Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-08-24
LESSON /.
Your Post of Homer.

You are called to serve as soldier
in the National Army because that is
one of your obligations as citizen Of
the United States. The citizens of a re-
public must always be ready in the
hour of need to leave their own home )
and take up arms in defense of their
rights and principles. Otherwise the
Republic could no longer continue to
exist The men who now enter MILL
tary service deserve the gratitude and
respect of their fellow citizens.
You are doubtless making a heavy
sacrifice in order to perform this duty
to your country Hundreds of thous-
ands of other young men and their
families are face to face with similar
sacrifices. All our citizens will sooner
or later be called upon, each to bear
his or her share of the burden. Men
and women rich and poor, all alike
must do whatever is necessary and
must give up whatever is necessary.
For no personal interests or feeling
can be permitted to stand in the way
a. tine when the safety and honor of
tie country are at stake.
AS a citizen soldier you are chosen
for a post of special distinction
Americans justly proud of the soldiers
of the past who have won for US the
rights today denied and put in serious
danger of the high-handed attacks OF
the German Government America
will be no less proud of you, as you
fight to uphold those principles.
Your personal responsibility is great.
AS warfare is today conducted, the in
dividual soldier counts for more than
ever before. Your own skill and brav-
cry, no matter how humble your rank,
may easily be important factors IN de-
Gliding whatever an engagement is to
he won or lost. You can not depend
upon anyone else to carry this personal
responsibility for you; you must de-
pend upon yourself,
The Individual Soldier Counts.
Other things being equal, an army
made I'D of self-reliant, thinking men
has a great advantage over merely
machine-like army, and this is espec
tally true in present-day warfare
Mai. Gen. Hugh L. Scott, Chief OF Staff
I. 8. A, remarks on this point;
"The conditions under which modern
wars are fought are ever making IN
creasing demands on the indlvlduaI
soldier The individual sol
dier must know how to interpret ac-
cnratelv orders and signals, for the
enemy's fire may often so isolate MN
from his leader and comrades, perhaps
only step away, that he may be
thrown on his own initiative in max
ing his actions conform to those OF the
whole line: he may have to use MS
own Judgment in opening fire, in ad-
yancing, in Intervening.
Fair Play.
A second tradition of the American
ARMY. which need only be mentioned
is that of fighting fairly and treating
even the enemy with as much human
;tv a. his own conduct will permit. AS
for slaughtering or enslaving the CIV
ilian population of captured territory
attacking prisoners or assaultlng Wo-
men. American soldiers would as little
commit such crimes in time OF war as
in time of peace. In this respect most
of the civilized nations of the world
think alike.
Fighting for Rights and Principles
There is a third splendid tradltion
of tho American Army which you Will
helm to carry forward. 1t has fought
always and everywhere in defense ol
nrincinles and rights-never merely
for territory and for power Even the
Civil War resulted from the CLASH OF
opposing principles-the principle OF
an indiyisible Union upheld by the
North. and that of freedom to withdraw
from the Union upheld by the South.
To nrotect the rights of citizens, the
American people have several times
opposed tyrannical governments the
English government in 1875 and 1917.
the French government for snort
period in 1898, the Mexican government
in 1S48, the Spanish government in
1898. The final effect in each case has
been to advance the cause of liberty
and democracy throughout the world
even in the countries against which we
fought. Our weapons have no. will
ingly been turned against any peoples
but only against the rulers who mis-
| ,ro1,arnod and nisIad them In fighting