The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-01-18

psychology OF suggestion, of crowds,
of races. etc.
The old saying IAN army OF asses
led by lion will always be victori-
ious over an army Of lions led by
an ass" has a great deal Of truth in
it. In battle men rely SO greatly on
their officers that an army of very
ordinary soldiers, with competent Of
ficers will always be successful over
the very best enlisted material with
incompetent officers.
Great Generals are rare. Nations
should thank God when they find one.
Good Generals are necessary; good
field officers are valuable, especially
in maintaining discipline, wedding
out incompetent company officers,
and assaults have sometimes been
won largely by their heroic leader
ship but generally, and especially
with the arms OF today, 1t is the com.
pany troop and battery officers whom
the men see and feel they are the
ones upon whom the men lean in hat.
tie. The worse the punishment the
heavier the losses, the more discour-
aging the conditions, the closer and
| bloodier the struggle the more i'm.
portant becomes the officers role.
They are the ones who win Victories
| and at this stage, whether 1t be a
melee Or fire duel, every weak com.
pany officer becomes focal point
| for defeat.
Must Trust Company officers
II my talk shall impress upon you
the vital Importance of company Of
ficers convincing their men that they
can always be relied upon, their
nerve mistaken, their self reliance
absolute under the most trying cir
cumstances, shall be satisfied.
War, properly conducted, is q NOR
al teacher, and morale is the psyche
logical condition Of courage, self re-
lance, zeal, enthusiasm, hope, conf
dence and respect. 1t desires to in
culcate.
In its highest development, the
foundation for morale Is laid in the
family, continued at school and mill.
tary discipline completes the course.
! To create and maintain proper
morale In a command, be 1t COM
pany, regiment or an army, is the
highest ambition of a soldier. for with
It victory will be accomplished II
within the range OF human endeavor.
and II defeated 1t will be with honor.
In the army we must take material
as we find 1t, and no matter how
poor the foundation, We must rely
upon discipline to erect structure
the morale of which will endure in
sunshine and storm, in victory Or a
succession of defeats.
As Americans, we can all glory in
the fact that the Army OF the Poto-
mac and the Army OF Northern Vir-
ginia, both exhibited morale never
excelled in the worlds history.
Discipline embraces all the soldi-
er's commandments, and is the foun-
dalton upon which everything OF val
ue in the psychology of war must be
built, for without 1t they would be
OF little avail.
1t makes the soldier capable OF
obedience and susceptible to direction
in the stress of combat; creates re-
spect for his commanders and conf
dence in his comrades; makes him
fear their censure or reproach; Gre
ates n spirit OF emulation that com
pels him to go as far and stay as
long as the best of them; creates that
esprit de corps, which makes COM
mand almost invincible.
I Unfortunately, as a people, we
are lacking in discipline In civil life
| in the family and In the school and
look upon discipline as tyranny. On
the contrary, it means justice, moral
ity, order and dccency.
Discipline Absolutely Necessary
Discipline is the Alpha and Omega
of military life; prevents panics, the
supreme military dishonor; reduces
fear to the minimum; prevents In
large degree skulking, looting, drunk
enness and ill treatment of women
and children.
Good non-commissioned officers are
mighty force in creating and main
tanning discipline; they do not have
the prestige Of shoulder straps. and
are so near to the men that they will
need your moral support. Always
support them unless they are palpa-
bly, unjust; never chide them In the
hearing OF the privates; impress up-
On them the fact that without Justice
no discipline can be good. A first