Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-08
The Truth As u Is.

In the information that the generai
staff of the army has at last-see prop
er to reverse itself on the question of
allowing officers and enlisted men TO
correspond with the newspapers, we
find both pleasure and qualification.
We feel gratified because we consid-
er that we have some vindication In
the reversal, we having protested
against such a policy at the beginning
and we feel pleasure because we be-
lieve that full freedom along this line
will make for the highest welfare OF
the army as we'll as the people.
According to our belief. the highest
holiest and most righteous power there
is in the earth below is that Of the
people. BY this, of course, we mean
the will Of the people as the same may
find expression out Of the best ana
most intelligent light available to
them.
There are individual men and wo-
men. perhaps. who are wiser than their
fellows and wiser than any other In
dividual men and women who are more
Just and more righteous than any 9TH
er individual men or women. But
there are no individual men or women
who are either as wise. as just or as
righteous as the whole people ana
none who are as deserving Of consid-
Grafton.
We take no stock whatever In the
idea that any individual or any set OF
individuals by writing, or talking or
otherwise, can mould or shape the real
Judgment Of all the people. 1t Is true
as Mr. Lincoln once correctly put 1t,
that You can fool part Of the peo-
ple all of the time, and all the people
a part Of the time; but you can't fool
all the people all the time" and this
is what we have In mind when we as
sert our supreme confidence in all the
people.
For this idea Of trying to keep en-
listed men and officers from giving
their thoughts and testimony to the
public through the newspapers other
reasons were given; but the real true
reason was a desire to control the
minds and thoughts Of the people from
a fixed center. We will not charge the
whole general staff with that purpose
and we will not charge any Individual
member Of it with an Interior object.
We only have in mind the fact that IN
every walk Of life. especially in higher
intellectual life, there are peculiarly
constituted people who think how per-
fectly the world will wag IL 1t can only
be ordered in accordance with their
own ideas, and some one or more OF
these succeeded in imposing their
views upon the general staff. with the
result of that order that Is now under
discussion.
The absolute coordination Of every
thing military under one supreme head
responsible alone to it's own Judgment,
is the first fundamental Of military
science. And the principal Is correct
one, almost to the uttermost limit.
Possibly there has been a time away
back in the far distant past when 1t
was absolutely correct. But nowadays
there Is an exception. AS great as the
military power may be, there is now
greater power. That greater power Is
the power Of the people.
In the first place. with reference to
this order seeking to prevent publicity
through officers and enlisted men. 1t
has never been effective. 1t could not
be made effective. May as we'll try to
dam a torrent with sieve. II 1t had
been possible to use means that would
have been effective. that effectiveness
would have been only temporary at
best. Eventually the torrent would
have swept away all distractions, and
with the distractions the powers by
which the distractions had been
placed.