Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-14

a later contingent is not worth argu-
ing, since the decision has been
made for each man by lot. An am
bilious man. however, will be glad
to join now. 1t gives him a better
chance for promotion. The commits
stoned officers of the first contingent
are picked men who have voIuntar-
lily gone through the hardest kind of
training. The officers of later con-
tlngents Will be drawn largely from
the men enlisted in the first contin-
gents. There is plenty of opportun-
lty mere for every man to use his
brains and his energy and to earn
promotion according to his worth.
RMS does not mean easy or Quick
advancement. 1t means only that
you Will have your fair chance-and
you would ask for nothing more
10 develop yourself and to climb up
ward step by step.
IN order to make good in the Ma
tlohal Army YOU must, first of all,
MT yourself to carry with credit the
simple title of American Citizen
Soldier of the proudest titles;
in the world. This means that YOU
must develop in yourself the quail
ties OF soldier. The more quickly
ana thoroughly you cultivate them,
the greater will be your satisfaction
and success.
There is very little real difference
OF opinion as to soldierly qualities.
They have been determined by ages
OF experience. Weapons change, but
the soldiers who handle the weapons
remain much the same.
Three Basic Qualities
There are three basic qualities.
without which no man can be a real
soldier even though, he may tempo
rarily wear uniform. They are:
Loyalty.
Obedience,
Physical Fitness.
A man without these qualities is
in the way and is source of weak
ness to an army. both in the camp
and on the field of battle.
The Articles or War of the United
States set forth the military crimes
which are punishable by heavy PEN
alties. Among these crimes are de-
| sertion, cowardice, insubordination
/ drunkenness while on duty, sleeping
| while on duty as q sentinel, disclosine
| the watchword, and giving aid oI
comfort to the enemy. Run over thi:
/ list and you will see that every one
| OF these military crimes can result
| only from the absence of one oI
more of the three basic qualities oi
a soldier.
Loyalty
A soldiers loyalty governs. first ot
! all, his feelings and actions toward
his country, his government and hi:
flag: There can be no such thing
/ as halfway loyalty. The slightes
compromise opens the door to trea.
/ son.
| But a soldiers loyalty does mo-
! stop here. 1t governs also his feel.
! ings and actions toward the army
| and toward all the officers under
| whom he serves. 1t absolutely for.
bids disobedience among both off.
| GERS and enlisted men. or disrespect
| toward those in authority.
Going a step farther, loyalty gov
erns also the soldiers feelings and
actions toward his own regiment, his
own company and his own squad
Without this form of loyalty there
can be no real comradeship; without
1t you will never feel that personal
pride and satisfaction in the service
which should mean so much in your
army life.
Obedience
The second of the soldiers basic
qualities is obedience. based on dis
! cipline. Without obedience and dis
tinue to exist; IL will quickly degen-
crate into an armed mob. AS the
Infantry Drill Regulations put il, dis
cipline Is the distinguishing mark
of trained troops"
Frequently the recruit, with his in
/ born dislike of being bossed, makes
the mistake during his first few
weeks in the army of resenting the
fact that immediate and unquestion-
ed obedience is required of him. He
quickly learns, however. that obedi-
ence enforced throughout the army
/ is in all situations the chief safe
guard of the rights. the comfort and
the safety of every man, from the
raw recruit to tie commanding gen.
eral. 1t is guarantee that the small
number of unruly or cowardly men
to be found in every group shall
be kept in check and forced to COM
ply with rules made for the benefit
of all.
Military discipline is always i'm
personal. Obedience is required not
merely of you. but of every man in
the army. It is required of officers
! by their superiors with fully as much
strictness as 1t is required of you
1t will become your duty, whenever
YOU are given authority over other
men, to demand from them the same
full measure of obedience that 9th
ers will require of you.
Discipline is not only essential in
developing the army, but also in de-
velopinS ?our own character as a
soldier. THE soldier who is by ma
ture brave, will by discipline become
braver."
Physical Fitness
The third basic quality. physical
fitness, Is SO essential that a large
part OF the time devoted to your
training will be spent in building II
up. Physical fitness includes not OMIT
muscular development but good
health and endurance as well. 1t is
quality which every man who
passes the physical examinations can
develop in himself by reasonable
care and by obedience to instruc.
ttons. This is a subject more fully
discussed in a later lesson.