Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-03
DISCIPLINE WILL
WIN THE WAR, SAYS
BRITISH OFssTC E,R

pIins of the tzth Huzsars. British
army. /;
The vast auditorium of Converse
College was filled when Maj. Gent
Organ introduced the speaker. But.
many officers had arrived late.
Col. Applin looked at his watch aaE
he faced the audience. ''Tt Is now
| four and a half minutes aftan tent
o'clock" he aaid. "Tf. when you get
| over yonder, you are ordered to 60!
over the top and you start four and:
q half minutes behind the appointed
time, you viii be wiped off the facet
Of the earth. It is much easier TO co.
to lecture than it is to go over the;
top. II you can't get to lecture onl
time, what is going to happen TO youi
| when you get orders to go over the;
top at a certain hour?
1.-THE old adage that time is money
no longer applies. Time is life. It,
is human life. And every day that
we delay here is costing lives over
yonder. Every day that the peopleI
OF America delay backing up the
army that they have sent across.
means the loss of lives In that army
1--WE have come over hero to help
you, If we can. We want to help andl
advise with you, so that you may
avoid the mistakes that we made
the mistakes that the French made,
SO that you will not have to pay the
price that we paid.
There never has been such war
as this. In the summer of 1914 thel
Germans had the most perfect war!
machine the world had ever seen. .It
was not merely an army; it was q
whole nation. 1t was organized and
disciplined. There was not only in~
telligent direction, but there was abb
solute obedience to order all along
the line. / say it was the most per-
feet war machine the world had ever
seen, and it was. You notice that 4
use the past tense. For It is mol
longer the most perfect. We have
just as good discipline, 1t is even bet-i
ter. We do the same things Germans
do. and do them just as well, only
we do them quicker That is the adj
vantage we have and will keep. Andi
It is ths thing you must do, Ii you arel
TO be effective In this war.
s@The Germans think the Unitedi
States cannot have discipline In theirl
army because this is a democraey.;;
The kaiser says he does not fear thei
entry of American army into the war;
because the American army willy
never have discipline. And II thel
kaiser is correct in his view, then II
tell you frankly that the sooner YOU
get out of the war the better.
''The Germans discipline is that
of brute force, but there Is another!
and better kind of discipline. 1t Isl
the discipline of democracy. It isl
founded on mutual confidence and REL
spect between oficeTs and men. Thei
British army has 1t, the French arfnyl
has it. I don't know Just how we
got 1t, but we've got 1t.
Discipline and efficiency mean theE
same thing. Or putting 1t different-i
ly, discipline is the instant and will,
ing obedience to every order, and inl
the absence of an order to what you
believe that order would nave been.I
The obedience must be instantaneouss
and 1t must be willing. Tardy obedi1
cnce Is not discipline, and it can never
bring efficiency. Discipline, instant
and willingly discipline, is a means
to protection OF life, and that Is a.
thing we are striving for as we go
along.
''The man who will win this war,
the speaker continued, will not be
the officer who gives the commands.
but the officer who executes them
This applies to every officer. of every
rank, on down to the platoon COM
mantler Discipline. prompt and will
ing obedience to orders, rests with
equal force upon all of us.
And let me. tell you. you can
neycr lead snen unless you hava
trained thcm. 1t is a great privilege
you young officers have of training
men. You must make them respect
you and love you If you would gel
the full measure of discipline. and
you can do that if you try BegiH
by respecting and loving your men
and observing rigid discipline oil
yourself, and 1T won't be long until
you will find them responding to you
They will give YOU lust as much az