The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1920-08-11

uplcdfdie come un0nnuunCeN ana we
should waste no time in recognizing
our Mississippi National Guard as the
+ first line troops available for the em-
/ Urgency. It viii be a means too, Of
keeping alive the valuable military
lessons Of the great war and Of pre-
venting a recurrence Of errors COM
United. The term discipline" is in
the minds Of most people a vague
term closely related to "Prussianism
or bearing a great resemblance to
some other undemocratic institution.
The mental picture formed Of it by
the average citizen is that Of a gaily
bedeeked and uniformed individual,
with sword at his side and the art
icles Of war for a shield, abusing a
fellow citizen. This is a most erron-
eous idea of the true discipline. +"
War deals directly with life and
death. Its death dealing agencies are
the most perfect that can be wrought
by the Obstructive genious of man. A
war is most successfully fought when
| it is won with the least expenditure
Of life and money. The object Of all
military training is to obtain this re
suit and when the man-power Of the
nation is modified for war, unity
of action, or team work is first sought,
for that alone brings about superiority
and superiority insures success. Drill
ground discipline and excellence in
maneuver and drill are quickly attain
ed by any group of intelligent citizens
and the casual observer, standing I'M
der a tree or under an umbrella APP
plauds the splendid drill ground ex-
hibitions Of the citizen soldier, He
doesn't see the necessity for the fur
ther continual, intensive training, bur
| il he were viewing the military sit
uation from under a German barrage,
he would have impressed upon him
the necessity for the intensive train
ing.
1t is the habit of dong this s right
that must be largely relied upon, for
the necessary unity of action on the
modern battlefield. In the intensive
training the habit can only be acquir-
ed by doing it again and again, doing
it right, getting the habit.
The normal mind is largely fritter-
ed away by the dread inspiring agen-
cies of the modern battlefield but
team work will still result from the
habit forming attributes of the SOL
dier's training. | trained and fought
through the war, regiment COM
posed largely of citizens from the
city Of Pittsburg. ! insisted upon
this habit forming system of train
ing and prompt response to the or
lers of the officers appointed over
them. | explained to that splendid
body of citizen soldiers, the habit
forming system of intensive training
and even if they did not see the logic
of it, but if they believed in my
earnestness Of purpose, asked them
to respond cheerfully to the training
requirements, until after the first
campaign, then to come to me and
tell me the errors Of the system.
They were busily employed during
two and one-half months of the Meuse-
Argonne, taking objective after OBJ
jective until finally on November /,
1918, they, with all the other units
engaged, pierced the German line and
brought Germany to her knees. At
ter the Armistice / had my first
chance to give them the fullest opper-
tunity to criticise or otherwise ex-
press their disapproval of the system
of their training. | did not hear
then, nor have | seen in the public
press, at any time since, any criticism
or disapproval of system of training,
Of my Pittsburg Regiment. | am con-
WINGED then, that those who went
through the war and saw the neces-
sity for the discipline and intensive
training are not the ones who are
loudest in condeming West Point and
the Regular Army System.
Ask the old Confederate Veteran
about Jackson's Foot Cavalry and he
will tell you that it was Jackson's
West Point system of discipline and
intensive training, that made the Con-
federate operations in the Shenandoah
Valley, a military classic of strategy,
tactics and maneuvers. Forrest and
other leaders of our Southland ac-
complished their brilliant results by
the same system. Russia collapsed
when she removed discipline from her
military establishment. She took
away all respect for constituted au-
lthority, when the soldier was excused
from saluting the officer. The officer
habitually ignored by his men, mani