The Republican journal., 1917-12-13
To the Soldiers. Parents.

The following signed, An Army Cap
tain, appeared in the Chicago Tribune re-
Gently:
AS captain l believe that have the
most responsible position in the army.
The company is the smallest unit over
which commander exercises executive
and disciplinary authority. Ii the COM
panies are right the regiment is right;
when the regiments are right the brig
AIDES and divisions are bound to be right.
AS captain am in closer touch with
the men than any other officer possibly
can be. My lieutenants can only carry
out my policies. They have no right to
reward or punish-in fact, they are a
greater distance from the men than |
am | am responsible for the food they
eat, for the clothes they wear, for the
shelter they have, for their physical con-
dition, their mental and moral viewpoint
For, in short, that one thing that spells
so much, their morale. ! cannot delegate
this authority to any one else. AS cap
tain is, so is his company, is an axiom.
So | want to say word to the parents,
wives, sweethearts and friends of my
men, speaking in a general way for all
! real captains, who realize that they are
more than mere uniformed order givers.
First of all, don't waste any sympathy on
! them over their hard lot A real man re-
sents it, and none of them need it. They
are we'll fed, well clothed. and as happy
as they choose to make themselves. They
do not want to be babied, but do like to
be petted and made much of,
If you have troubles at home, keep
them to yourselves, and don't let your
soldier boys know of them. If you lose
money or the business goes wrong, don't
tell him He cannot help you get it right.
If somebody is sick, minimize it. They
/ will probably be well by the time you get
an answer back. In the meantime, you
have thrown one of my men out of his
stride, and he tells me of his troubles and
YOU add to my burden.
Encourage him in the glorious ask he
has undertaken. Call him all tue hero
you want to. Tell him when he goes
over the top that he is to think of you
as waiting for him to come home; but
you want him to 60 over, and while he is
he is never to finch.
| will see to it that he is bathed and
clean, that he is hard and fit Twill never
on and will show you how will try
from him | will know where he is every
hour of the day or night In other
words, | will take better care of him
than you did when he was at home. We
have no poolroom hells in the army. No
street corner gangs. When the war is
over he will come back to you a real
man, and, 0, how proud you will be of
himl
Above everything else, write to him.
Write every day, if it is only line
Never mind whether he answers OF not
We cannot always write. We have to go
the limits of human endurance some
times, the tired body needs rest and food
and sleep worse than you need letter.
The majority of US are coming back, but
if we do not, as one of my men put it,
"who cares" not in a spirit of bravado or
defiance, but on the theory that "every
bullet mas its billet and until get mine
am going to do my best to do my bit
and carry on to the end.
Send cigars, pipes, tobacco, cigarettes,
sweets of all kinds. Every package you
send is divided up with his squad. You
not only help him, but possibly someone
who has no folks, nobody to send him
anything. One of the most pitiful sights
| have to face is to see the man without
family or home when the mail is dis
tributed. He never look up at the yell
THE mail orderly is here" Iwant you
to help him. Ask your boy if there is
such one in his squad Send him line
or two.
In all this advicd am bit selfish, for
A h3nDy contented man is cheerful eaSv