The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1906-05-29
After the Great Struggle.

HfhSF ti'C SiSot St' NSS'S'
"The average volunteer officer"
said the sergeant, captain, colonel or
general, had too much rather than too
little of the milk of human kindness.
Bluff and gruff and rigid disciplinari-
an, he might be and yet win the re-
spect, if not the affection, of his SOL
diers And in all such cases the men
in the ranks won at least the respect
officers and soldiers after the war
were worth study. We had in our
regiment from the first a peremptory
sort of captain of military training.
His ambition was to beat the raw ma
terial of his company into shape, to
drill the regiment into form, and,
sternly persistent, he succeeded.
''In the last year of the war he was
promoted to colonel of one of the new
regiments and we lost sight OF him.
Two years after the war | was visiting
a Western penitentiary with legis-
lative committee When the guard
was formed for our inspection | saw
in the ranks the old drill master of
our regiment, the captain OF our crack
company. | looked for some sign of
recognition, but there was none, and
| made no advances. But | went that
night to our old division general and
told him of my discovery. He thought
| must be mistaken, but he would in
vesti9ate.
In two days the general sent for
the warden of the prison and asked
him if he didn't need captain for his
guards. The warden said he did, but
added that he could not find trust
worthy man to take charge, The gen
eral replied that he had among his
guards one Of the most capable and
most trustworthy officers in the old
volunteer army. Why not appoint him
to tht captancy without explanation?
He warned the warden that the colo
mel was proud and sensitive man,
and no questions should be asked as
to how he came to be prison guard.
Meantime our committee paid
visit to the warden and made prac-
tically the same recommendation. |
had told the story to all the old sol
diers in the legislature, and they went
into action. The colonel was made
captain of the guard, was later made
chief of police through the influence
Of his old company, and the officers
Of the division. AS he told me later,
the boys did the work and he accept
ed promotion after promotion, with
no questions asked. Some years later
was with this officer in the city,
when we passed an old staff officer of
our division general. He shook hands
with us, saluted in his old dignifed
soldierly way, and passed on. The
colonel said to me at once: The major
is in trouble. | know the signs. We
must help him as you fellows helped
me when luck was running against
me-
I'VE discovered that the old fellow
was in absolute want and was too
proud to let any of his old army
friends know the truth In three days
he received an unexpected offer of
lucrative employment and accepted
the position. He never admitted that
he had been close to starvation, but
when | visited him in his last sick
ness he told his family the story of
how his old boys had helped him, and
that the colonel and myself had been
leaders in the conspiracy. In the army
he was one of the most lovable men
| knew, and yet he could be as remote
as the Arctic ocean when occasion re-
quired. Chicago Inter Ocean.