That the Army is not at all a mere instrument of destruction has been
shown during the last three years. In the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto
Rico it has proved itself a great constructive force, a most potent
implement for the upbuilding of a peaceful civilization.

No other citizens deserve so well of the Republic as the veterans, the
survivors of those who saved the Union. They did the one deed which
if left undone would have meant that all else in our history went for
nothing. But for their steadfast prowess in the greatest crisis of our
history, all our annals would be meaningless, and our great experiment
in popular freedom and self-government a gloomy failure. Moreover, they
not only left us a united Nation, but they left us also as a heritage
the memory of the mighty deeds by which the Nation was kept united. We
are now indeed one Nation, one in fact as well as in name; we are united
in our devotion to the flag which is the symbol of national greatness
and unity; and the very completeness of our union enables us all, in
every part of the country, to glory in the valor shown alike by the sons
of the North and the sons of the South in the times that tried men's
souls.

The men who in the last three years have done so well in the East
and the West Indies and on the mainland of Asia have shown that this
remembrance is not lost. In any serious crisis the United States must
rely for the great mass of its fighting men upon the volunteer soldiery
who do not make a permanent profession of the military career; and
whenever such a crisis arises the deathless memories of the Civil War
will give to Americans the lift of lofty purpose which comes to those
whose fathers have stood valiantly in the forefront of the battle.

The merit system of making appointments is in its essence as