The Lamar register., 1917-07-18
WASHINGTON NOTE
Winning the Respect of Europe


ing to his soldiers in behalf CT IN
orderly and courteous conduct during
their stay in Europe. The position Of
the United States in :he eyes CT
Europe will depend % moro upon
feat5 Of arms than upon The pa.son-
al conduct of the mon who represent
this nation in the world conflict. The
men and women of Fr.nce, England,
Belgium, and even of Germany, know
little of the United States. The last
ing impression which will be maG2 up
on their minds will be determined
largely by the personal behavior of
the soldiers. Today the world looks
upon the German soldier az I true
descendant of the Hun, whose saw
agery was so intense that the grass
never grew on soil his heel had press
ed. That is IL unjust picture of the
German soldier, but it is nevertheless
indelibly impressed upon .hc minds
Of people of all other nations because
Of the atrocities committed in t7rri-
tory which the German arnica have
invaded.
It is impossible for American sol
diers to gain a reputation in any de
gree approaching that now suffered
by the Germans. But it is not ..ough
that VIC merely avoid IN evil rcputa-
tion. The conduct of the American
soldier on the firing liac and H. the
villages Of any country to which they
shall be sent, should be, and VIII be.
such as to leave in the memories Of
all observers an impression of manly
courage combined with chivalrous
courtesy.
The mental pictures we have of our
own American heroes were not Great
ed by records of great deeds but
rather by stories of little incidents
which revealed the true characters Of
the men. Future generations in
Europe will know the typical Ameri-
can by the personal conduct of our
soldiers rather than by the success or
failure of masses of mon on the field
Of battle. General Pershing recog-
nizcs this and he will have the hearty
cooperation of his men in the dcsire
to earn for America the high place
to which she is entitled in the esteem
Of Europe Even our enemies will
respect us when this war is over.
Truth from the Stars
In u recent reading of the "horo-
scope" which is a popular syndicated
feature in the columns Of some of oul
exchanges we came across the predic-
ton from the planets: "Thc South
should benefit greatly from public en-
tcrprises, especially after August"
The stars indeed speak truly in this
instance. Soon after August the
great cantonments of the national
army will be teeming with drafted
soldiers, whose maintenance will set
floods Of public money swirliEg
through the communities where these
cantonmcnts are situated. These can
tonmcnts number sixteen, and Zinc of
them are fixed at favored points in
the Southern states, where our troops
viii be prepared for the rigors of life
in the trenches of northern France
through life in the bllmy air of our
own Sunny South.
In addition, the majority Of the
mobilization camps for the fedcrclized
National Guard have likewise bccn es-
tabl.shcd in southern states, and from
these centers also there vii. well up
copious streams of public money. We
have not hitherto taken much 5tock
in the daily horoscope" as we have
seen it from time to time in the
newspapers. But we must admit that
this particular prophecy has made a
ten-strike.
Forbids Letting Contract to Selves
While conccding the ability and
patriotism of the men now donating
their services in the Council of Ma
tional Defense and elsewhere in the
departments, Senator James Brady Of
Idaho thinks it is likely to lead to
charges of graft if men are permitted
to give their work in that way, and at
the same time have the power to al
lot contracts to concerns in which
they are financially interested. For
that reason Senator Brady, wEile the