The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-03-11
poyerty-strlcken community had bee a

poverty-stricken community had bee
made opulent.
Public opinion in America frown,
upon the professional soldier. The mar
OF books regards him as a medieya
hegernan, born out of his time; the mar
OF affairs looks upon him as an acces
sorry OF government, useful on occasion
yet a costly and troublesome piece OF
machinery. a strong military power
Is popularity considered a menace e
liberty and free institutions. A stand
ing army, on the contrary, fosters that
military spirit which tends not to de.
stroy, but to uphold and protect gov
eminent. While the enlisted man il
withdrawn from civil pursuits, his bod '
Is trained in strength and endurance
his spirit in courage, self-sacriiice and
obedience. The mental drill he has re.
ceived in schools is balanced by whole.
some gymnastics for body and soul
Vast Chinwruled by schools and exam.
nations, her military spirit in utter
decay, lost the day TO little Japan, who
fight as well as write.
In his technical schooling, too, the
soldier learns habits of order, punctu.
atty and courtesy that are invaluable
IN the arts of peace. An unbiased
American observer says of EARNED
Europe:" The army is the great ma.
tional school of industry. 1t takes 8
mere solitary human clod from his SLOW
field task. 1t places him among his fel.
lows; il teaches him to listen, to find
his speech. to use his eyes. There ia
no better foreman in the world than the
ex-noncommissioned officer"
The soldier is not the enemy of arb.
tration; indeed, it is his forceful pres
ence which binders war "What is war;
said Uncle Toby, but the getting to
gether of quiet and harmless people
with their swords in their hands, to
keep the ambitious and the turbulent
within bounds?" Such is the service
performed by the armies of Europe, as
well as by our little frontier garrisons
among hostile Indians.
Highest of all ends promoted by ouI
army is the active patriotism which the
soldier learns: THAT country's the
thing men should die for at need" A
president and white house do not
perhaps. appeal TO the imagination a:
do queen and palace, yet our Amer.-
can soldier is as true to his land as Il
Tommy Atkins when he says. through
his spokesman, Rudyard Kipling:
You 'aven't got no families when servin
OF the queen;
You 'aven't got no brothers. fathers, sis
tcrs. wives or sons.
II you want to win your battles. take ans
work your bloomin' guns!
y private soldier now in our rank.
has written occasional verses that ex
press the same loyal sacrifice of self
Though Private Stokes cannot riva
kipling in the lively dash of "Barrack
Room Ballads" or Whitman in tn.
solemn beat of "Drum-Taps," yet IL
"Riley's Grave" the soldier writes
touching epitaph for his fallen com
rade. The background of "a long, rec
Texan day" and distant brook sur
rounded by fierce Apaches is filled in
with the careless scamp from far New
York" who gave his life in order Il
fetch water to the wounded:
My God. The air was winged with lead
That shrieked and spat and tore,
Until he staggered, dripping red,
Into our midst once more
Not infrequently III these circum
stances the soldiers grave is made
hastily by night close to the pickct.
line; there the trampling of the horses
all traces of burial, and thus
cheats scalping savages and hungry
wolves of their prey. For such an un.
marked grave are the soldier-poet's
lines:
The prairie flower will bloom in spring
Around the soldiers bed.
The brook in lettering circles sing
The dirges OF the dead.
The desert winds in freedom sweep
Across the silent scene,
And loyal hearts forever keep
His memory fresh and green.
Whether the soldier sleeps under
the picketline or in the peaceful bar
rack room, his day ends with the slow,
music OF Taps" The trumpets
sound the notes both over his bed and
over his grave. In the garrison the
call means lights out" and with
the last note our fort sleeps wrapped in
the solitude of the desert. The cry OF
coyotes comes from the foothills, and
the boot of the owl from the mountain.
N. y. Outlook.