The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1898-12-02
THE SOLDIER BOYS.

struck the town. Ana as the uay
advanced the boys proceeded to
take full possession of what they
evidently considered as their ownest
own, the whiskey shops. And any
student of cOntempOraneous events
can now tell before we state it, what
afterwards happened; for we all
know that when whiskey and soldier
boys meet, there's going to be a mix
up.
The result was provoking, disgust
ing and pitiful to behold. What a
sad spectacle it is to see young men
whose mothers are at home on
their knees, praying that their sons
may be shielded from temptation,
defended from all danger and pro-
tected from all harm-what a sad
sight it is to see these boys Keeling
on the side walks, wallOwing in the
cutters, cursing like demons and
fighting like lunatics.
But we hope this condition of
affairs will not last; better discipline
has already begun, and still more
rigid camp rules are to be enforced.
We may reasonably hope that last
Monday is not fair sample of what
will occur every day; at the same
time it would be unreasonable to eX-
pect the peace and quiet and good
order that usually prevails. -
We, as citizens! should remember
that these soldiers are here by invi-
tation; and that the invitation was
extended after we had the expert
ence of Huntsville and Chattanooga
before our eyes. They were in
1 vited here with a full knowledge of
the drunkenness and disorder
accompanying such encampments.
ALL this was taken into considera-
ton or should have been taken into
consideration before the invitation
was extended. No certificate of
character or promise of good be-
haVior was eXacted of them. They
were invited, urged, solicited,
begged to come; the drunk and the
sober, the good and the bad, the
gentleman and the rowdy, all alike
it was the price paid for their
"trade;" it was the bonus given for
business
Now under these circumstances
we shOnld be forbearing with the
little improprieties of our guests.
True, they are spending the most of
their money with the saloons; but
as that is precisely what was eX-
pected of them, what right have the
promoters of the enterprise to COM
plain? Beside, what are the saloons
here for, if not to be patronized? To
invite them here, to throw the
saloon wide open ia their faces, aud
then expect the boys-far away
from home, kith or kin-to be sober,
sedate and serious, is expecting a
trifle too much we trow; for boys
will be boys, you know, and to get
drunk is a natural and inherent
right of the free American citizen
and Just as long as the open saloon
remains and communities will in
vite boys to patrOnize them, just so
long will drunkenness exist.
Again we say, we should fOrbear
with these little improprieties of
some of our invited guests. And we
should not forget that all of the
soldiers are not to be included in the
list of the offenders. There are
some and not "a few, of as nice and
gentlemanly young men at Camp
Hamilton, as can be found in Ten
nesSee. Men of nice manners, good
morals and perfect behavior. Men
who are mortified and Inundated by
the bad behavior of some of their
comrades. 1t is the comparatively
few who bring reprOach upon the
many. We should not allow our
selves, therefore, to get mad at 18th e
soldiers" for what few of them do.
We should be polite, kind and cOur-
teous to those who are themselves
courteous and polite, and to the 9TH
ers we should maintain a respectful
distance ana a discreet silence. We
should appreciate to the fullest the
bravery and moral courage of the
young men who can stand strong
against all the temptations of camp
life, close to town cursed with
more than it's share of whiskey holes
We should do what we can to sus.
tain and encourage them, and re-
lieve them as much as possible
from any embarrassment over the
faults of any of their comrades
And we should not be too harsh or
E any, so long as their weaknesses oil
faults are within the bounds of rea,
son. We should remember thai
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