general is the art of attaching his soldiers The men who have often been led t the same leader, learn to look upon hi in the heavens. He is all there is to t ernment, wisdom, forethought and p wonder that they will follow such a man th flood, fighting for his interest as for thei little about those abstract qualities, patriot tice, in the excitement of pushing the fort darling commander! 239. The soldiers of standing armies thu only to be the tools of the tyrant, and the demagogue. Not only may such armies like those of Cæsar, against the liberty o but the degradation of camp life destr dependence of character without whic cannot exist. As the disbandment of an a war is always marked by an increase of crimi people, so the intermingling of soldiers w tends only to public demoralization. NOTES. (a) In 1718, King Frederick William of I of Frederick the Great of that nation, in letters in tutors of his son as to the kind of education they wer Prince, uses the following language: "With his increasing years, you will more and mo especial degree, go upon fortification, the formation of the other war sciences, that the prince may, from yo be trained to act as officer and general, and to seek all soldier profession. This is whither it (his education) You must, both of you, in the highest measure, make i infuse into my son a true love for the soldier busine press upon him that as there is nothing in the world whic Prince renown and honor like the crowd is soldiers to his pers een led to victory! upon him as the s re is to them of gor at and power. W a man through fire for their own, cam s, patriotism and jus the fortunes of the rmies thus become and the dupes of the h armies be turned liberty of the State, fe destroys the inut which freedom after a of an army of crime among the ldiers with citizens iam of Prussia, father etters instructing the they were to give the and more, to a most ation of a camp, and om youth upwards, ek all his glory in the tion) must all tend. nake it your care to usiness, and to im which can bring a would be a despised creature before all men if he did not love it, und seek his sole glory therein."-Carlyle's Frederick the Great, Vol. I, page 357. The armies of Europe on a war footing aggregate 3,810,766-men, in about the following proportions: These are supplied with 10,244 cannon, and 512,350 horses. Moreover, the military system of Russia, Germany and France is such, that the number of trained soldiers in the various reserves, scattered through the country, can be doubled in a very brief time. In Germany every young man owes the State three years of service in the army, and after his discharge he is liable at any time in case of war to be summoned to the field. The result of these military organizations is a more formidable fighting power than the world has ever before seen; but the possession of such power leads to its frequent use. Hardly a decade rolls by, that does not witness a European war. The American gratifies his love for this kind of excitement in the battle of ballots. But in Europe, where this harmless species of fighting is unknown, political events are still decided only by bullets. (b) Louis Napoleon, late Emperor of the French, was a great admirer of Julius Cæsar, whose treatment of his country he imitated. In 1852 he gave eagles to serve as standards to the French army, at a grand military review at Chalons. On this occasion, which he named the "festival of the eagles," he addressed the army as follows: "Soldiers, the history of nations is in great part the history of armies. On their success, or on their reverses, depends the fate of civilization and of the country. When they are vanquished, there is either invasion or anarchy; when victorious, glory and order. In 1:1 emblems of military honor, which sum up in the If civilization in this nineteenth century depends of armies, it would have been interesting to inqui poleon, in exile, whether he deemed French civiliza rior to the German, because the latter were victors 1871? To such absurd sophisms are the minds of driven, who seek to retard civilization by their a tyrannical principles of the dark ages! OF THE SUBORDINATION OF THE MILITARY TO 240. The third proposition in our last 1 "That as the moral strength of the nation lies in gation of individual opinions, thus forming pub or the public mind, so the physical force of the sides in the arms of the people which constitute body. As the mind of a man rules his body, so mind should rule the public body. We have seen that the civil power in the Unit exists only by virtue of public opinion, as exp laws framed by the agents of the people.* also seen how the numerous and complex instit government all move harmoniously, each in its o bound together by the common object, "the good to the greatest number," as the planets are universal bond of gravitation, and we have s peace is the normal condition up in themselves a wh phs," etc. ry depends on the success g to inquire of Louis X nch civilization to be in were victors in the ward e minds of those monar by their adherence to the ITARY TO THE CIVIL ur last lesson was: ion lies in the aggre ning public opinion, ce of the nation reconstitute the public body, so the public the United States , as expressed in ple.* We have ex institutions of in its own orbit, "the greatest nets are by the have seen that rican people. 241. Now would not all this beautiful system and order be thrown into confusion if the army were allowed the smallest influence in shaping the political course of the country? Would not the soldiers interfere at élections, compelling citizens, as in France, to vote to please their commanders? Would not a popular general be able to elect himself Emperor, to override and abolish the Constitution, and thus to destroy liberty in the interest of his own despotism? The history of both Napoleons shows how easily this may be done. 242. To forestall such perils we treat the army as a good servant, but a bad master." We have invented a system whereby, when the defense of the nation requires it, an immense army can be produced at short notice. But when the emergency is over, the soldiers are at once returned to their homes and privato occupations. 243 What then are the peculiarities of the American military system? A. A small regular army, sufficient merely to garrison the forts, protect the military property of the nation, and keep the Indians in check, is always maintained. But the term of enlistment is limited to five years. B. The Federal Government has established a large military academy at West Point, where a moderate number of young men, drawn from the several States in proportion to their representation in Congress, 241. Would not the system and order of American institutions be destroyed if the army were allowed any power in politics? What dangers would result from it? 242. How do Americans treat their army? Have we a military system of our own? 243. State the peculiarities of the American military system? What about the regular army? Ito toma of an ind are educated in the science of war. C. Every individual throughout th D. The Federal Government consta factures and keeps on hand immense q cannon, small arms and military stores kept in its various arsenals throughout the E. Each State has its own militia sys which volunteer companies and regi formed from among the citizens. The these troops are appointed by the Governor State Commander-in-chief. These troops a except when in actual service. But they often enough to discipline them, without ta away from their families or business for that F. Should any riot or insurrection occur to be put down by the Sheriff of the county wh pens, the Sheriff, who is a civil officer, appl Governor for aid. The Governor, also a civ being first satisfied that the necessity exists, o the State troops. If the available power of the be insufficient to enforce the law, he calls u President of the United States for assistanc President, another civil officer, thereupon or regular army to the scene of disturbance. If th C. The citizen's right to keep and bear arms? D. The GOTOR |