The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1918-01-24
Interesting Sidelights on Uncle
Snmuel's Military Activities

cestors left those countries, and came
here to live different Life. But there
is.
We visited one camp where they
had breakfast all ready one morning
and just before it was served orders
came in that the coffee supplied them
for that meal was filled with ground
glass. The men had to go without the
beverage for a number of days on
that account and it was very severe
weather. Do you realize that the Ger
man spy system is as great as many
nations systems? Did it ever occur
to YOU that German officials are IN
closer touch with conditions, including
geographical ones, than you are your
self? Would you believe that those
German bands that traversed practlc-
ally every inch of this country, were
gathering data for their fatherland
We do not doubt any of this and 1T
seems plausible and probable. We are
up against combination that has had
years of schooling in ways that are
military. The law made it compulsory.
We are up against an organization
that ruled with al iron hand. You
know how efficient city organization
is when the power is vested in a very
few men; you may not always agree
with the measures they take to get
their desired ends, but they do not
have to consult the people when they
want to force measure. The
only difference is that over here we
can vote them out of office when their
term expires; over there they cannot.
Most of the men in our national army
have only been in training four
months. But give us years of such
training and make it universal and we
can be pitted against the best on
earth. This talk about a German sold
Ter being better man than an Am
erican is bosh. Given the same
amount of military training, the only
difference would be that the American
would have the edge. In other lines
of endeavor we admit no superior, and
few equals.
But all this talk about long exper-
fence in militarism is not pessimistic.
1t is no indication of weakening be-
fore the test on our part. Let us take
a new sidelight. Perhaps we have
profted much by this three and one
half years Great War. Modern war
fare has new developments every day
and this Anticipated mode Of fighting
goes out of existence bit by bit every
day. And every time something new
is substituted we see it instantly
and profit by it's practicableness; see it
tested and pick out it's virtues. In
that way we are we'll up in much of
modern warfare. The experience of
the belligerents shows many of the
problems to be industrial and United
States stands as an Industrial Nation.
This leads one to the aeroplane-the
Navy of the Air. Who knows but it
will be the deciding factor! Thous-
ands of lives have been wasted in eff
forts to gain advantages on the battle
fronts in this titanic struggle and the
ends has shown but a few square
miles of gain for one side or the
other. 1t has been shown that flyer
can carry as much death and destruc-
ton as an army. Why not great air
armades in a long stream to the front
and cover the top" instead of bodies
of men. We have many manufacture
ing plants, automobile and otherwise
and what's more we have the men,
who have all the characteristics to
manipulate flying machine. And
even more than that-our men invent
ed the aeroplane, so in this feature,
which surely will count, we have
many advantages. Visit one of these
government aviation schools, and see