Show t d Is With Snail Too Says Preacher A q N r t A r t I S V V f f S Sr r 1 F r i V Vw T 4 34 w s By Jy The Rev Charles Stelzle It has always been thought clever by some people to say with say with variations varia varia- that that God is on the side of the army with the strongest battal battal battal- ions And theres there's some truth in this bit bitof bitof bitof of satire saUre But this doesn't necessarily mean the army which has the greatest greatest greatest great great- est number of battalions is best or strongest History both sacred and profane has proved small bodies of ot otmen men are sometimes more powerfully effective in battle than than great great armies ar ar- mies Theres There's the classical with which found in Gideons Gideon's victory everyone who eyer attended Sunday school is familiar and upon which is founded the Christian Commercial Travelers' Travelers association known as The Gideons Gideons' the order which has platen Bibles in the rooms of ot practically every hotel in America Three factors entered into the vIctory victory victory vic vIc- tory of Gideon First remarkable i leadership second a limited group of picked men and third unusual strategy Gideon d dared red destroy the idols worshiped worshiped wor wor- by the Israelites though the themen themen themen men of the city threatened him with I death ca so of ot it H Ho was just I Ithe the man raan for for this kind of a a task And I when he determined to go out against I the and called for volunteers volunteers volunteers volun volun- Israelites responded i But many were fearful and trem trem- bling Gideon sent them back to their homes bomes and departed There were to be no faint hearted men in Gideons Gideon's army Finally of tl the e o who remained only were selected by the famous test of being brought down to a stream anI Only those who lapped up the water putting putting putting put put- ting their hands to their mouths were chosen the chosen the rest of them got down upon their knees to drink I The Tho were divided into three thre companies Gideon supplied them I with trumpets and empty pitchers with I torches inside It was practically I making malting each one of ot them a leader 1 The story goes that Gidean and his I i band surrounded tho camp at night I 1 and blew the trumpets They broke in pieces the pitchers which were in their hands and holding bolding the torches in their left hands they cried The sword of ot Jehovah and of Gideon Gideon Gid- Gid eon And while each man stood in his hits pl place ce around about the camp and shouted the host of the became panic stricken and ran and andin andin andin in the darkness began destroying one another Whatever the miraculous element may have been in this tills event tt there ere is no doubt that this remarkable victory victory vic tory was based mainly upon th the z Y of the leader and the process process pro pro- cess of selection by which the were gotten together and the brain brainpower brainpower brainpower power put into the fight by the tha leader and his famous After all this is what will win out in every war There is much in military military military mil mil- equipment but other things being beIng being be be- be- be ing equal it is the personal element which counts for most It is not too much to say that the themen themen themen men being sent to the trenches in France by the United States are p pf pt this type We are not sending a mob we are sending men who have tain tamp qualities which make them superior superior su superior su su- to the machine trained men of Germany In this we ve may find tind in in- |