Morning journal and courier., 1881-02-14
Price Four Cents.
Prussian Sergeants

D6B6 only is the method of recruiting them excel
 $lent, but the system for keeping them up to S#thelr work and instructing them has been #carefully planned, while the arrangements made for providing them with livelihood
 after they have left the army are most sensi- #bie- No Prussian soldier can, as general
 Arule, get his stripe U7ate1-06zieT unless he sahas served three years as private; whence Sit follows that, as the term of regular service 23for all soldiers is of three years duration sRonly, the Unter-offzier must be man who has Ere enlisted But this re-enlistment cannot al- #ways be effected at will A man may be
 Ssmart soldier, honest and intelligent but it Ndoes not ensue that he will be allowed E8to re-enlist unless he has satisfied his $scaptain that he possesses the special talents @requisite to make a frst-rate sub-officer
 ' Hundreds of admirable soldiers are yearly sSrewarded for exceptional proficiency and 58good conduct by being discharged into the
 preserve twelvemonth on King's leave
 ( (Konig's Urlaub), it is called. Among z these are plenty who would make good mon
 coms.," but who do not care to remain in the
 2serFice, whereas athers who would like to re-
 main and get promotion have not been~ad- x judged worthy of that honor. Every cap- 3$tain (and Prussian captain considers him #self much like the head-master of a schooD
 #takes care to ascertain early what soldiers in #his company desire to make a career Of the #army, and among these he selects the like #guSSo. AL LLlo 0uu OT L06lf three years term
 Sthey become "capitulants, i e., they are &permitted to re-enlist but only for year at 4#a time, though they may renew their enpaee-
 Ement every twelvemonth if the captain so #pleases This very wise provision has the Reflect of keeping the non-commissioned off, &cer continually and briskly up to his work
 sfrem fear of dismissal. His great object His to be allowed to complete his twelve Myears of service, for at the end of that time #he may claim to have good situation pro- $cured for him by the government in civil fife.
 lin Prussia every bank, financial company, #factory. railway company Is obliged by it's #charter to reserve so many situations on it's #staff for men who have been non commis zsioned officers. A list of vacant places is &sent In to the War office every three months I and selections are made from the retired or $retirlng, lists of non-coms with all the dis
 crimination possible. Thus a meritorious Epay-sergeant often steps per saItuna into the
 well-paid berth of bank cashier, while oth- &ers become overseers in factories hotel man. #agers, and so forth. There is great eager
 hess among proprietors of industrial and #commercial establishments to secure the ser #vlces of retired sergeantS, and the places &avallable for these men are generally far in #excess of the number of candidates But a
 non com. need not leave the army at the #end of twelve years. Indeed, after he has | @eompleted this term he is no longer subjected $to the formality of the twelvemonth's en- h. &pleted his twenty-five years service, nor can $ he be dismissed without grave cause, which
 must be stated to him in writing and he must have six months notice The sergeant
 who has served twenty or fve-and. twenty years generally passes after his retirement in- $ to some government berth; he becomes an $upper clerk, station master with officers Srank and pay besides his pension, superin- Htendent of police, chief warden in a prison < &or something of that kind. The State never 8deserts him, but rewards his faithful service { by assuring him an honorable competency till &death.
 All non-commissioned officers, however. : are not obliged to pass through the ranks, for 2 nine schools for 'tnon-coms D have been es
 tablished at Potsdam, Julich, Bibberich, &Weissenfels Ettingin and Marienberg These establishments resemble the military acade- 4mieS for officers, except that the standard of 8education ill them is not so high, while the 8conditions of admission are easier, and no scharge is made of the pupils for instruction, board and clothing. Any young man aged from seventeen to twenty may enter one of 3these schools on passing an examination and provided there be vacancy He then starts upon curriculum which lasts three )years, and at the end of that time, if he Ipasses his final examination with distin- |guished honor, he enters the army with cor lporal's rank in case he has passed but an ordinary examination he is posted to a reei-
 
 about year. No false ambition is encouraged among the pupils of the non-com schools They know that they are not going to become officers, but only sergeant majors at the very most and the education imparted to them tends solely to ground them in their duties as corporals and sergeants Very ar- |duous duties these are, too, as understood in Prussia; and they require great diversity of talents, so that it has never entered the heads of the authorities to recruit the mon coms." exclusively from the schools or en- tirely from the ranks. The mixed system has been found to answer best, and it cer- tainly works as well any human system can. It has provided Prussia with set of non-commlssloned officers who are all thor ough soldiers, splendidly educated, clever, dll1gent and, as regards conduct, unimpeach- able.
 There are three grades of non-coms, s,-the
 'Unter-ofizier, or corporals; the Ser geanten" C tFeuerwerker'' in the artillery. sergeants, and the IF, ldwebel'' or 'sWacht- meister," sergeant-majors. The duties of the corporals consist chiefly in acting as drill masters, supervising the barrack rooms, ,com- squads for fatigues, &c. They have no definitely appointed tasks but are, as it were. the ieutenants or the sergeants on whom the chief responsibility of barrack discipline devolves. The duties of a ser geant, on the other hand, are so multifarious that they would make an English sergeant II, not only must the Prussian sergeant keep general lookout on his men at their drills, in- spect their kits, clothing, etc., but he must supervise their morals and conduct out of barracks. As the code puts it 'sHe must try and ascertain the character of his men, their antecedents and tastes He must find what they do when out of barracks, how they amuse themselves, what company they keep. They must have no money without his know ing 1t, and he may call upon them at all times to make a statement of their pecuniary In plain words. the Prussian soldier IS not looked upon as full grown man, but as a lad in stdtU palpiZIn71 lie is not allowed to have more than two thalers six shlllings) pocket money in his possession 1t time besides his pay; if he have more he must give it up to his sergeant, who will remit it to his captain, by whom it will soldier may require it. The position of the sergeant is virtually that of the soldiers tutor, and he can stand on no false delicacy n the matter of watching over his pupils for ae is himself responsible for their behavior ,o the captain, who is the company's head master. If a private gets into trouble the sergeant Is summoned to say all he knows about him, and if he knows little he is ,eprimanded for not taking sufficient interest in his men. It stands to reason hat under such circumstances ser ,eants must be men of high moral stamina, and so they are. There can be 10 odrunkards, gamesters or debauchees among hem. Having the eyes of whole company m them they must so bear themselves as to ,e above reproach. The Feldaoe5els and
 fdchtnaeSstea's, or sergeant-najors, hold a ligher grade than the sergeants, and have a ilfferent sphere of duties. They do all the Administrative work of the companies, the bookkeeping, mess managing, &c, besides ften commanding at drills. They are
 very superior body of men, nd acquire good deal of re- nement in manners and language trough their frequent contact with officers. But as to that it must be remembered that here is no such thing in the army as a blus ering, cursing sergeant. Foul language yould lead to instant deprivation and even oss of temper would be severely rebuked. officers have it constantly impressed upon them that they must set 2 ood example to their men, and that they nay be stimulated to improve their educa- ion constantly, prizes are awarded annually 9 those who addict themselves successfully 9 useful studies Thus Prussian regiment