Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-03-23
This and That.

~ e''S
Only fourteen nations in Europe en-
gagged in the war over across the
pond. Pshaw! That's not very many
we had more states than that in
volved in the late civil war.
Well, sometimes we think that war
is one of nature'es purifiers, a little
severe, like the surgeons knife, but
then, like that same knife, sometimes
the only successful remedy.
The world has its sore spots. Tur-
key in Europe is one of them; Mexico
in America is another. The only way
to heal, possibly, is to simply cut the
sore out.
Mexico reminds us OF one of these
blamed old stewey, ornery, mean, I'M
easy sitting hens that a Teller runs
across once in a while, the kind that
keeps you in hot suds all the time
she is sitting. You never know jus
how long she will be quiet, whether
she will last the three weeks out Or
not.
We saw a lot of old harness piled
up in John Mahowald's shop the 9th
er dag awaiting repairing and bling.
Another sure sign of spring, mister.
Billy Sunday says it's a shame the
way the churches are run and the
pastors paid and that it's ridiculous
that a prize fighter should earn mere
in fifteen minutes han a good man
in the ministry, the greatest and most
important business extant, does in fl
teen years. Quite likely Billy is cor
rect, but Billy should worry.
Do not go back on corn this year,
brother farmer. Quite likely We II
have a good corn year this year, and
it'll come handy to feed the horses
and those 10c a pound hogs.
We were interested in some of the
utterances of Mr.. Samuel Gompers of
the American Federation of Labor
relative to the matter of prepared
ness. Among his statements are the
following: "A great danger comes
from isolating the military and from
making the military ideals separate
from, and often in contact with. those
of the mass of the people,"
THE military should not exist as
something apart but should exist for
the service of the whole nation
We believe he is decidedly demo-
cratic and wise when he declares that
THE basis and prerequisite for all
military preparedness and national
defense is a citizenship physically
strong and well developed and fit
Mr.. Gompers declares that a great
feature of this should be physical
training in all our schools.
He states that every working man
who is hOnorably engaged in his call.
ing or trade has an undisputed right
to be a citizen soldier.
Mr.. Gompers stands for a Wen train.
ed, small regular army supplemented
by trained citizen soldiery; for the
extension and better establishment o1
the citizen soldiery; for the education
of wage n upon an equality
with all other citizens in manua
training, physical and mental devel
opment in organizing, differing, ad
ministering and leading in the opera
ton of a military for the defense o
our country; for the education of the
young physically and mentally, Sin
GLIDING the art and duty of defense
the ability to bear arms, the inculca
ton of the ideals of democracy, civic
: right and duties and obligations
Naturally the Federation stands 70
) the prohibition of the use of the mill
tary for strike duty. This, of course
) would be embarrassing for a man VIII
as a member of the Federation an,
a member of the militia would, pos
sibly, be called upon to quell labo
disturbances of such a nature, tina
had been instituted by the Federatio.
Some of the views of Mr.. Gomper
appeal to us as being highly tenable
worthy of widespread consideration
in keeping with western Civilization
and eminently American.
Now, dear editor, don't be too har
on President Wilson in this Mexica
! business. He may have twisted aroun
l in some things a little but he has t
? date twisted around the great war an
the "greasers," too, until very lately
True, he did rather espouse Villa a
, one time, but it appers at that tim
that Mr.. Villa would be the man t
ultimately win. Since then, tn