The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1914-09-11
: PSYCHOLOGY AND WAR.

According to Van der Goltz, the
great German strategist, the nation
no waits until war has been declar- |
ed to train her men, is defeated.
The Manuevers at Gerheart, Ore,
have shown that the militia were not |
we'll drilled, they understood proctic-
ally nothing of the game at it is played
today.
We look with contempt on General
| Huerta's tactics. but that is because
we do not know that he not only
played the game" but with modern
science, having staff officer who is a
| graduate OF Leavenworth, one of our
army service schools.
Many people do not realize that we
have one of the smallest armies in the
world and with the militia could not
put enough men in the field to meet
to meet one of the large powers. OIL
course we all know according to our
school, histories) that all Americans
are born soldiers and that they are
easily trained and made proficient
fighting machines in short time, but,
we are sadly misinformed as you will
find if you read Steele's Campaigns.
In twelve days of twelve hours in
struction, each, we found we had just
began to learn the rudiments. Here
is facsimile problem that any officer
must be able to work out and ex
ecute:
A battalion of the enemy are trying
to hold a portion of the beach, one
mile north of Cannon beach, they
are entrenched behind sand dunes
and are trying to affect holding at
tack to enable them to land troops
and supplies, A battalion of our In
fantry has been sent out to drive them
back to their ships. An artillery Of
jicer Of the old regime might say:
drop shrapnel in the offensive lines.
Against unframed men, that would
be quite effective but trained officer
with experience would immediately
take a formation that they wouldn't
waste shrapnel on.
Psychology is one of the most i'm
portant technicalities an officer can
study today. A man experiencing in
tense fear will instinctively, sub-con-
ciously assume his old habits. If he
has been trained to fire on sites of a
target, pumping his piece regardless
Of what is going on around him, al
though he be suffering from the ut
. most agonies of fear, he will continue
, to fire automatically, the action alone
invariably decreases timidity to a
more rational state.
. Take a horse from burning barn
and turn him loose, he will run back
in against his instructive inherent
, dread of fire. His habits and sub
consciousness tell him he was always
. comfortable and safe there.
I The trained man runs much less
risk too Of getting hit, lie covers
his target and his ire being more eff.
fcctive, gets the enemies goat" as
our prizeight ng friends would say
causing them to shoot wildly.
, Sunday of last week, Lieutenant
7" Lesser and Sgt Muter with one-hal
! Of Company &C" gave an exhibition
! of the normal attack making a Ions
= and difficult frontal attack against tht
: other half OF the company, who were
strongly entrenched on Canyon Hill
near the water tank.
Captains Mcconnell and Cupp refer
eed the game and considered it very
+! we'll played
4 DR. Greene in his lecture in Cald
well, stated among other things tina
, the United States furnishes three
= fifths of the wheat in the world anC
that was all the protection we needed
Itb you DNlNNG llldls NNdO lllN
modern history OF Oh ma and you vii
ind that the country today without
N army has no rights; it another ma
ion wants one OF her seaports she
has to say; certainly-take it,
DIR. Greene is a dreamer, an idealist
born century before his time W.
are not yet ready for universal peace
The great European war may bring
il about, let us hope so. 1t is a beau,
,iful thing and meets that intellect
nal enlightenment men should
adjudge controversies in mediation il
this advanced and enlightened age
but let us by all means bury the
Ratchet together.
We could not have picked out I
worse time to sell two OF our great
. battleships to Greece or any Other
nation Why? The European war is
the result of overgrown, over-popula'
: ted countries They are too crowded
. Quite recently the East Indians ask
ed as free British subjects to be al
:. lowed to eTigrate to South Africa
! England objected Strenuously, Can
ada protested against their orienta
brothers and so the Punjabs, SiShS
: Gourkas, and countless other tribe:
are diScontended They are toe
crowded in India.
Alsace-Loraine no longer statistic:
Alsace-Loraine no longer Statistic:
The Japanese too must have al
outlet. since we don't want them, The
Philippines and Hawaiian Islands ara
what they covet most and will even
:, tually get at the cost OF thousands o.
} American lives.
Men must face machine guns, can