Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-13

Grande de Pampanga in face of the
enemy's fire and fastened rope to
the unoccupied trenches. thereby en-
aoling the crossing of the river and
the driving of the enemy from his
fortified position"
On May 6, 1900. Private William
2. Maclay, Forty-third U, S. Volun-
teer infantry, Charged an occupied
bastion, saving tho life of an officer
in hand-to-hand combat and de-
stroying the enemy"
In all these cases medals of honor
were granted The incidents. how
ever, are typical of the army. Thou
sands of similar stories might be
told. They represent the spirit that
Will inspire the National Army when
the time comes to show the stuff of
which it is made.
Tales of heroic courage can be
found in the annals of all armies and
or all nations. But the American
Army has its own special tradition,
which these incidents illustrate. 1t
is the tradition of intelligence, self
reliance, and individual daring in
the part of men serving in the ranks.
Individual Soldier Counts
Other things being equal, an army
made up of self-reliant, thinking
men has great advantage over a
merely machine-like army, and this
is especially true in present-day war
fare. Major General Hugh l.. Scott,
Chief of STAFF. U. S. A, remarks on
this point:
The conditions under which mod
ern wars are fought are ever making
increasing demands on the individ-
ual soldier. The individual
~ lrv l., a.
accurately orders and signals, for the
enemy's fire may often so isolate him
from his leader ard comrades, per-
baps only step away, that he may
be thrown on his own initiative in
making his actions conform to those
of the whole line; he may have to
use his own judgment in opening
fire. in advancing. in intrenching."
Fair Play
A second tradition of the Ameri-
can Army, which need only be men,
toned, is that of fighting fairly and
treating even the enemy with as
much humanity as his own conduct
will permit. AS for slaughtering OF
enslaving the civilian population OF
captured territory attacking prison
ers or assaulting women, 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
There is third splendid tradition
of the American Army which yol
will help to carry forward. 1t ha!
fought always and everywhere in de
fense of principles and rights-nevel
merely for territory and for power
Even the Civil War resulted from
the clash of opposing principles
the principle of an indivisible UnioI
upheld by the North, and that o.
| freedom to withdraw from the UnioI
upheld by the South.
To protect the rights of citizens
| the American people have severa
| times opposed tyrannical govern
ments-the English government foI
short period in 1875 and 1912, tn,
the French government for a shor
! period in 1898, the Mexican
government in 1S4S, the Spanish
government in 1898. The final effec
in each case has been to advance tn,
cause of liberty and democrac!
| throughout the world. even in tn,
countries against which we fought
| Our weapons have not willingly beer
| turned against any peoples, but onl!
against the rulers who misgoverneC
and miSled them. In hghung for oul
own rights, the American Army hai
! fought also, in President Wilson!
phrase, for the rights of mankind
For a like high purpose. The
| American people have entered into
the present war against the German
leads the German people. Only b!
so doing can we make America anC
the world safe for democracy" Bu
one ending can be thought of-aI
ending that will guarantee the con,
tinuance of all those principles anC
rights which the American Army
has in the past so nobly fought tC
establish.
Never lose sight. even for an in,
slant, of the fact that all your train
ing, your efforts, and your sacrifices
have this one great object in view
the attainment of which is worth
anything it may cost.