252 WARFARE IN THE HUMAN BODY 



line and take the place of the Company Officer. This 

 may remind you of what I have just said of a muscle 

 being directly stimulated by electricity. I can give you 

 a curious example of this which happened at sea in a 

 merchant ship. Organization in such a vessel is always 

 rough and ready, but still it is organization. In very 

 bad weather, when going aloft is highly dangerous, the 

 men sometimes will not move for the second mate, whose 

 duty it is to lead them when they are ordered aloft. In 

 this particular case they refused to follow him. It was 

 blowing a hurricane, and it was necessary to cut away 

 a topsail rather than stow it, because to have started a 

 sheet would probably have brought the topmast about 

 their ears. When they refused to follow the second 

 mate the mate attempted to lead them. One or two made 

 a motion to follow him, and were actually dragged back 

 by the others. Then the old skipper, a white-haired man 

 of over sixty, came down from the poop, and without a 

 word climbed on the rail. Just as he was about to put 

 his foot on the ratlines the men with one accord rushed 

 after him, pulled him down, and went aloft themselves. 

 You see they succumbed to the greater stimulus when they 

 had failed to move for the less. 



Perhaps I may venture here to say something to you 

 about the men who will be under your command. They 

 will become much to you and you will be much to them 

 if you have in you the power of command, which is the 

 nervous force of organization. There are many ways of 

 doing things. With men the means are love and fear. 

 Your men should love you, and they will probably express 

 it by saying, " Oh, the officer's all right ! ' You can, 

 of course, if you have the power in you, make them fear 

 you. That is one way of working, but if you make them 



