Page:The history and achievements of the Fort Sheridan officers' training camps.djvu/385

 The other chapters dealt with the mental training of the enlisted man, — his physical condition and his recreation. Some of the contributions made by the delegates for the company to the weekly conference and later to the book showed how great the interest and determination was to play fair with this biggest of all problems.

In their early training the majority of the men realized that if they were to have any success in creating efficient loyal soldiers, it would be in proportion to the thoughtful leadership, the spirit of consideration, the knowledge of their needs and the ability to care for them fairly and adequately.

They came to realize that positive plans for the continuous development of the good spirit of their companies will accomplish far more in the long run than irregular attempts at severe discipline.

Such consideration should not be given as a bait for popularity or as a substitute for intelligent leadership or necessary discipline and training. It should aim to build up a spirit around the commander and within the company which would furnish a wholesome influence to training in teamwork, a splen- did morale for battle, a condition where the failure or delinquency of men will so affect the rest of the company that personal discipline would not be necessary.

Major Christian A. Bach, whose record at Fort Sheridan and afterwards as Chief of Staff of the Fourth Division in France, will always be one of the outstanding personalities of the war in the minds of all the men who served with him, expressed in simple yet imperishable form what a real soldier thought on this subject of leadership.

In perpetuating his great address on Leadership in the records of the Fort Sheridan Training Camp, we believe we are doing a service to many a man who will read it again and who will realize that in times of peace, as in times of war, real leadership requires the very best a man possesses.

Speaking in the Gymnasium shortly before the close of the Second Camp, Major Bach said:

In a short time each of you men will control the lives of a certain number of other men. You will have in your charge a greater or less number of loyal, but untrained, citizens who look to you for instruction and guidance. Your word will be their law. Your most casual remark will be remembered. Your mannerisms will be aped. Your clothing, your carriage, your vocabulary, your manner of command will be imi- tated. When you join your organization you will find waiting for you, or you w^ill receive, a willing body of men who ask from you nothing more than the qualities that will command their respect, their loyalty and their obedience. They are perfectly ready and eager to follow you so long as you can convince them that you have these qualities. When the time comes that they are satisfied you do not possess them, you might as well kiss yourself good-by. Your usefulness in that organization is at an end.

From the standpoint of society, the world is divided into leaders and followers. The professions have their leaders, the financial world has its leaders. We have religious leaders and political leaders and society leaders. In all this leadership it is difficult, if not impossible, to

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