The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-09-20
BULuRD TALKS
TO n. c. OFFICERS
Says the Military Department
Stands for Training and
Discipline.

! states Army, VINO Is now lnstructOf-ih'
chief at the camp Of instruction at Fort
Shafter for officers Of the National
! Guard Of Hawaii. made an address on
Saturday afternoon TO the assembled
officers on military department. The
tide suggests a talk along technical
lines, but, on the contrary, the entire
address is full Of meat for the average
citizen, and will tend to correct false
ideas of the military arm of the gov.
eminent which are generally based on
the impression that there is too much
Eold-lace and too little appreciation on
the part of officers of the rank and file
of citizens His address was as fol.
lows:
Military Department.
In the civic crank, in the peace per.
vert, even in the soldier whose heart
is not whole and from choice in the
soldiers work, the mere expression,
military department, arouses prejudice,
hostile criticism. To such it stands for
nothing. monkey business. foolishness.
On the other hand, to the trained sol
der and knower of men, to a natural
man-that is, to man whose mind has
not been perverted by n lot of peace
theory-to the student and observer of
realities, military department signifies,
1t stands for training and discipline,
the power OF man and the wisdom of
man.
I have not set myself the task of
telling you the thousand things in
Il which military department consists, oil
of discussing and deciding for you the
countless doubtful points and questions
that NAV occur to YOU under this head
ing. That would take too long. l
shall have to be general. For details
I refer you to that excellent publica'
ton, Capt. j. A. Moss Officers Man.
) ual. 7 shall here feel that I have
: touched success if / can but show you
the reason, reach and power and leave
conviction of the need, the utility and
dignity of the thing called military de-
pertinent. its worthiness of your atten'
ton and practise.
: The First Necessity.
The first necessity in his military
, training vet always the hardest thing
/ with our civie-loving citizen is to get
, him to come, even in his own mind, to
: anything like full and adequate ac'
7 ceptance. of military department. This
is why I shall devote my time to dis
cussing its excellent results and need
, rather than to pointing out in detail
the things that make it up.
; We of the Western World pride our
selves upon our contempt of all form
and manner. That has been our boast
and glorying. For the opposite opinion
in anyone we have neither regard mol
patience. Less and less hereafter car
: that be our view or practise; because
y it is a sign of crudeness, of nationa
. inexperience. Form and manner are
really laws of life which, in the his
tory and progress of every people
grow up and become more and NOR,
: necessary and valuable as men increas,
, in number. They are conditions of pop
ulatiOn and civilization. They are th'
necessary outgrowth of the close asso
citation of men, the product of expert
ence of living together. Their Origin
is proof enough of their necessity anC
: value. Until lately we in general hal
not needed them because we have no
lived in thick communities. The army
s is the sole exception. There, men have
g always been and still are associated
: more closely and intimately than il
: civil life and have consequently need
o ed form and manner. This is why whel
o the rest of our countrymen are prid
: ing themselves upon rejecting these
soldiers have been guiding their live
q and regulating their intercourse by tn
:, system of rules which we call miltar,
:. department.
= If we wish to remain free men, al
!, conventions are to be questioned. The!
= should be required to approve them
selves to us before we accept them
would not anywhere make or preserv
s. unnecessary ones even under tn
: guise of military department. Tina
/ Is the wise course always. The,
are burdensome, and when once the.
: are fixed upon us, our institutions, es
= pecially continuous ones like an army
O all tend TO saddle them upon us to
h time and extent far beyond our abilit.
d to shake them off or even detect thei
a rise, reason or present utility. But ex
d perience shows that those convention
o that make up military department ar
o not a lot of meaningless Observance
that can be lightly thrown Off, as ma
q be easily proven by any soldier Tr
It it. violate them a few times for youl
self. and your resulting dilemma an
II confusion will teach you their reaso
}, and their value There will be N
r. doubt in you that you have made
n mistake.
u AKIN 10 buuICH NbIemohlth'
ne Notwithstanding our dislike Of maj
le ner, form and ceremony, these yet hay
le their foundations deep.laid in our In
ID man nature Those organizations an
I'd institutions that most use them max
r.. the most general and effective apes
)f TO humanity. they reach and eonir'
men, Witness the most formal an
" cerem0nious Of orr organizations, N
~ one which we have always before on
d eyes, the Catholic Church We all kno
lt how il gets aud keeps hold Of men. III
ne results II attains come In two way
I'd first from the outward effect upon n
world aud, second, the reflex person
ls effect upon the actor himself a
ID its ceremonies aud repetitons woi
~ 20 this end The reverend an
r. tude, tho repeated prayers an
a, piety breathing words are both col
be tagious and TeheXiye in action. tn,
I'd appeal 10 all observers and they W0i
BIO upon the wonhiper too Military d
ne pertinent operates ia llke manners
Affects ihe seer aud daer That ihis