The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-02-07

are bound 70 be right,
As a Captain ] AN Ia closer toucl
with The mcn than any other Office
possibly can be, Ny Lieutenants cal
oaly carry out my policies They hay,
no right to reward or punish in fact
they are o greater distance from tn,
men than am. ! am responsible foi
the food they eat, for the clothes they
wear, for the shelter they have, fol
their physical condition, their mcnta
and moral viewpoint For, in short
That one thing that spells SO much
their morale. | cannot delegate thi.
|authority to anyone else. As a Cap
tain is, so is his company is an axiom
So ! want to say word to the
parents, wives, sweethearts and
friends of my men, speaking in a gen
aral way for all real captains, who re.
alize that they are more than mere
uniformed order givers. First Of all,
don't waste any sympathy on them over
their hard lot. A real man resents it.
and none Of them need it. They are
well fed, well clothed ana as happy as
they choose to make themselves. They
do not want to be babied, but do like
to be petted and made much of.
II you have troubles at home keep
them to yourselves, and don't let your
soldier boys know about them If you
lose money or the business goes wrong
don't tell him. He cannot help you
get it right Is somebody sick, min
imize it. They will probably be well
by the time you get an answer back.
In the meantime, you have thrown one
Of my men out of his stride, and he
tells me of his trouble and you add to
my burden.
Encourage him in the glorious task
he has undertaken. Call him all the
hero you want to. Tell him when he
goes over the top that he is to think of
you as waiting for him to come home,
but you want him to go over, and
while he is to take the best possible
care Of himself he is never to finch.
] will see to it that he is bathed and
clean, that he is hard and fit. / will
never ask him to go and do it, but say,
Come on and / will show you how |
will try to keep whisky and immortality
from him. ] will know where he is
every hour Of the day or night. In
other words, | will take better care of
him than you did when he was at
home. We have no poolroom hells in
the Army. No street corner gangs.
When the war is over he will come
back to you real man, and, o, how
proud you win be Of him!
I Above everything else, write to him.
Write every day, if it is only a line.
Never mind whether he answers or
rot. We cannot always write. We
nave TO go the limits of human endur-
nee sometimes, the tired body needs
est and food and sleep worse than you
leed q letter. The majority of US are
.oming back, but if we do not, rs one
f my men put it, "who cares" not in
spirit Of bravado or defiance, but on
ne theory that "every bullet has its
'illet," and until get mine am go
ng 10 10 my best to do my bit and
AIRY on 10 the end
Send cigars, pipes, tobacco, cigaret-
es, sweets of all kinds. Every pack
ge you send is divided up with his
quad. You not only help him, but
ossibly someone who has no folks, no.
ody TO send him anything, One of
ne most pitiful sights have to face
to see the man without family or
ONE when the mail is distributed He 1
ever looks up at the yell, "The mail
rderly is here" want you to help /;
i'm. Ask your boy if there is such a
ne in his squad. Send him a line or /
vo.
In all this advice am a bit selfish,
" a happy, contented man is cheer
il, easy to handle, ready to obey and
pleasure to teach. He is a depend
,le cog in the most important ma
line Uncle Sam has, and the only one j,
cannot replace, for every good man
the Army has his work to do, and =
hen one of them is absent at roll-call /,
me can answer for him.--The Chi :
go Tribune.
DORSET HOLLOW