Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-31

in liberty and self-government be declared
wretched failure7 Shall the government which
has conferred such inestimable benefits upon
qnllind defend its life or shall 1t be allowed
to fall to pieces and become the prey OF for
eig1 territorial sharks? That was the great
question of the early COS It was not a mat
ter of local or temporary Importance. 1t
simply the question of preserving the Union
in its integrity. 1t went beyond even that,
for 1T involved the highest hopes of liberty
loving humanity to the problem of self
government.
THE CITIZEN SOLDIER
This panoramic view OF early history may
, have seemed to OF my audience like
fr cry from the announced subject of THE
Citizen Soldier" You may have thought that
was exercising the speakers immemorial
privilege Of wandering from his chosen text.
, But 1 submit that no man have an in
: teigent idea of the achievements Of the
= armies OF the Republic unless he knows the
!; conditions that demanded their descent into
; the hell Of war. and the great principles of
our government which they firmly established
by the arbitrament Of the sword. If it is in
any measure true that there is a waning ap-
probation Of the services of the Union veter-
an, it viii be found in the popular ignorance
Of our national history. The great proportion
, Of our population has come upon the scene
since the cannon parked, the muskets
stacked and the battle flags furled and they
know but little of the struggle except some
of the outstanding military events which led
to the final outcome at Appomattox. Their
thought of the war ranging within the limits
} marked by the enlistment of troops at
treme and the mastering out Of the veterans
at the othe-, tfey do not the Civil War
e in Its perspective. and they do not, and can
Y not, appreciate the services of the citizen sol
dier.
: "Glance for a moment at the situation in
'er We are not a warlike people, and in the
: early Cos we were half century away from
real war. We sent handful of soldiers
down into Mexico on unholy errand. and
we had engaged in some Indian campaigns.
But for many years our swords had been
beaten into plowshares and our spears into
pruning hooks our people were Of domestic
temper; they We're given to industrial pur-
SUITS they quietly pursuing gainful
: occupations.
Our little regular army reduced to the
limits of a division and scattered from
Maine to California in small details. The
] lita was neElected-few states paying it the
small respect of legislation. To be sure, they
4 had in most of the commonwealths an annual
. training day-which for military purposes was
e a farce One describing these events has de-
! clared that the chief military maneuvers were
= charges upon peanut stands and the casual
. ties were limited to those valorous members
10 were shot In the neck by John Barley
corn and carried off the field dead drunk"
In fact some Of the states had militia regula-
e tions to the effect that the troops were not
to leave the state except in case Of invasion"
These were the famous Home Guards. The
d south had been taught there fight in
the Yankee. 1t prophesied that when the
: Yankee troops entered the southern territory
they would be met with cash offers for their
: guns and equipments, and would promptly re-
turn home. People were sure no Yankee could
t resist a "dlcker" All Of which Is only to
say in brief that we were a peace-loving and
y peace-p preserving people.
over the land quietly engaged in the occu-
pr ions Of peace rolled the shock Of Sumter 5
fall and echoed the presidents call for troops
As by magic, almost in day. the peaceful
; nation was transformed into military camp,
y the industrious citizens into uniformed soldiers
The clerk laid down his yardstick; the me-
t chauic put aside his tools; the bookkeeper for
sock his ledger; the lawyer quit his brief: the
preacher came down from his pulpit the
farmer turned his back upon the plow; the
; young man postponed his personal ambitions,
and even the cchoolboy closed his textbooks
And over a million and a half Joined in the
cry: I'VE are coming. Father Abraham
NATION is THEIR MONUMENT
+ Scan the list Of leaders and you will see
them coming from civilian life. Mcclellan
Gitte Mao was vice president of the Illinois
Central railroad, with his office and home in
Cincinnati; General Sherman was teaching
school in Louisiana; Grant running a tan
merry IN Gaena, Ill; Rosecrans was In busi-
t ness in Ohio as an architect anl civil en-
, gineer; Logan was a lawyer and resigned a
. seat in congress to go to the front; Fighting
, Joe" Hooker farming in California; (;
| Burnside was a Rhode Island manufacturer;
Banks was a Massachusetts, lawyer and states
9I TOD Of
West Point nearly all responded citizens
to the call of the country But much more
was this true Of the troops. They were cti-
zen soldiers The great achievements Of the
war were their achievements. They the
national power in the mighty struggle; they
were the majestic and irresistible force.
= Think TO their everlasting honor, Of the
motives which inspired them. 10 body Of men
under arms in all the history OF warfare has
ever been inspired by higher motives They
fought not for power, as did those who fol-
lowed Caesar under the Roman eagles; they
fought not for ory. did the leglons which
rose and fell with the fortunes OF Napoleon;
/ the yfought not for wealth. with a recon-
peuse Of S13 per month. These men learned
the dread arts of war to perpetuate the ma
f tlona existence; they went forth to battle to
J pl tect the asylum Of human libery; they
fought TO hand down to their children the
heritage Of their fathers. I need not now re-
T call the familiar story-the history they made
! Beneath the flags OF st. Paul cathedral rests
the body Of Sir Christopher Wren the archi-
] tect Of that venerable pile. On a marble slab
above his dust are carved these words; "Read-
er, wouldst thou behold his monument-look
about you" Wouldst thou behold the nonu-
! mont Of the citzen-soldier? Look about you
e You viii not find It in trumphal arch in
2 lofty column, In sculptured marble in lasting
bronze. The enduring monument, the supreme
= memorial OF the citizen-soldier is the United
States OF