The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-30

pose the question becomes a vital one,
whether that force is more effective or not as
IL loses its resemblance to mere machinery.
The Spectator hardly meets the point at issue.
The educated soldier is not likely to be edu-
Gated in the art Of war. The general conduct
Of battle is, as everybody knows, matter
of which the subordinate officers even have
but the vaguest conception while it is in
progress. The printer, or lawyer, or mer-
chant, serving in the ranks would have
certainly but little opportunity to oriticise the
tactics of their leaders, and, from the mere
fact that education teaches the necessity Of
discipline and obedience, would not be half
so likely to do it as the ignorant boor whose
only motive to subordination is fear Be-
sides, the better man comprehends his own
business the more likely is he to respect the
knowledge of another man which he has never
mastered. In any exceptional case, too, the
culture of the common soldier would un-
doubtedly render him more effective.
An army fights no worse. surely, be-
cause, when exigency requires Gas was
so often the case with our Northern
troops), it can produce from the ranks
architects, engineers, surgeons-every prac-
tical handicraftsmen-if needed. The theory
that educated men without faith in their
leaders would be more apt to mutiny, can be
disproved by the unhinching patience with
which our troops, both in the North and
South, stood in the Jaws of death while COM
manders and policy we're changed again and
again, and each time, as they we'll knew, for
cause. Our rank and file, too, unlike the
Prussians were men, in ordinary life, not
only unused to discipline but accustomed
to make and unmake both their leaders and
policy.
''The educated pawn" no doubt, will be
the safest and boldest piece to play, provided
always that he, too, has his heart in the
game. Here comes the rub, which the Spec
tat0T does not seem to have seen. The edu-
Gated Prussian or American consents to be q
tool when the motive seems worthy of the
sacrifice; but the days of unreasoning masses
of red cloth and pipe-clay, moving steadily
to death with no idea of the why or where
fore, beyond a vague notion of pluck and
glory and their pay are we'll nigh over. 1t
would be worth while to ask, too, whether,
when the pawns are little better educated
than now, they will not be inclined to ques-
tion whether the game could not be pl!yed
in some altogether different fashion?
Whether brute force is the
fairest and most rational method
of discovering the justice of a moral ques-
tion? We look with disgust at our grand
fathers when they referred the defense of
,woman's honor, or a property claim, or re-
ligious truth, to the decision of single COM
bat. In our enlightenment we have done
away with the pistol and duello. But we
leave our national questions of right and
wrong not to the arbitfament of common
sense and justice, as represented by con-
ference of the wisest and clearest- sighted
among the people, but to the blind brute
force of masses of men, to the Chassepot and
the mitrailleuse. These be the gods who
decide for us. We have not much hope in
the plans of any so-called peace party, but we
have absolute faith in the growing common
sense of mankind, and we believe that our
grandchildren will consult other oracles than
ours.