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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



when he contemplates desertion. The 

 guns of a firing squad executing the death 

 sentence — for death may be the penalty 

 for desertion in time of Avar — would be a 

 relief the woebegone recruit believes. 



Once safely past this term of trial, and 

 the new soldier finds life a succession of 

 interesting and instructive movements. 

 He begins to look around him. trying to 

 appraise his companions and those awe- 

 some persons, his officers. He soon finds 

 that his companions are of the same pat- 

 tern as the folks back home, and he grad- 

 ually comes to realize that his officers are 

 vitally interested in his welfare and com- 

 fort. 



Work he must, for the making of any 

 army under high-speed demands, leaves 

 little time for loafing, either on the part 

 of soldier or officer. This work is out of 

 doors. It has some of the elements of a 

 game, and the recruit soon perceives the 

 pleasure of executing the drill with ac- 

 curacy and precision. And when the drill 

 periods are over, he comes to his ample 

 and wholesome meals with a zest that 

 testifies to the daily betterment of his 

 physical condition. By the time his uni- 

 form is given him he feels germinating 

 within him the first seeds of pride in him- 

 self, his company, his country. 



DEVELOPING REAL AMERICANISM 



That is the outstanding feature of this 

 selected army, the rapidity with which 

 the men develop pride in their American- 

 ism. It may be that here in Virginia this 

 virtue is present in a higher degree than 

 elsewhere, but under any circumstances 

 its presence is the strongest proof that the 

 whole idea and principle of the National 

 Army is justified. No one can come into 

 contact with the sturdy Americanism of 

 the men gathered in any cantonment 

 without feeling confidence and pride in 

 the future of our country gained in no 

 other way. 



And that is the result of all this social 

 and economic revolution brought about 

 by the creation of a National Army. It 

 turns the youth of the country into better 

 Americans. Patriotism develops through 

 the atmosphere of the cantonment. It is 

 practical patriotism, too, as has been 

 proved in the way the new soldiers have 



bought the latest issue of Liberty Bonds. 

 That the men of the National Army give 

 back to the government part of their 

 pay is tangible proof of their approval 

 of the draft and its consequences. They 

 have had the time to test some of the 

 results of this country-wide sacrifice. 

 Today the selectman is the staunchest 

 advocate of military training-. He has 

 learnt the moral value of discipline. The 

 physical benefits he has gained are shown 

 in clear eyes, flexible muscles, and up- 

 right carriage. 



PATRIOTISM XO LONGER A LIP SERVICE 



But more than these is the spiritual 

 force that lives and grows in the breasts 

 of the soldiers of the National Army ; the 

 value of that force, in the future ad- 

 vancement of Americanism, cannot be 

 totaled in dollars and cents. Patriotism 

 is no longer measured in lip service. Woe 

 to the crafty politician who outrages this 

 spirit now engendering, in the hearts of 

 the nation's soldiers by ranting reference 

 to our country and our flag. Men of the 

 new army feel as they never before felt 

 the soul appeal of those words, which 

 have become truly sacred. 



\ irginia, with so many historical asso- 

 ciations as background, is fitting soil for 

 the growth of this new spirit. Camp Lee 

 shelters men of the finest type of Amer- 

 icanism the United States can boast. The 

 training these men receive, the work they 

 do, and the thoughts of what lies before 

 them, make for a strong realization of 

 ideals heretofore but vaguely felt. These 

 ideals are crystallizing into a national 

 consciousness ; for what develops here 

 in Camp Lee must develop through the 

 same motive agencies in all the other 

 cantonments throughout the United 

 States. 



\\ ith this quickening. of spirit in over 

 a million of the youth of the country will 

 come a pride of race and a sense of na- 

 tional honor that will make the men of 

 the new army worthy guardians of that 

 liberty bequeathed by our forefathers. 



And when the last sacrifice is de- 

 manded these men will willingly make 

 it, knowing that, both as Virginians and 

 Americans, it is their privilege to die that 

 liberty may spread throughout the world. 



