The Washington times., 1906-05-30
CONTINUED from First Page.)


of the United States. Exactly as there
Is no other body of men TO whom in the
past We have owed so much as TO :he
veterans of the civil war. so there is
no other body of men among all Of our
citizens of today who as a whole de-
serve quite as we'll OF the country as
the Officers and enlisted men of the
army and the navy of the United States.
Every man who has served well and
talthfuily. afioat or ashore. in the ser
vice Of the United States. has shown
that he possesses certain qualities which
, entiue him in peculiar degree to the
respect Of all his fellow-citizens Whise
every man who is now In the service
cannot but feel himself uplifted by the
thought that in any time of future
crisis IT may be that the honor OF the
whole nation will depend upon his bear
ing. There rests upon each of you a
tremendous burden of responsibility.
and therefore to you belongs the proud
privilege of bearing that load of re-
sponsibility well
Military and Civil Duties.
This audience is composed largely Of
veterans of the civil war. largely OF
men who have served in or are serving
United States They are concerned not
only with the duties of the soldier and
the sailor, but with the duties of the
civilian. with all matters affecting the
plain, everyday citizen as he does his
everyday duties. For we must always
remember that in our country our army
and navy are an army and navy made
up of volunteers; all our forces are
volunteers; our regulars, ahoat and
ashore, are merely our fellow citizens
who OF their own free Will have taken
UP this particular task The task once
through they return to the body of our
cltize nship; and exactly as the efficiency
of our military service depends chiefly
upon tho efficiency of the average en-
listed man, so the efficiency of the ma
ton as a whole depends chiefly upon
the way in which the average man per
forms his plain. everyday duties.
Responsibility of Leadership.
This does not mean that the leader.
whether in military or civil life. can
escape bearing a peculiar burden of
responsibility. To him has been given
much and from him much will be de-
manded. 1t is right and proper that
the man in a high position, whether his
position be that of a high civilian Of
fetal in time Of peace or a high military
CT naval officer in time of war. should
receive 4 marked degree OF credit #
he performs mis- difficult, delicate. and
responsible task well. and should. on
the other hand. be held 10 an especially
sharp accountability for any shortcom-
ings- In any time Of crisis the man In
high Office In civil life, the man In
~
can. If he be weak or incompetent.
paralyze the actions Of a multitude of
brave and able men who are under him.
above all. in character. he is able to
rise level to the need of the moment.
he may so combine and direct the ac-
tions of the many under him as 10 make
their Spint effort irresistible.
Must Be True Leaders.
The first duty of leader. civil or
military. is to lead; and he must lead
well. Exactly as the people must de-
mand the highest grade of integrity and
efficiency from their leaders in civil af-
fairs. so in military affairs they must
insist upon every officer devoting all the
best that there is in him to fitting him
self in the duties of his profession, 70
caring for and drilling and training
those under him, so that alike in point
of personnel and in point of material.
the army and navy of the United States
may reach as high a point of perfection
as is humanity possible. This Is the
work that only the leaders can do: and
If they shirk IT their shame is unspeak-
able.
Nevertheless. it remains true that no
leader can accomplish very much IN
less he has the right kind of men to
lead Unless the enlisted man has the
right stuff in him IL stands TO reason
that 10 officer can get 1t out of him, be
cause It is not there to get out. So in
civil life. II all our leaders were Wash
ingtons and Lincolns they could. never
theless, make no permanent improve
ment in our citizenship unless the aver
age citizen had in him the capacity for
such Improvement. In the last analysis
il is the man behind the ballot who
counts most in civil life, just as Il is
the man behind the gun who counts
most in military life.
The Plain Mans Power.
We can not too highly honor the men,
ory of the leaders in the civil war-of
Grant and Lee. Of Sherman and John
ston. of Stonewall Jackson and Sheri-
dan, OF. Farragut. and Of the captains
VINO fought under and against him. But
after all the man upon whom the chief
credit must rest was the plain man in
the ranks, the man in blue or in gray.
who went in to see the war through. and
who did see IL through. He had he
courage TO stand without fiinching the
pickering of the skirmshes and the
hammering of the great fights: he had
the steadfast endurance TO bear with un-
complaining resolution the hunger and
the heat and the cold, the scorching
days and the freezing nights the grind
ing, hcartbreaking fatigue OF the
marches, the wearisome monotony of
the camps, and the slow suffering OF the
held hospitals. So in the army and the
navy today, in the last analysis we must
depend upon having the right stuff in
the enlisted man and then upon having
that stuff put into proper shape.
Character the First Factor.
So again, in our Republic as whole
it Is Just as true in peace now as IL was
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