Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-05-31

/ Viction. with equal fidelity to a hip
1 Ideal, as 1t was given to each to se
that ideal
Moreover. 1t Is a peculiar pIeasur
l 10 speak today under the auspices +
'ae army and navy union. OF the II,
ION which Is meant to include the O
ncers and enlisted men OF the repula
forces of the United States. ExactI
as there is no other body of men Il
whom In the past we have owed q
much as to the veterans o. Me ciyi
war, so there Is no other body of me,
among all OF our citizens of toda,
VINO as whole deserve quite as wei
OF tne country as the officers and en-
ilsted men of the army and navy o
ehe United States. Every man who
mas served well and faithfully. afioat
/ or ashore. In the service of the INIT
Ell states, has shown that he posses
ses certain qualities which enti,le him
In a peculiar degree to the resnec,
OF all his fellow citizens. while every
man VINO is now In the service can
not but feel himself uplifted by the
'"ought that In any time of future
CRISIS II may be that the honor of the
whole nation will depend upon his
bearing There rests upon each OF
you tremendous burden of respopsi.
oiIity, and therefore to you belongs
the proud privilege of bearing that
'oad OF responsibility well.
rms audience Is composed largely
OF veterans of the civil war, largely
oi men who have served In or are
serving in the army and navy of the
United States. They are concerned
not only with he duties OF the sol.
dier and the sailor, but with the du.
Ties OF the civilian, with all matters
auecting the plain, everyday citizen
as he does his everyday duties. For
we must always remember that I'm
our country our army and navy are
an army and navy made up of yolup.
teers; all our forces are volunteers.
onr regulars, ahoat and ashore. are
merely our fellow citizens who of
tneir own free will have taken nm
tnis particular task. The task once
'hroish they return to the body of
our citizenship; and exactly az the
eiiciency OF our military service de
pends chiefly upon the efficiency of
lhe average enlisted man, so the ef.
heiency of the nation as a whole dc.
pehds CHIEFLY upon the way In which
the average man performs his plain.
everyday duties.
This does not mean that the lender
whether in military or civil life can
escape bearing peculiar burden of
To him has been Civ.
en- much and from him much will he
demanded. 1t is right and proper
"ff'-sss-|s--- -.
civilian official In time of peace or "
a high military or naval officer In
time OF war. should receive marked
degree of credit II he performs his
difficult, delicate. and responsible task
well. and should, on the other hand.
be held to an especially sharp ac-
countability for any shortcomings.
In any time of crisis the man in high
Office in civil life. the man In nigh
command in military or naval life, can
II he be weak or incompetent, par.
alyZe the actions of a multitude OF
brave and able men who are under
MIN. On the other hand. II an intel
lect. and above all, n character, he
is able to rise level to the need OF
the moment. ne may so combine and
direct the actions of the many under
him as to make their joint etforr ir
resistible. The first duty of lead
er, civil or military. is to lead; and
he must lead weh Exactly AZ the
people must demand tine highest
grade of integrity and efficiency from
their leaders In civil affairs, so In
military affairs they must Insist upon
every officer devothg himself In the
duties OF his profession. to caring for
and drilling and training those under
him, so that alike In point of person
mel and in point Of material the army
and navy OF the United States mas
reach as hgn a point of perfection as
Is humanely possible. This is tho
work that only the leaders can do;
and II they shirk 1t their shame Is un
speafable.
Nevertheless It remains true tna
nc leader can accomplish very muci
unless he has the right kind of meI
to lead. Unless the enlisted man hai
the right stun in him 1t stands to rea
son that no officer can get II out o
him, because 1t is not there to ge
out. SO in civil life. II all our leader
were Washingtons and Lincolns the.
could. nevertheless. make no perma
rent Improvement in our citizenshi
= unless the average citizen had In hir
the capacity for SUCH improvement
In the last analysis It is the man bf
hind the ballot who counts most 1
? civil life. Just as IL is the man b'
hind the gun who counts most in mi
itaEy life,
We can not too highly honor tn
+ memory of the leaders In the civ
war-of Grant and Lee, OF Sherma
and Johnston. u Stonewall Jackso
5 and Sheridan. OF Farragut and OF tf
captains who fought under an
n against him. But after all the ma