[872]. Treat your men like men, and remember there is nothing that will so completely take the spirit out of a man as to find fault with him when he is doing his best.
Young officers sometimes run to one of two extremes in the treatment of their men—they either, by undue familiarity, or otherwise, cultivate popularity with the men; or they do not treat them with sufficient consideration—the former course will forfeit their esteem; the latter, ensure their dislike, neither of which result is conducive to commanding their respect.
Treat your soldiers with proper consideration, dignity, and justice—remember they are members of your profession, the difference being one of education, rank, command, and pay—but they are men, like yourself, and should be treated as such.
Under no circumstances should you ever swear at a soldier—not only is this taking a mean, unfair advantage of your position, but it is also undignified, ungentlemanly, and unmilitary. It is even more improper for you to swear at a soldier than it is for a superior to swear at you—in the latter case the insult can be properly resented; in the former, it must be borne in humiliating silence.
Remember, that if by harsh or unfair treatment you destroy a man's self-respect, you at the same time destroy his usefulness.
Familiarity is, of course, most subversive of discipline, but you can treat your men with sympathetic consideration without being familiar with them.
In dealing with enlisted men, do not use the same standard of intellect and morals that apply in the case of officers. And remember, too, that a thing that may appear small and trivial to an officer may mean a great deal to an enlisted man—study your men, learn their desires, their habits, their way of thinking, and then in your dealings with them try to look at things from their standpoint also. In other words in your treatment of your men be just as human as possible.
The treatment of soldiers should be uniform and just, and under no circumstances should a man be humiliated unnecessarily or abused. Reproof and punishment must be administered with discretion and judgment, and without passion; for the officer who loses his temper and flies into a tantrum has failed to obtain his first triumph in discipline. He who can not control himself can not control others.
Every officer should study himself carefully, he should analyze himself, he should place himself under a microscopic glass, so as to discover his weak points—and he should then try with his whole might and soul to make these weak points strong points. If, for instance, you realize that you are weak in applied minor tactics, or that you have no "bump of locality," or that you have a poor memory, or that you have a weak will, do what you can to correct these defects in your make-up. Remember "Stonewall" Jackson's motto: "A man can do anything he makes up his mind to do."
The Progress Company, Chicago, Ill., publishes "Mind Power," "Memory," "The Will," "The Art of Logical Thinking" (all by W. W. Atkinson), and several other books of a similar nature, that are both interesting and instructive. "The Power of the Will," by Haddock, for sale by Albert Lewis Pelton, Meriden, Conn., is an excellent book of its kind.