The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-06-07

a civilian, wearing his everyda.
clothes, and appearing just as he wa
when he dropped the hammer, or thu
saw, or the axe, or the shovel, or th'
pillow, or whatever else he had in hi
hand, stepped up to the desk of thu
recruiting sergeant, enrolled himself
in the Army of lmmortals, and Of
fered himself as a sacrifice on ths
altar of his country. | did not under
stand it at that time, but / did later
That was when disaster had overtak
en- the national arms; when some pro
jected campaign had failed, and the
call had gone out for more thous
ands of troops; when everything was
desperately urgent, and there was nc
time to uniform. drill and equip the
volunteer and the conscript, and
when the raw citizens were hurled to
the front in un-disciplined masses to
stop the great, ragged gaps in the
lines of the northern armies. Very
often their rations were short. Still
more often they were haggard and
wild from the want of water, after
riding hundreds of miles in the hot
summer weather. The guards out
side would do their best to keep the
men aboard the cars, but here and
there a squad would get away; not
to desert, but to buy something to
qnen@h their terrible thirst or to lay
in supply of crackers and cheese.
Many times they tarried just mil
ute or two more than they intended
to, and the trains pulled out and left
them behind. And then there would
be a strange scene; something that
could never be witnessed, ! take It,
In time of peace. The big, robust,
deep-chested man would run after the
vanishing cars; and when he saw that
he could not catch them he would
empty his pockets of his purchases,
hurl his bundles to the earth. burst
into tears like a great lubberly boy,
and sob as though his heart were
breaking. 1t seemed ridiculous, but
in after years ! could understand it,
and I suppose the thought in his
mind was like this: "The boys will
think I did it on purpose: they will
go on and get their uniforms, and
go right to the front-and I won't
be there to be shot with them"
! suppose we are patriotic today;
that we are by no means degenerate
sons; that If need were, at least rs
per cent of the present male genera
ton could die as cheerfully for the
salvation of the country as a great
part of former generation died to
save the country that they loved; yet
doubt the ability of the average
man and woman of today to UNDER
stand the deep and tragic qualities
Of the patriotism of forty-five years
ago. 1t was not only a passionate
sentiment in the minds of men and
but it was sort of addition
al life-force that ran parallel with the
blood in the veins of their bodies. 1t
seemed to burn in the atmosphere
like the rockets that frescoed the
night with fiery gold. Sometimes it
was manifested in sudden and fierce |
burst of warlike song. Sometimes it |
.ook the form of sudden and terrible
cheers, which broke the silence like /
he report of Napolean gun. Some
tines great audiences would gather,
either in hall or in the open air;
and then some orator, made mighty
by his theme, would hold forth on
he subject of freedom and patriotic
and. although he never
seemed to know it, he would wax
and god-like till he |
stripped the laurels from the brows
If Demosthenes and Cicero, and
scared to heights that the rhetorician
never dreamed Of. Then there would
oe music and the walls of the night |
would be shaken by the melodious
,hunder of the battle hymn of the
'epubIic.
Wine eyes have seen the glory of the
coming of the Lord.
have seen the fateful lightnings of
His terrible, swift sword.
Then there would come the mag
cal words of that supreme verse:
N the beauty Of the lilies Christ was
born across the sea;
As He died to make men holy, let us
die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
The fathers of families, the sons
Who were the support of widowed
the young man who had lis
ened to the fearful pleading of his
=