Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-08

how people who sat at home were dead
sure you ought to Go everything quick; you
VINO wear, my friends there. the button
winch shows that you wore the blue. re-
member the days just before Bull Pun.
when all the excellent people who were at
nome said II was your duty to so at once
to Richmond; they demanded that IL be
done; they wanted IL then within two
weeks. Then Bull Run came along and the
movement was the other way, and then a
lot OF the same men, who had been de-
handing at the tops of their voices that
you should instantly go on to Richmond,
said that the war was over: Il was done :;
nothing more to be accomplished. You and
those like you did not think so. The men.
north and south, were built Of n different
stun. The war went or for years, and you
would not have gotten Richmond at all il
you had insisted that you could go there
only by patent device. That vas rot the
way you got there. You got there Gy set
ing your teeth and making up your minds
that you were in to see that fight through.
Then you had to face defeat ana come up
again, and IL defeated to try again, until
out of defeat you wrested triumph You
made up your minds that you would win
by the same qualities which have made
good soldiers from the time that the world
was young.
The men in blue ana the men in gray
who fought in the great civil war had diff
ferent weapons, and were drilled in differ
ent tactics from the soldiers who followed
Washington and Greene and Mad Anthony
Wayne, who fought under Marion, who
fought at Bunker Hill. who fought at
Kings Mountain. You had different uni
forms. different weapons, different tactics.
but the spirit that drove you torward was
the same.
Change in Military Tactics.
And now, If ever this country Should
be called, as | most earnestly hope and be-
NeVe it never will be called. to face a seri-
Gus foreign foe, the men that fight vii have
high power. small caliber. smokeless pow
der rifles; they will fight in open order in
stead OF the old elbow to elbow touch; they
Will tight under entirely different tactics
under different conditions; but If they win
they will win because they had in them
the same stuff that their fathers had in
the civil war. their great-gSandfathers in
the revolutionary war.
The weapon changes, the gun changes
but the qualities OF the man behind The gun
have got to remain the same as ever.
1T is just so in dealing with these prob
lens or citizenship. The changed conditions
mean that there must be a change in the
laws; change from time to time in the
fundamental underlying law of the land
which We call the constitution. The law
now and then has to change but in the long
run 1t is the man behind the law that
counts We need good laws; we need the
very best laws; We need the best consti-
tuition, and need to amend IL so as to keen
IL what III lS-the best constitution. But no
constitution, no law, will supply the place
In the average individual of those qualities
which in their sum make up good citizen
snip 1t is just as it is in battle | hate
and If any National Guardsman is here he
will appreciate what l say hate to see
our National Guard armed with a black
powder musket. / would about as soon see
MIN armed with crossbow / believe that
for any man wearing the uniform which is
| c ma ha
an emergency, the best weapon is none too
good.
But if YOU give a man the best weapon
In the world and he himself is pretty poor
sort of creature, he will be beaten by a
good man with a club
Need of Good Citizens.
Now, 1t is just so in the field Of civic
life. If our average citizenship is low. no
laws will save us. There are other coun-
tries with almost exactly our constitution.
with laws very similar to ours, where
nevertheless, the experience of free govern
ment mas been almost a failure because
the men were not the same; because they
dlo not nave the same stuff for citizenship
In the last resort 1t must be the high aver
age standard of citizenship upon which we
VIII nave TO rely in this republic Some
thing can be done by law; something can
be done by honest and fearless administra
pend upon having the right kind of men.
the right kind of women in the country.
We need more than intellect; we need char
acter.character which counts most; that
u.s. Whlch counts more than anything else
In llfe-character which counts for the in
dlvldual in private life, which counts in the
HE OF the state; character which we want
10 see IN our public men when they tackle
me proplem OF trusts or Of anything else;
character which is fundamentally composed
OF many elements, but which must com
mand these three: Honesty first l do NOT
care now able man is. if he is a scamp.
ne is danger; l do not care how honest
man is, if he is afraid. he is no good; hon
esty first, then courage; and those two
qualities are not enough. 1t does not make
any ulHerence how brave a man is. or how
honest, If he was born foolish, scant will
pc the good you get out of him We need.
then, Tor our citizenship character; charac-
ter into which shall enter honesty. courage
ana the saving grace Of common sense"
(ApDlauSe1