The daily gazette., 1877-04-03
The Morale of the Army.

On the principal that the nation is hap
py whose annals are dull, one might ar
que that an army that was seldom heard
of might be quite the ideal army for a
republic. Except for an occasional skirm-
ish with the Indians, in which the army
generally comes out second best, and an
occasional apparition in the perturbed
South, in which the army performs fdnc
tion not dissimilar to that of the stage
supes, the army is hardly heard OF; and
yet we have reason to doubt whether our
little army is at all the ideal army. We
are afraid that it does not make up in
efficiency what 1t lacks in numbers, and
in fact, there is room for believing that
we must 60 to such nations as Spain or
Greece to find an army which, in drill,
discipline, and efficiency the men and
military training of the officers, is not i'm
measurably ahead Of ours.
1t is hardly too much to say that during
the past twelve years, during which the
whole science of war has revOlutiorized
our army has learned nothing at all, has
made no progress whatever. The Engi-
neer Corps has done some work in civil
and hydraulic engineering, and for
time the Ordnance Corps carried on some
experiments in gunnery, and here and
there studious officer has kept apace of
the worlds progress in military matters
but the rule has been idleness ..and stag-
nation which are uncomfortable indica-
tions ofignorance and inefficiency. There
is probably not single point in which
one of eur artillery officers Of to-day is
ahead of the artillery officer of twelve
years ago. The same is true of the caval-
ry and of the infantry; the statf has not
been touched, nothing has been improv-
Cd.
If we do injustice. to class Of men
whom we believe to be brave officers and
true gentlemen, we are ready to receive
correction; but the unpleasant fact cannot
be concealed, and 1t ought not to be evad-
ed that the ordinary army life of an of
ficer is one of utter idleness, broken only
by such routine duties as might be per-
formed by a well-constructed automaton
He is fortunate if at the end Of year he
has not forgotten more than he has learr
ed and if he has not drifted, through the
resistless temptation Of ennui and thu
contagion of example into card-playing,
whisky-drinking, and puerile gambling
II he does anything more than this
he keeps his secret astonishingly well
Since he adds nothing to the genera
store of information, 1t is reasonable to il
fer that he has acquired nothing to add
and if he were reproached with making
a very poor return for the amount oi
money wasted on him, he would probabl!
answer that there was nothing, either il
the army regulations, post discipline, o.
orders from headquarters, which requires
him to know anything more one da
than other.
The only other civilized army whic
is content to let its officers wear ou
their lives without ever contributing any
thing to the advancement of their profes
sion, is the English army, but in Englan
at least, the private is taken care of wit
an intelligence which appreciates his cos
and his capabilities. An officer who's
command could furnish forth such slouch
shambling, addressed and untidy pr
Yates as may be seen on the streets OF 81
Louis any day in the year., would
J cashiered in England, and one such az
Iparition in the streets of London woul
be made the subject of seventeen indis
: nant letters to the Times. We shoul
hate to judge of the efficiency of the of
GERS by the appearance OF the men, yet or
cannot blame the men if they do nc
/ even know enough of their trade to loo
like soldiers. 1t is the fault OF the me
| if their looks are the best part of theI
and it is the fault of the officers if Il
men look>as if they had cotton their un
forms from the pawnbrokers aud WEI
wearing them as DISCUSSES against th
, vigilance of the police.