The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-01-08
Lesion OF HONOR
DELIGHTS J0FFRE
Grand Cross Of Order May Be
Secured In Peace Or ~
At War ss Z H..

PARIS, December 26.-@( Correspond.
enee Of The Associated Press THE
satisfaction with which General Joffre
received the military medal recently
shows that even he who might be re.
garded as having exhausted all OF the
official honors that could be conferred
on him, when he received the grand
cross Of the Legion of Honor, values
the little silver medal quite as much
hs the common soldier.
TO receive the military medal it is
necessary TO have been cited in dis
patches, to have gone through four cam.
Taigns, TO have been wounded in face
Of the enemy or TO have accomplished
some signal act of courage or devotion.
OF late years the decoration ofsthe Le-
gion Of Honor has been considered far
more accessible. The military medal is
not exactly successor Of the medal
Of the veterans instituted in 1881, but
its purpose IL the same and the qualii.
cptions Of the men upon whom IL is
conferred are in part the same.
The Legion of Honor, as Bonaparte
conceived it and instituted il, was in
tended to recompense signal services in
both peace and war, and Napoleon III
thought there should be n decoration
for military services distinct from an
order like the Legion of Honor, which
was accessible TO everyone. &.
What Napoleon Stroye For
tIt's not everyone who Wills that
shall wear this sign of honor" Napo
leon said when the Legion of Honor
was established, and his first intention
clearly was to make IL an incentive to
his men and officers; he himself stated
that the desire to obtain the cross grew
10 rapidly that Il became species of
fury, beginning with Austerlitz. For
a long time IL was only the theatrical
profession that was excluded from the
Legion Of Honor Napoleon himself es.
tablished precedent OF according the
decoration in recognition Of important
Industrial and commercial achievements
by decorating a man who had built up
an enormous industry in wallpaper.
You compete so vigorously with the
English with your wallpaper, - he said.
taI think you should be assimilated
with the brave officers Of my army, for
in your way You are accomplishing the
same thing as they. s.,s @
Equality Is Proven .% n. 5a,y
canrobert, who commanded the 9th
army corps in 1870, Is quoted as saying
10 q young rifeman that he decorated
with the military medal on the field Of
battle: '"Now then, he is equal to
me. "With less stripes, though, re,
piled the decorated man. Just then
both were upset by a shock from the
explosion of shell. ssYou see very
well, = said Canrobert when he had got,
ten to his feet and shaken the dust
from him, that L was right in saying
that we were equals, for you sec that
she'll had the same effect upon both Of
MS; give me your hand
Before the war Of 1870 $4,000 sol.
diers had been DECORATED with the mill
tary medal, while during that war l5,.
900 new decorations were accorded. Be
fore the opening Of the present cam.
paign there were about $4,000 entitled
TO wear this decoration. z.
Some Gases Of Brewery g.. a&,h
Among recent inscriptions for the
military medal in the Journel Official
the following exceptional cases are re.
ported; III
= Conductor Desbrus Of the 57th artil.
lefy, received twenty -four wounds from
fragments of shells and had the right
arm broken during the battle of the
Aisne, September 2lst. Taken back to
the base notwithstanding his protesta-
tions, he said to the doctor who cared
for him: "It's far better tnat i be
me than the captain who was hit by
that shell, for the captain is more use.
full to France than /. >" Desbrus died
from his wounds after receiving the
military medal.
Sergeant Cabour Of the 9Th infan'
try, installed an observatory in a tree
and remained there three days without
relief Or provisions, under violent in
fantry and artillery FIRE, continually
giving the most useful information on
the enemy's movements and position of
the enemy 3 artillery by telephone.
lieutenant fag-bearer Carrere Of the
l3sth infantry, was present the 22nd Of
: August at the moment when, under a
terrible FIRE, several companies showed
hesitation TO advance. But he deploSed
therfag Of the regiment and the cry OF
seTo the flag! To the Aag!" succeeded
in provoking general assault of the
entire line, ...