The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-26
HEROES ON THE ISLANDS.

Whatever may be thought or said of
the war this nation is waging in the
Philippines, the morality Of it, the hu-
mainly of it, the justice or the neces-
sity of it, now that the battle begins to
look like n of determination, the SOL
diers of the American republic have
naught with these reflections.
They are doing their duty, and nobly.
Right or wrong, they are fighting for
the old flag, for American supremacy
where it has been questioned, for vic
tory always.
Some n may have brought the con-
fict on by evasion, by representation,
just as the Spanish war was encour-
aged. The cowardice of the admins
tration may have raised false hopes in
the hearts of the Filipinos, who never
reckoned the sturdy independence and
the dauntless courage of the battle
line. Some one high in authority may
have b~lundered, but it is not for the
boys at the front to discuss.
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die"
And this is their position. They know
it. Their conduct shows it. They are
heroes every one.
The spirit of the American soldier was
shown in the charge led by General
Charles King at Manila. He command
ed them to halt, but they would not. On
they went, firing as they advanced,
sweeping the enemy before them,
rounding them UP as if it were a jack
rabbit drive in their native valleys.
Those are true American soldiers -
cried the general to his aides, land all
he'll can't stop them"
1t is an un%conquerable race they rep
resent, an undying courage they pos
sess, a national pride that passes the
understanding Of most foreign peoples.
And, like the recent war, this Philip
pine campaign, since Dewey's victory,
has been a soldiers triumph. This is
its chiefest glory. In spite of scandals
in the war department, corruption
among the contractors, Decentralization
on the staff, and favoritism in the ad-
m-inistratiOn, the soldier has gone ahead
doing his duty, defending his flag, eat
ing whatever the commissaries set be-
fore him, receiving the little medical
attention provided, accomplishing,
faltering, never asking the rea-
son why. always ready to do or die,
and TO him the glory goes.
In such charges and in all these en-
gagements where the Utah artillery has
saved the day, or demolished the
breastworks Of the enemy, as the daily
reports have it, there is no room for
envy or jealousy. In the superiority of
opportunity presented all are heroes.
and the men OF the fighting line are
loud in their praises of the officers who
lead them, as the leaders doff their hats
to the resOlute ranks.
The day Of rivalry is passing. too. for
regulars and volunteers touch elbows
at every point, and they have not only
shown equal valor, but equal steadi-
ness.
1t is a soldiers war. Every triumph
is the soldiers glory. To the man with
the rife the credit belongs. And more,
it is a campaign for young men. The
army Of conquest and occupation now
on the Philippines is probably the
youngest, or an average, that ever
went TO battle. The enthusiasm and
vigor Of youth are some of the secrets
OF their success.
In the language Of Senator Shoup.
the boys are indeed making history;
and whatever lesson the Philippine
page may teach to coming generations,
whether it be read with satisfaction or
regret the noble example of the SOL
der boys doing their duty under orders
in that strange land will never fade
from the record.