THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 59 lines
Republican Bob Dole expressed gratitude for the GI Bill of Rights in his speech accepting the GOP nomination for the presidency. He was among the millions of veterans who furthered their education with the financial aid provided by the GI Bill - a federal-government program that Dole approves of as an appropriate use of tax revenue.
Indeed it was.
When the moment came to tell his students about the 1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act - ``The GI Bill of Rights''- and its enrichment of World War II veterans and the United States, one college history professor in the 1950s invariably introduced the topic with the tongue-in-cheek assertion that Adolf Hitler had sent more people to college than anyone else in history.
Crediting the monstrous German demagogue with any wholesome achievements, which the professor seemingly had done, got students' attention. Then the professor drove home the point: Because of World War II, Congress had enacted the GI Bill of Rights, which enabled 7.5 million young Americans to improve their lives economically and socially by going to colleges and technical schools and taking on-the-job training - opportunities that many otherwise would never had had. And the United States profited handsomely from the investment.
The nation was markedly different a half-century ago. U.S. population totaled 140 million when World War II ended; it's 265 million now. One of every four Americans lived in cities or suburbs then. Three in four live in metropolitan areas today.
Institutions of higher education weren't prepared for the waves of veterans that began rolling onto campuses in the fall of 1946. World War II was a lean time for academe. Some schools shut their doors. Many others barely managed to stay open. Classroom and dormitory construction stopped during the war.
Suddenly, colleges and universities were awash in male students, many with wives and children. Having spent two, three, four years in uniform, having gone through basic and advanced military training and, in great many instances, having experienced combat, these ex-GIs had scant patience with collegiate rules and rituals developed for adolescents. By and large, they were mature and intent on getting their degrees - often working part-time jobs to supplement the GI Bill checks from Washington - as a prelude to launching careers in business, science and technology, education, the armed forces, the arts. . . .
These ex-GIs played key roles in pushing U.S. living standards to new highs and extending the reach of U.S. corporations to every corner of the globe.
The U.S. investment in World War II veterans' schooling and occupational training totaled $14.5 billion in 1940s and 1950s dollars. Everyone agrees - and studies confirm - that the nation got its money's worth many times over. And as the Dole bid for the presidency illustrates, the vets aren't yet through contributing to the strengthening of United States politically, socially, economically, intellectually.
Public investment in the education of Americans motivated to learn is ever a good deal, for the individual and for the country. But members of Congress in Bob Dole's party are unreceptive to President Clinton's proposal of a college-tuition-aid program for young men and women from low-income families. If Bill Clinton's initiative is deemed unacceptable, candidate Dole ought to put forward his own. by CNB