The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-05-23

Neither Is ConHl:1 miou O''Si ~,
probable. Would England attack uss Mol
France on one side and Ireland on the other
,yonId prohibit. Would Germany attack
ms, No, Russia would be on its fianks IN
a few davs, Would Russia attack US! NO!
Tbree or four beligereut nations would Tor
hid il. No foreign nation could arord 10
assail this country, for there would % 700
much in front and too much in the rear:
But suppose foreign nations, jealous OF our
prosperity, should band together because Oh
real or imaginary affront2 That l admit ls
barely possibly. During our civil war there
were two or three nations that could hardy
keep their hands off of us. II foreign ma
tions should combine against us we want men
ike those of 1912, and like those who fought
an both sides in 1865. We want them all up
and down the coast. Pulaski and Fort SUM
fer. in the same chorus Of thunder as Fort La
fayette and Fort Hamilton, men VINO VIII
not only know how to fight but how to ole.
When such time comes, if it ever does come,
the generations on the stage of action WILL
saw: fsMy country will care for my family as
thew did in the Soldiers Asylums for orphans
in the Civil War, and my country will honor
INV dust as it honors those who preceded me
In pat1iotic sacrifice and once year, at any
rate on Decoration day, shall be resurrected
into the remembrance Of those for whom l
died. Here 90. for God and my country
II foreign foe should ever come, all sectlonal
animosities would be obliterated, and side by
side would 20 into conflict the volunteers OF
New York and Alabama, and Massachusetts
and louisiana, and Michigan and Georgia,
North, South, East and West, each carrying
its part in the great harmony, the bass, the
alto, the tenor, the soprano, IN the Grand
March of the Union.
But what is the use Of a regiment in time
of peace. Among other things it teaches the
Importance of drill, and more Of that we
want in all departments. Learning that there
is no success without it in reglmental ranks,
men will learn that there is no success Win,
out it in commercial ranks, i'll mechanlcal
ranks, in professional ranks, in religious
ranks In order to accomplish anything for
God, or the betterment Of the human
race, it must be drill, drill drill.
Some, because they cannot be successful as
reformatory or Christian workers at once,
are discouraged. 1t seem5 so easy to bar
gain, so easy to edit, so easy to preach, 50
easy to sculpture statue and draught a
house and execute picture and medlcate
wound that they will try it; but, II they hnd
it is only by continual toll and practice that
they can get to be expert, or to do anything
worth the name Of achievement, they sur
render. It is through oft-lepeated drill or
never at all. that we learn, in all our Chris
tian and worldly work, to keep rank
Another use Of regiment in time of peace
is to back up the law and help IN It's execu-
ton. There is a great deal Of cheap wit
about citizen soldiery, but again and again in
all our cities the life Of the city has been
saved by the home guards, and then the
miration. It is very healthful thing for
the roughs in all our cities to understand
that behind the police and the constabulary
force there are military companies drilled
and ready, if need be, at short notice to de-
fend the safety Of our homesteads.
Another use of regiment in time OF
peace is its demonstration of the use Of O sure
marksman. What ought to be done at all
ought to be done well. What we want in
our reformatory movements and our pulplts
is to learn how to take good aim. There is
so much moral ammunition and strength
wasted from the fact that we are not good
marksmen. We are apt to aim too high or
too low, and to hit everything but the centre.
Much of our time at doing good Is circum-
Iocution and hit or miss contest, battle
with blank cartridges. pulling the trig-
ger with our eyes shut
Another use of a regiment in time Of peace
is to teach the necessity OF obedience A
child that will not mind is on tie way to ruin
and man who never learns to bow to au-
thority is an outlaw. So a cheerful obedience
to superior authority is an absolute requisite
to good society. What so impressively illus
trates this'as regiment, the private obedient
to the captain, the ceptain obedient to the
colonel, the colonel obedient to the general,
the general obedient to the governor, the
governor obedient to the President? May
the President always be obedient to God!
Law, whether military or civil, what
sublime thing! There is only one thing
in the universe to which the great God ever
bows, and that is to law. Although made
by Himself, He bows to it. By that the uni
verse is drilled and the consultations are
companies, and the galaxies are regiments,
and the blazing midnight heavens are the
parade ground where the stellar armies
march and countermarch, and so complete Is
the drill that in thousand years they do not
make a mistake Of a second in time or an
inch in space.
Another use of regiment in time Of peace is
the impression Of good citizenship; for the
welfare of city. State and nation you are en-
listed. All that many people do for their
country is to growl and have to pay taxes.
If within you is the right spirit, every hour
you pass in military service is patriotic
offering and will have divine reward.
Another use of regiment in time Of peace
is physical recuperation. Anything that
takes man bent over the desk Of a counting
house and makes him straight, and those who
and shop and lifts them into the exhilaration
Of q well-lighted, well-ventiated, well-gov.
erned ermOry, is something upon which ]
want to pronounce and do pro
nouce apostolic benediction. The mil.
lennium of q Christian man ls far off or
near by in proportion as his digestion is good
or bad. What we want in this great battle
for God and the truth is host OF giants, and
the armories of the national guard are doing
xka,, ,ct, ri
you get your soul right before God, get your
body right. your respiration long and full and
deep. your backbone straight as a ramrod,
your face ruddy and beamiaS and uplifted,
your step elastic, your grip firm, your pulses
regular as drum-beat Men Of the Thir-
teenth regiment, your soul right and your
body right, then wheel all into the service Of
God. Tonight enlist for time and eternity!
Historians tel us of the great battles Of the
Waterloo and Gettysburg, but the greatest
battle is yet to be fought, and that is
Armageddon. Whether with bullet or
printers type cannot prophesy, but when it
does come we want to be of the
right mettle and on the right side.
We want not only to be Christians,
but rugged Christians, not afraid of hard
ship and only exhiarated by attack Asso-
ciated together for little while, let US re-
must answer for all our opportu-
mites. A day of august inspection
and review approaches. We sometimes
talk about earthly military reviews, such as
took place in Paris in the time Of Marshal
Ney; in London. in the time Of Wellington;
and in our own land. But what tame things
compared with the final review, when all the
armies Of the just shall pass for divine and
angelic inspection.
Hark to the trumpet blast and reveille of
the resurrection! They come up. All the
armies Of all lands and all centuries on which
ever side they fought, whether for freedom
or despotism, for the right or wrong. They
come They come Darius and Cyrus and