The National tribune., 1895-03-07

and France. 1t was an unprecedented
struggle of giants, which shook the civ
ilized world, as it had not been shaken
since the days of Napoleon. Yet the
united Germans did not throw more
than half so many men upon France as
We did upon the South, and all their
fighting and losses in overwhelming
and crushing to humiliation the first
military Nation in Europe did not
equal the fighting and losses of an army
| one-quarter the strength of that of Ger
many which Grant moved against Rich
/ niond.
We have often stated these facts be-
fore, but they have not been presented
| often enough, nor can they be. They
should be constantly reiterated, until the
people begin to wake up to realization
Of the magnitude of the struggle.
uniformed writers are constantly
bewildering the people with comparisons
which don't compare. They point to
the size of the pension-rolls of Europe
and Of this country in former wars as if
they furnished some guidance to us.
The comparison is absurd. The men on
our pension-rolls represent more hard
fighting and longer and more arduous
campaigning than all the armies in
Europe have done since the Napoleonic
wars. Outside of the Franco-German
and the Russo Turkish wars any other
war which has occurred in Europe for
the last three-quarters of century could
have been fought out in some back lot
of our grand field of operations, and not
attracted particular attention.
The fairest comparison would be that
of the number of our fighting men and
the number of their battles against those
Of all Europe during the lifetime of
those now in existence, and to make a
parallel between our pension-roll and
those of all the Nations in Europe.
One of the greatest hindrances to the
proper appreciation of the magnitude of
the struggle has been that the children
have not been properly taught at school.
Infinitely the greatest part of our peo-
pie get their abiding impressions of his
tory while children at school. It was
! thus that We of the generation of the
war got our ideas of the gallantry of
our ancestors in the earlier struggles of
the country. 1t was conceived then
that one of the objects of the school
books was to inculcate patriotism. Every
effort was made to impress the merits of
our soldierly forefathers upon the minds
of the pupils. Every skirmish, every
hazardous exploit, was dwelt upon at
length. We grew to think that par
tisan Captains Like Sumter and Marion
we're great geniuses of war, and that
good brigade commanders like Putnam,
Stark, Lincoln, etc, sized up with the
famous commanders of history. Every
American soldier was a genuine hero.
The modern schools-books have been
built on opposite lines Their publishers
are thrifty merchants, who want to sell
their wares to all sorts and conditions of
of men. Consequently it was policy to
say as little about the war az possible,
and to say that in the way least likely
TO give offense. "The least said the
soonest mended" was their idea. and
everything relating to the rebellion
was emasculated and minifed. They
wanted their books adopted in the Is
old Slave States, and they did not want 70
rufie the susceptibilities of the Northern
Copperheads who might be on School
Boards, and so they went to the last ex-
treme of soothing complacency. The
mighty battle of Gettysburg got nothing
like the space given in the old-time text
books to an Insignificant skirmish in the
Revolution or the war of 1912, where,
perhaps, one or two men would be
wounded. Grant got less mention than
used to be given old-fashioned militia
Majors and Colonies who perhaps COM
manded in single fight.
The remedy for all this is a campaign
Of education. We must all of us make
a continuous personal effort to educate