to think things through and not rush the matter through in the stress of emotional- ism? If we must have military training, why not leave it to volunteers, and make it attractive enough that many will choose to go, not make it compulsory? Better still why not work to have the whole world disarm and rule out militarism and spend some of the fabulous amounts of money that went for destruction in reconstructing the world for peace? I had two boys in the front lines in the war just ended. They gave the best years of their