The Washington herald., 1913-10-05

and Chaplain regardant." After thu
surrender Of Santiago, a Philadelphia
Clergyman whom / knew came down To
Gen. Wheeler's headquarters, and after
visiting him announced that he intended
to call on the Rough Riders, because he
knew their colonel One Of Gen
Wheeler's aids, Lieut. Steele, who liked
US both individually and as a regiment,
and who appreciated some OF our ways,
asked the clergyman, after he had an
nounced that he knew Col. Roosevelt,
But do you know Col. Roosevelts regi-
ment?" NO" said the clergyman.
Very well. then, let me give you a
piece OF advice. When you go down to
see the colonel, don't let your horse out
Of your sight, and II the chaplain Is
! there don't get OF the horseI''
The Fighting Edge.
We came back to Montauk Point and
soon after were disbanded. We had been
in the service only a little over four
! months. There are no four months of
my life to which 1 look back with more
pride and satisfaction. 1 believe most
earnestly and sincerely in peace, but as
things are yet in this world the nation
That cannot fight, the people that have
lost the hghting edge, that have lost
. the Vlrile virtues, occupy a position as
dangerous as it is ignoble The future
greatness of America in no small degree
depends upon the possession by the
average American citizen Of the Qualities
which my men showed when they served
under me at Santiago.
Moreover. there is one thing in con-
nection with this war which it is well
that our people should remember, our
people who genuinely love the peace Of
-
I would be ashamed to be other than
a lover of the peace Of Righteousness
and OF justice. The true preachers OF
peace, who strive earnestly to bring
nearer the day when peace shall obtain
among all peoples, and who really do
! help forward the cause, are men who
never hesitate to choose righteous war
when it is the only alternative to I'M
righteous peace These are the men,
who, like DR.. Lyman Abbott, have
backed every genuine movement for
peace in this country, and who, never
theless. recognized our clear duty to
war for the freedom Of Cuba
/ But there are other men who put peace
ahead of righteousness, and who care 81
! little for facts that they treat fantastic
declarations for immediate universal ar
bitration as being valuable instead o1
( detrimental to the cause they profess ID
champion. and who seek to make the
| United States impotent for international
/ good under the pretense OF making US
impotent for international evil All the
men of this kind ana all of the organiza-
! lions they have controlled since we be-
! gan our career as a nation. all put to-
! gether, have not accomplished one-hun.
dredth part as much for both peace and
righteousness, have not done one-hun1
!
or for other peoples as was accomplished
by the people OF the United States when
they fought the war with Spain and
with resolute good faith and common
sense worked out the solution of the
problems which sprang from the war.
A Lesson of the War.
Our army and navy, and. above all
our people, learned some lessons from
the Spanish war, and applied them to
our own uses. During the following de-
Cade the improvement in our navy and
army was very great-not in material
only. but also in personnel and, above
all. in the ability to handle our forces
in good-siZed units. By 1908, when our
battle feet steamed around the world,
the navy had become in every respect as
fiji a fighting instrument as any other
navy in the world. feet for feet. Even
in size there was but one nation, Eng
land. which was completely out of ouI
class; and in view of our relations with
England and all the English-speakina
peoples, this was Of no consequence OF
our army, of course, as much could not
be said. Nevertheless the Improvement
IN efficiency was marked. Our artillery
was still very inferior in training and
practice TO the artillery arm of any ons
OF the great powers, such as Germany.
France. or Japan-a condition which Wa
only then began TO remedy. But the
workmanlike speed and efficiency with
which the expedition of some 500 troops
of all arms was modified and trans
ported TO Cuba during the revolution Of
1905 showed that. as regards our cavalry
and infantry. we had at least reached tbs
point where we could assemble and
nandle in first-rate fashion eNpeditionary
forces. This is mighty little TO boast of.
for a nation OF our wealth and popu-
iation; it is not pleasant to compare ie
with the extraordinary feats of contenS-
porary Japan and Bulgaria; but such as
i. is. il represents long stride in adj
vance over conditions as they were ID