The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1918-02-07
Discipline the Big Idea Nou
in Operation at Camp Pike
Camp Pike, Feb. 2, 1918.

"The new National Army is not
composed of soldiers, but of civilians
dressed up in uniforms"
This remark was made by Colonel
Applin of the British army before
huge audience at the large Y. NJ. Z.
A. auditorium Friday evening. The
audience was composed of non-conl-
missioned officers of the 87th Division
Training camp, and they were there to
hear an address on the subject of
discipline" the backbone principle of
any army.
"Why did not some one get up and
cali him on that statement" you
Immediately say to yourself.
You will remember the account of
the instance some years back, whom
a congressman came storming up to
Frank Eddy, then representative
of Minnesota at Washington, and said:
"The newspapers back home are
charging up false thing to me and
calling me liar. I'll teach them
something for that" Don't do it,"
cautioned Congressman Eddy, 81
started out to clean them up for call
ing me liar once, and Pm damned if
they didn't prove it." The same at
titude will be taken by all thinking
men regarding the initial paragraph
of this article, when you have learned
the stern discipline, courtesy, and ma
chine-like precision of all European
armies. First of all the speaker
dwelt upon the German army. They
have fighting organizations that are
beyond compare, and can only exist in
a country where the government is
ABSOLUTE and an IRON HAND
prevails.
''Do you know" the Colonel said,
"that if the Kaiser believed that the
American people would accept that
sort of discipline, of boss, drive and
brute force, he would sue for peace"
But we must have it here equally as
good, he continued, but l agree with
the Kaiser that they wilrnever accept
it here in land of Democracy. But
, they will adopt as high a grade of
discipline through willingness, and
submission. They will take it upon
themselves to obtain it through diff,
ferent channel. Discipline, he SAID,
was instant and willing obedience to
every order and in the absence of the
order, to what you think it may have
BEEN" Time is the important fea-
ture and if you don't put forth every
effort to inject it instantaneously into
the American army, the efforts are
wasted.
AS he continued, one could not help
but feel that great liberty-loving AM
erica had strayed far off the military
track of discipline. Before me, see
the finest material Cod ever made to
mold soldiers out of, but without
discipline you are like the huge, fine
specimens of animals, that step onto
a track in a gigantic packing plant,
and are drawn into the jaws of death"
he said. Everyone could paint the COM
parison in their minds, and see these
brawny men fling themselves into a
battle on the western front, minus
discipline. You must have it. He
stated that he was here for the ex-
press purpose of instilling it into
mems minds and that if we begin
now it could be accomplished. We
won't agree with him that the Ameri-
can army is without this quality en-
tirely. Since we have been in the
army, we thought it has been too
much in evidence. Still, no one doubt
ed the speaker when he stated that we
were far, far below the standard of
discipline set by all the European
armies. Can we get it? Yes, if we
put the same amount of effort behind
it we have displayed in every other line
. of industry in America.
"Do you know" he continued, chat
if this entire assembly was killed in
battle all at once, its loss would be
a mere drop in the bucket over there ?"
We gazed over that vast assembly and
wondered. The British loss alone last
week was $4,000 This was the price
OF victory, too. What would the
cost of defeat have been? Modern
war, we have but an insight of your
character, over here. We must be
inearnest then. If discipline will help,
Ont dicciplipa No,, o<>,,o -, -; ;. \ c
ficers are the backbone of any army.
Ii you are a non-commissioned of
ficer, then" he said, shave not the
education, the power and will to lead
with tact, Intelligence and ability, you
are weak link in an otherwise strong
chain. Go to your Colonel and tel
him, for Gods sake, to cut the stripes
off your arms. Don't hide behind