The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-03-05
poverty-stricken community had been

poverty-stricken community had been
made opulent.
Public opinion in America frowns
upon the professional soldier. The man
of books regards him as a medieval
liegeman, born out of his time; the man
of affairs looks upon him as an acces-
sorry of government, useful on occasion,
yet a costly and troublesome piece OF
machinery. \ strong military power
is popularity considered 4 menace to
liberty and free institutions. \ 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 is
withdrawn from civil pursuits, his body
IS trained in strength and endurance.
his spirit in courage, sclf-sacriice and
obedience. The mental drill he has re.
ceived in schools is balanced by whole.
some gymnastics for body and soul.
Vast China, ruled by schools and exam.
nations, her military spirit in utter
decay, lost the day to little Japan, who
had bred soldiers and sailors, and could
fight as well as write.
In his technical schooling, too, the
soldier learns habits OF order, punctu.
ality and courtesy that are invaluable
in the arts of peace. An unbiased
American observer says of armed
EUROPE" The army is the great Ma.
tional school of industry. 1t takes G
mere solitary human cIod from his slow
field task. It places him among his fel.
lows; it teaches him to listen, to fine
his speech, to use his eyes. There is
no better foreman in the world thar the
eN-nOncOmmisSioned officer"
The soldier is not the enemy of arbi.
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, tC
keep the ambitious and the turbulent
within bounds?" Such is the service
performed by the armies of Europe. az
well as by our little frontier garrisons
among hostile Indians.
Highest of all ends promoted by our
army is the active patriotism which the
soldier learns: THAT a countrv's the
thing men should die for at need" \
president and 4 white house do not
perhaps, appeal to the Imagination Il.
do Il queen and Il palace. yet our Amer.
can soldier is as true to his land as i:
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.
tiers, wives or sons.
If you want to win your battles, take arC
work your bloomin' guns!
\ private soldier now in IL rank:
has written occasional verses that ex
press the same loyal sacrifice of self
Though Private Stokes cannot riya
kipling in the lively dash of "Barrack
Room Ballads" or Whitman in the
solemn beat of "Drum-Taps," yet II
"Riley's Grave" the soldier writes {
touching epitaph for his fallen com.
rade. The background of "a long, rec
Texan day" and Il distant brook sur.
rounded by fierce Apaches is filled ir
with the careless scamp from far New
York" who gave his life in order tc
fetch water to the wounded:
My God! The air was winged with lead
shrieked and spat and tore,
Until he staggered, dripping red,
Into our midst once more.
Not i~nfrequently in these circum
the soldiers grave is made
by night close to the picket.
line; there the trampling of the horseI
obliterateS all traces of burial, and thus
cheats scalping sayages 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 dirSes 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
he picketline Oh in the peaceful bar
-ack ROOM, his day ends with the slow,
music OF Taps" The trumpets
the notes both over his bed and
,vcr his grave. In the garrison the
all mean lights out" and with
he last note Il fort sleeps wrapped in
he solitude of the desert. The cry of
comes from the foothills, and
he boot of the owl from the mountain.
y. y. Outlook.