Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 178, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1917 — HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS

(Issued by the War Department and all rights to reprint reserved.) Thi* course of thirty daily le»»on* is offered to the men selected for service in the National Army a* • practical help in getting started in the right way. It is informal in tone and doe* not attempt to give binding rule* and direction*. The*e are contained in the variou* manual* and regulation* of the U. S. Army, to which thi* course is merely introductory.

LESSON NO. 2. 5 MAKING GOOD AS A SOLDIER.

The National Army, in which you are to take your place, truly expresses the American character and ideals. It is a great democratic army. It includes men of all A degrees of wealth and education, chosen through fair and open selection by lot. All are brought together on terms of equality. There has been and there will be in this great National Army no favoritism and no “pull.” The poor man will drill side by side with the man who has been raised in luxury. Each will learn from the other. The place each man makes for himself will be determined by his own work and ability. DEVELOPING SOLDIERLY QUALITIES. The question as to whether it is better to join the colors now or with a later contingent is not worth arguing since the decision has been made for each man by lot. An ambitious man, however, will be glad to join now. It gives .him a better chance for promotion. The commissioned officers of the first contingent are picked men who have voluntarily gone through the hardest kind of training. The officers of later contingents will be drawn largely from the men enlisted in the first contingents. There is plenty of opportunity here for every man to use his brains and his energy and to earn promotion according to his worth. This does not mean easy or quick advancement. It means only that you will have your fair chance —and you would ask for nothing more —to develop yourself and to climb upward step by step. . „ In order to make good in the National Army you must, first of all, fit yourself to carry with credit the simple title of “American CitizenSoldier” —one of the proudest titles in the world. This means that you must develop in yourself the qualities of a soldier. The more quickly and thoroughly you cultivate them, the greater will be your satisfaction and success.

s THREE BASIC QUALITIES. There are three basic qualities, without which no man can be a real soldier even though he may temporarily wear a uniform. They are: Loyalty Obedience, Physical Fitness. A man without these qualities is in the way and is a source of weakness to an army, both in the camp and on the field of battle. The Articles of War of the United States set forth the military crimes which z are punishable by heavy penalties. Among these crimes are .desertion, cowardice, insubordination, drunkenness while on duty, sleeping while on duty as a sentinel, disclosing the watchword and giving aid or comfort to the enemy. Run over this list and you will see that every one of these military crimes can result only from the absence, of one or more of the three basic qualities of a soldier.

—LOYALTY A soldier’s loyalty governs, first of all, his feelings and actions toward his country, his government and his flag. There can be no such thing as half-way loyalty. The slightest compromise opens the door to treason. But a soldier’s loyalty does not stop here. s It governs also his feelings and actions toward the army and toward all the officers under whom he serves. It absolutely forbids disobedience among both officers and enlisted men, or disrespect toward those in authority. Going a step farther, loyalty governs also the soldier’s feelings and actions toward his own regiment, his own company and _his own squad. Without this form of loyalty there can be no real comradship; without it you will never feel that personal pride and satisfaction in the service which should mean so much in your army life.

OBEDIENCE The second of the soldier’s basic qualities is obedience, based on discipline. Without obedience and discipline an army can not long continue to exist; it will quickly degenerate into an armed mob. As the Infantry Drill Regulations put it, discipline is “ the distinguish!ng mark of trained troops.” . .... Frequently the recruit, with his inborn dislike of being bossed, makes the mistake during his first few weeks in the army of resenting the fact that immediate and unquestioning obedience is require dos him. He quickly learns, however, that obedience enforced throughout the army is in all situations the chief safeguard of the rights, the comfort and the safety of every man, from the raw recruit to the commanding general. It is a guarantee that the small number of unruly or cowardly men to be found in every group shall be kept in check and forced to comply with rules made for the benefit of all. Military discipline is always impersonal. Obedinece is required not merely of you, but of every man m the army. It is required of officers by superiors with fully as much strictness as it is required of you. It will become your duty, whenever you are given authority over other men, to demand from them the same full measure of obedience that others will require of you. . Discipline is not only essential in developing the army, but also in developing your owrf character as a soldier. “The soldier who is by nature brave, will by discipline become braver.”

- PHYSICAL FITNESS The third basic quality, physical fitness, is so essential that a large part of the time devoted to your training will be spent in building it ud. Physical fitness includes not only muscular development but good health and endurance as well, it is a quality which every man who passes the physical examinations can develop in himself by reasonable care and by obedience to instructions. , —w^^**■—**—