Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-03-27
MESSAGE TO THE MEN IN
CAMP HANCOCK
CONTINUED from last week
FROM bernard suttIer

Served diligently by their snealing
and infamous spies in this country and
advised of the sailing of the great
liner Lusitania they sank that vessel
(by means of q submarine) with the
enormous passenger list, drowning
over 100 Americans mostly women and
children. Bells were rung all over
Germany in honor of that great victory
over innocent and unarmed women
and children.
Our country did not want to go to
war and long correspondence ensued.
The Berlin gang broke every promise
made us, and after sinking 16 ships
where American lives were lost until
the high toll takers" had taken toll
calmly ordered us to keep off the ocean
under penalty of being torpedoed
everywhere and at any time.
Only two courses were open to us.
To acknowledge ourselves a nation Of
yellow ours who would not fight un-
der any provocation, or to fight.
We decided to fight.
How We Must Fight.
We must fight to win. We must ac-
cept no compromises, no negotiations,
no patched up truce which may be
mis- named peace"
We must accept nothing but the
smashing of the Hohenzollern mill
tary machine.
II we must give ten years of time
il we must spend our last dollar-if
we must give one million, two million
three million of our lives, SO be it. We
are in this war to crush this damn
ing monstrosity which is perfectly
willing to pull down the pillars of the
temple of civilization if it cannot have
it's way with the world. Far better for
the American Republic that it and all
its people should perish off the earth
than to continue to exist as the serv-
ant of the Berlin gang and it's Prussian
militarism. Our American history
proves that while we do not seek
quarrels we are pretty good stayers
when they are forced on us.
American men will fight and fight
we'll / need make no appeal to the
men of Camp Hancock for they are red
blooded Americans but / will say that
they fight today for everything that
makes this world tolerable for hui
mainly. We fight for the right to
order our own lives. for freedom for
all nations, for humane action, for
Christian ethics, for Democracy of
every kind in fine, for civilization it
self. The man, who in such cause
will not fight to the last ounce of his
strength and the last drop of his
J
Peace and Discipline.
And now / come to the last and
most important words I have to say
to you we hear much of discipline
III the camps, and it is right we should
for morale is dependent upon discip-
line. But discipline is something big
ger than the manual of arms, or
squads right, or one-two- three -four;
70 discipline is a state of mind. That
80 W ir
ing as it applies to doing your military
duty and | need not dwell on that.
But after we have won this war the
vast majority of you will be coming
back to civil life to take up your
duties as citizens of the Republic. For
those duties you have not the decip
line. the state of mind necessary to
discharge them properly, and that you
are lacking in that respect is the fault
of us OF the older generation who have
failed in our duty to you.
You will learn much by your service
in the war, you will get in some ways
wider views. But at last you and we
older men with you must learn, and
learn quickly the discipline needed to
make us capable of developing a state,
strong in time of peace, a people
strong for defense against aggression
from without and against internal
disorders from within.
Unless we SO discipline ourselves,
unless we get the proper state Of
mind we cannot make the nation
strong in normal peace times, and if
we do not make it strong then what
can we expect when a martial enemy
comes against us
And so let me exhort you to perfect
your war discipline now, and forget
not to lay the foundation for the peace
discipline to be used hereafter.