The hateful method called drafting had to be vigorously applied by the
Federal Government after the young men found out what war really
meant—for them.
And Professor John B. McMaster (University of Pennsylvania) makes it
clear that even the hot blood of the young men of the South also cooled
down to an extremely rational temperature as the slaughter proceeded. He
says:[69]
“Quite as desperate were the shifts to which the South was put for
soldiers. At first every young man was eager to rush to the front.
But as time passed ... it became necessary to force men into the
ranks, to ‘conscript’ them....”
In this connection read the words of a great Union soldier, General
Sherman:
“I confess without shame that I am tired and sick of the war. Its
glory is all moonshine. Even success the most brilliant is over dead
and mangled bodies, the anguish and lamentations of distant families
appealing to me for missing sons, husbands and fathers. It is only
those who have not heard a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of
the wounded and lacerated that cry aloud for more blood, more
vengeance, more desolation.”[70]
It is especially important that before you enlist you should get a
distinct idea of the horrible deadliness of modern butchering machinery.
Since General Sherman made the comment just quoted on the American Civil
War the killing machinery has been improved astonishingly.
IN THE RECENT RUSSIAN-JAPANESE WAR INDIVIDUAL SOLDIERS, AS SHOWN BY
ACTUAL COUNT AND OFFICIAL REPORT, RECEIVED AS MANY AS SEVENTY BULLET
WOUNDS,—THEY WERE RIDDLED—TORN TO PIECES—WITH LEAD AND STEEL FIRED FROM
MODERN SLAUGHTERING MACHINES. IF YOU WILL READ ALL OF THE PRESENT AND
THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS YOU WILL NO LONGER WONDER WHY THE “VERY BEST
PEOPLE” DO NOT ENLIST FOR ACTUAL SERVICE—AT THE FRONT.
I would suggest and even urge, brothers, that, before you enlist, you
visit your dear pastor and read with him all of the present section on
“Hell,” and then ask him whether he and his sons will probably enlist
for actual firing-line-sword-rifle-and-bayonet service. Also have a
heart-to-heart talk with your loving friend, your banker, who takes care
of your money for you. Read these paragraphs to him and ask him whether
he is eager to rush to the front and whether he is urging his sons and
sons-in-law to be ready to rush with him to the front for real fighting
into “the grasp of death,” into “the hurricane’s fiery breath,” where
sabres flash, bullets hiss, and cannon roar.
By the way, do you deposit much money in the bank? Do you often visit
socially at the banker’s home? Did you ever see a cheap,
fifteen-dollar-a-month soldier courting the banker’s or the big
manufacturer’s daughter?
Well, hardly.
Wake up, my working class brother.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account