Macon beacon., 1917-09-14
YOUR POST OF HONOR.


soldier in the national army, because
that is one of your obligations as a
citizen of the United States. The ck
teens of n republic must always be
ready In the hour of need to leave
their homes and take up arms in de-
fense of their rights and principles.
Otherwise the republic could not long
continue TO exist. The men who now
enter military 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 thou
sands 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, alike must
do whatever Is necessary and must
give up whatever is necessary. For no
personal interests or feelings can be
permitted TO stand in the way at a
time when the safety and honor of the
country are at stake.
AS citizen-soldier you are chosen
for post Of special distinction. Amer
lea is justly proud of the soldiers of the
past who have won for us the rights
today denied and put in serious danger
by the high-handed attacks of the Ger
man government. America will be no
less proud Of you.
Your personal responsibility is great.
AS warfare today is conducted, the
Individual soldier counts for more than
ever before. Your own skill and BRAY
cry, no matter how humble your rank,
may easily be important factors In de-
| Gliding whether an engagement Is to he
won or lost. You cannot depend upon
anyone else to carry this personal re-
sponsibility for you, you must depend
upon yourself.
Americans are well-ftted to meet
this test. During the Civil war, at the
battle of Antietam, the Seventh Maine
infantry lay. hugging the ground, un-
der furious storm of shot and shell
Private Knox, who was wonderful
shot asked leave TO move nearer the
enemy. For an hour afterwards his
companions heard his rifle crack every
few minutes. His commanding officer
finally, from curiosity, "crept forward
to see what he was doing, and found
that he had driven every man away
from one section of a Confederate
battery, tumbling over gunner afteI
gunner as they came forward to fire
At the end of an hour or so
a piece of shell took off the breech OF
his pet rifle, and he returned discon
ISOLATE; but after n few minutes he
gathered three rifles that were left by
wounded men and went back again.
In the Confederate armies individual
soldiers were no less skillful, cool anG
brave.
Tales Of heroic courage can be fOunC
in the annals of all armies and Of al
nations.
Other things being equal, an army
made up of self-reliant. thinking mer
has a great advantage over a merely
machine-llke army, and this is espe
cially true in present-day warfare
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
ity as his own conduct will permit
AS for slaughtering or enslaving thu
civilian population of captured terri
tory, attacking prisoners or assaultinl
women, American soldiers would a!
little commit such crimes In time o
war as In time of peace.
There is a third splendid tradition
of the American army which you viii
help to carry forward. 1t has tough
always and everywhere in defense o
principles and right-never merel,
for territory and for power. Even th'
|
opposing principles-the principle O
an indivsible Union upheld by tn,
North, and that of freedom to with
draw from the Union upheld by th'
South.
To protect the rights Of citizens, tn
American people have several time
opposed tyrannical governments-th
English government in 1776 and 1872
the French government for shor
period in 1893, the Mexican govern
ment In 1913, the Spanish government
In 1893. The final effect in each cas-
has been to advance the cause of lib
erty and democracy throughout tn
world, even in the countries agains
which we fought. Our weapons hav
not willingly been turned against an
peoples, but only against the ruler
who misgoverned and misled them. Il
fighting for our own rights, the Ameri
can army has fought also, In Pres!
dent Wilson's phrase, for the right
of mankind"
For a like high purpose, the Ameri
can people have entered into the pres
ent war against the German govern
ment-a government which in our be
lief misrepresents and misleads tn
German people. Only by so doing ca
we make America and the world "saf
for democracy" But one ending ca