best kind, supplying the needs of peaceful life, building railroads,
encouraging the things that help a people upward and onward. To the
young men of California, Hawaii and the Philippines offer every chance
for daring, energy, and invention. If to honesty and energy there be
added a speaking knowledge of the Spanish language, there lie before the
youth of the Pacific coast the finest opportunities for active,
successful lives.

As soon as President McKinley issued his call to arms for the Spanish
war, the men of California responded with a rush. A large number of
those who had enlisted were hurried to San Francisco, where the military
authorities were quite unprepared to furnish supplies. For a day or two
there was real suffering; then the Society of the Red Cross came to the
rescue, and thousands of dollars' worth of food and blankets were sent
to the camp. As soon as the always generous people of San Francisco
comprehended the state of affairs, there was danger that the hungry
young soldiers would be ill from overfeeding.

The twenty-third day of May, 1898, is a day to be remembered in the
history of our country, for on that day went out the first home regiment
from the mainland of the United States, to fight a foe beyond the sea.
When the twelve companies of California Volunteers marched through the
city from the Presidio to the docks of the Pacific Mail and Steamship
Company, two hundred thousand people accompanied them. So hard was it
for our peace-loving people to understand the real meaning of war that
it was not until the brave lads and earnest men were actually marching
to the steamer which was to carry them thousands of miles to meet danger
and death, that many quite realized the sorrowful fact. Men cheered the
regiment as it passed, but the sobs of the women sometimes nearly
drowned the hurrahs. Said one officer, "It was heartrending. If we had