Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-08-18

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peoples cheer
For the man in blue who's grit clear
through from end to end o. the year.
From end to end o. the year he goes (with
little enough for payl >.
Through summer heat, through wintry
SHOWS, where duty points the way.
o, little ne cares for the cyclones breath
or the blix1ard's nor west sweep.
Content enough with his quarters rough
and never growl at his keep.
Ready to dig or ready to die. ready to
brOil or freeze,
so long as he knows he Is giving his
blows to keep the flagon the breeze"
Yes, a song and cheer for the
regular. The general public in prais-
ing the brave men who go to the front
as volunteers is too apt to forget our
professional soldiers. the regulars.
There should be no attempt to take
away the laurels of the more than two
hundred thousand volunteers of this
war who stood ready to give their lives
for their country's flag. It has been
no fault Of theirs that only few OF
their regiments have been under fire.
while all the rest have waited in
camps. eating their hearts out in
eagerness 20 get into the fight. But
justice demands that 1t be fully recog-
nized that the brunt of the actual
fighting and hard work on land and
sea has been borne by the regular sol. !.
diers and sailors. What actually has
happened, not what might have hap
pened, has shown us the magnificent
material composing our fighting forces.
History will give due honOrs to the
volunteers but it will make plain this
important fact, that the war has been
glorious triumph for the regulars,
ailOat and ashore.
The sea fight at Manila, the sea fight
tack of July l on the Spanish in
trenchments at San Juan Hill and
Caney will be remembered rightly as
the three great battles of the war.
Everyone of these was Won by officers
and men bred to their calling-mem-
bers of the regular navy or army of the
United States. Admiral Dewey had
none but regulars" with him at Ma
Mia. when he sank MOntojo's ships and
battered down the Cavite fortif1cations.
His officers and sailors were not en-
listed for the war. The sea was their
rrnfaccinn
They were engaged in their accus-
toned life when the summons came to
the emergency for which that whole
life had been a ceaseless preparation.
So in the battle of Sampson and Schley
with Cervera's fated squadron. The
battle was fought on our side by
trained regular crews whose life-work
was the handling of the ships and the
direction of their terrible artillery.
The naval militia of the ss1eFa144 ties
has proven valuable auxiliary, but it
has not been called upon to do heavy
and decisive fighting. Santiago was
an armorciad combat, and the Ameri-
can line-of-battle was manned solidly
by veterans. .iAooo Ell =:
"a grasp for the Regular! a'e:rasip'f grasp FOR the
brawny hand
That seeks not to shirk a soldiers work
however it's cast or planned
0, grudging enough. in the hour of peace.
Is the praise for his manly deed;
But the people know where their faith
must go in the day of the nations
need.
When the dogs of war are out on the
trail tran. when the foe has loosed his
Whose trusty rifle is ready then to bay
him dOubly back?
Who meets him wherever he dares to
claim rood of soil in fee,
And makes him feel the might of his steel
from mountain crest to sea?'
AT Manila and Porto Rico the volun-
tcer has shown his metal in typical
american style. but as matter of fact
these campaigns do not compare ir.
severity of fighting or hardships with
that, at Santiago where General Shaf-
ter's army was made up almost en-
tirefy of regulars. 1t contained but
tHHCC SOIuHtccI TCS OuI vi "
odd-the Rough Riders, the I'd Massa-
chusetts and the list New York. The
whole country now knows how the
Massachusetts and New York men.
from no fault of their own, had to be
ordered out of the firing line and sent
to the rear because their smoky
Springfields offered. too sure a targe.
to the enemy. Undoubtedly these
volunteers would have fought we'll if
they had remained-as we'll as General
Miles volunteers fought in their Porto
Rican skirmishes. as well as the West
ern volunteers fought at Manila, and
as well as those volunteers would have
fought who have never had afchance to
get away from the camps near Wash
ington and at Chickamauga. Bit we
ARE considering what actually was
not what might have been. On this
basis the laurels must be awarded to
, the United States soldier and, the
United States bluejacket The war in
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