Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-14
DISCIPLINE AFTER THE WAR

Our government is having the difficulty which other
governments have experienced in maintaining military
discipline among cvilian-soldiers when the need for
discipline does not impress itself on those men. This
difficulty is always experienced among men who have
gone to war on a special occasion. and for a specific pur-
pose, when they are unable to understand how the mat
ter Of discipline can affect the pending issue, or when
the thing for which they fought has, in their estimation,
been accomplished.
The colonial soldiers Of the revolution were taken
from the farms and. plantations, from the counting
houses and industries Of the embryo states. They were
not soldiers, and most of them had no intention Of be-
coming soldiers longer than was required for the work
of establishing. their independence. OF military. discip-
line they knew nothing. A good many of them failed to
learn. To be A. w. Q. L. (absent without leave) was a
common practice. The settler who has Joined the col
onial army was quite likely to return home at his own
pleasure, and. perhaps, after getting in his crops or at
tending to his live stock, he would return to his regiment
cut out for him, and Washington was often at his wits
end because he could never tell whether, on the morrow,
he would have an army or not.
More strict discipline prevailed in the civil war.
There was laxity among the green troops at first, but the
conditions at no time approached those of the revolution
airy war. But IN the closing months of the war, when
the contest was known to be practically over, the men
wanted to go home. They had won that for which they
had fought and they saw no reason why they should
longer remain in an army organization for which they
had no taste. Many thousands Of men who had served
faithfully and fought nobly through the whole four years
deserted rather than wait a little longer to be regularly
mustered out. g.
We are having just now, on a large scale, and in a
more strongly accentuated manner, of the conditions i'm
mediately following the civil war. Technically and oflc-
tally the war is not over. But it is taken for granted by
most people, in and out Of the army, that the war really
ended on the 18th day of last November. Our men went
into the service having in view the immediate purpose
of whipping Germany. When the terms of the armistice.
involving practically unconditional surrender on the part
of Germany, were accepted, it was felt that the military
purpose had been won. There remained no more hehtine
to be done. The rest would be attended to in conference
by the high officials Of the interested countries. The
work Of the army was done.
That is the manner in which the subject was re-
garded almost universally, and inevitably this conviction
had its effect on the discipline and morale of our citizen
soldiery everywhere. Ofacers are today having the hard.
est work in their experience. That which spurred the
men on to energy and effectiveness had disappeared. and
not a few units which gave splendid account Of them
selves in battle. and in all the work leading up to it are
actually In danger Of disintegrating under the conditions
of peace.