The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-06-01
rHE RANK ANp FILE.
They Could be Depended Upon to Sup
port The Admirable Leadership.

port The Admirable Leadership.
The members R. b. CrandaIl Post, No.
IS, @. A. r., attended in a body the
memorial services at the Congregational
church Sunday morning. There were
~ Of the gray haired veterans who
turned out and there were also few Of
the Ladies Of the G. A. r. present in a
body. Governing admiration for the
Rank and File" was the subject Of
splendid patriotic address BY the pastor
the Rev. Francis A. Poole. His text
was taken from the 10th chapter Of
Joshua the 9TH verse, So Joshua as
cended from Gilgal, he, and all the poo
pie Of war with him, and all the mighty
men Of valor.p
He said IN part aThs Hebrew general
went forth 10 contend in battle with the
combined forces Of FIVE hostile kings and
won great victory. There are two
reasons for this victory. tie was 8
great and valiant leader and Ne led a
valiant army. Great credit was gwen
Joshua for the conquest of Canaan but
measure OF this praise should 90 to
the men in the ranks for the excellence
Of the leader is measured by the excel
lenoe Of the men in the rank. We should
have admiration for both men and lead.
er. Admiration for what is admirable
in good. What would be the condition
Of q country which had no admiration
for the admirable things in It's histry.
The conduct Of onr armies in the Civil
War was admirable. One Of the most
admirable things in the history Of that
war Is the glory az the rank and Gle
The soldiers Of the Union army and can
add also the soldiers Of The Confederate
army were most uncommon soldiers.
They went forth unprepared and I'M
skilled for war. They were not veterans
but they acted like them. IN most
every instance when properly led or
poorly led or when their leader was shot
down they behaved themselves adj
mirably.
The names Of al the great generals
Of the war shine forth with a lustre
that time shall never dim. The three
names which stand forth most promi-
nentlv are Grant, sherman and Sheri.
dan. We can say of them that they
were worthy Of the men in the ranks.
It Is not possible to give too much
praise to the generals and officers but 1t
/ is possible to praise them too exclusive
/ w, for il must be remembered that thew
we're always working ia cooperation
with the valiant men in the ranks
In the early years OF the war the
leaders Of the army of the Potomac
were Incompetent to cope with the great
crisis Of that time though they were
noble men and mastery in certain phas-
es Of warfare. But this incompetency
at first and the final triumph Of the
army points ont more strongly the value
and yalor Of the rank and file. In all
the great battles and campaigns the
splendid leadership was splendidly sup
ported by the rank and file. We revere
them and they will always be the na-
tons heroic dead. Here was great
crisis in the nations history when
great leadership was needed and ia time
lit was forthcoming and when capable
and fearless soldiers were needed and
they were at hand We admire them
and this admiration must be the gov
ening power Of our nation for the con-
tinuance OF peace.
The rank and f8le of the people Of
our country can be trusted Our govern
nient was established on that principle
and 1t has been tested time and again
since and has always proved true. The
versatility Of the troops was always be-
ling demonstrated. Whenever me-
ehanie or skilled hand Of any kind was
needed to perform some special work
lit could always be found in the ranks
and this illustrates the fact that the
American people as a whole can be trust
ed and are capable and should be allowed
to govern and control the affairs of the
nation in every particular. We should
allow this admiration for the rank and
file to govern all the great policies Of
state and nation 70 respect and pro-
tect their welfare is the footpath today
which leads To national peace. Our peo-
Iple are brave. intelligent, patriotic, de-
Ipendable And now the day has at last
come when respect for the common peo-
lple is the only means of that serious and
glorious end that the government Of the
people, by the people and for the peo-
pie, shall not perish from the earth.