The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-25
NEWS OF THE
NATIONAL GUARD.

The following paper would have been
read before and the appended proceed
ings would have taken place at a meet
ing of the Enlisted Mems association of
the Nationa! Guard of Utah on SUNDAY
last but for the fact that no such organ
izatior exists:
The scene is laid in the room where the
enlisted men meet or rather herd to-
'gether.
Corporal Perkins Cwho has been selected
as the reader" of the occasion, rising
TO his feeD-"Gentlemen of the Enlisted
Men aSsoclation-eXcuse me, / mean
men of the Enlisted Mems association
do not wish to be understood as desiring
to take from the eminent persons in
the next room and DrerogatiVesI have
chosen for my subject today. Dignity
and Discipline l have been hampered
somewhat by a lack of reference works,
all the records of the war of the rebel
lion. tactics, etc, being in the next apart
ment- You may ask why / did not take
off my uniform, put on my citizens suit
and go in there and get such volumes as
our adjutant general has donated to the
common use of the organization of which
we are members. but you can ask until
the cows come home. for 1 shall refuse
to divulge my reasons for not breaking
into the train of thought of a man Tho
has just concluded to frog. AS I have
said l find myself hampered True. the
various papers read at the meetings of
the superior body have. through the
courtesy of the members of our own
grade. been published. but the newspapers
containing the same which are sent here.
also by the courtesy of the same mem
bers. are missing and are also probably
in the next room. Besides. l feel that I
could not have done much on the dignity
subject by reading a treatise on how to
search for wounded. l feel also that an
essay on range finding, or the proper
method of securing a sabre scabbard
would have awaited me but little. 1t is
indeed fact that from the very able.
succinct. deep and profound document
presented by Lieutenant Aaron Augustus
Smifkins, 1 might have cloven IA few
chunks of wise wisdom, but what man
wants to borrow his ideas especially
when they, tCo have been used .-,ore
than once? But with a history of the
battle of Platea and a copy of Ayers
Almanac l have succeeded in grinding
down a few thoughts to razor edge and
herewith present them
Gentlemen of the-beg pardon-men of
the Enlisted Mems association. My sub
ject today IS deeD-that is, when you
come TO think of il. But after ] shall
tellect upon Il you will be able to see
right through it.
Dignity and discipline go hand in hand.
What are we but a band of national
guardsmen bound together by motives of
patriotism and our oaths? On the street,
il Is true. we look alike. wear clothes
more or less different and talk to one an
other. 1t is a fact that the brigadier
generals speaks to privates right in public
and that colonies hold converse tons with
and borrow chewing tobacco of corporals
and jeans pants to trumpeters. but is this
right? | answer no. So long as this
familiarity is permitted to exist just so
long will this dignity be Unobtainable and
without dignity there can be no discipline.
Some of the ieUtenants have set the
higher officers a worthy example in this
matter. They have refused to permit
enlisted men to enter their quarters. 1t
does not matter if the enlisted man goes
down deep in his pocket to provide for
tn entertainment of all concerned; ii cuts
advancement ana welfare of the guard
while the lieutenant himself sits l:lye a
bump on a log wondering why the floor
doesn't open and let him escape from
surroundings too intellectual for him to
breathe in. the enlisted men IS barred.
And this is right. The higher officers
and We ourselves should emulate this no.
BILE example That's what we are here
Il believe in distinctions. believe the
sergeants major should flock by them
selves and refuse 10 speaA TO those be-
low them and to each other; that the first
sergeants she uld decline to have any
thing to do with sergeants. corporals and
privates except to cuss EN-; that the SER
geants should decline to speak TO the cor
porals: that corporalS ought not address !
themselves to privates save to order them |
around: that the privates should say as
little as possible to one another. And |
finally when an officer. particularly a !
lieutenant. comes into the building. or |
when you meet him off the street every |
body should bow the knee. That's the
way they do in Germany.
Then we will have dignity and disci-
pline.
Some may say this will tend to rup-
ture the guard. That the citizen soldier !
is not Ike the regular. That without |
enlisted men officers would have no one !
to command. and that this conduct would
force men 10 decline to enlist. VT. tell, |
We want dignity. Give US dignity whether
the guard lives or not. We want dignity |
guard or no guard.
The reading of the paper was greeted |
with cheers and on motion of Sergeant |
Smith the paper was adcoted |
and ordered spread upon the blackboard |
as soon as the same was returned by |
Lieutenant Wheelman. who borrowed it |
to paste an amendment to the code gov
erning the officers in for one week ac- |
cording to Hoyle.