Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-29

should be waxed. and another in l79s
conferripg the right to wear il
exclusively upon grsnadier resi-
ments- But in the armies Of the
FIRST Republic the men had too much "a
DO in the way Of fighting to attend "a
shaving. and only after the advent 70
power Of Napoleon were boards made
subserVient to regulations which were
regularly eodihed in 1888. and have re-
NAMED in force ever since. until the IL
lustrious Camyenon decreed tia, their
enforcsu mt vas "a act Of tyranny IN
consistent with those immortal princi-
pies 10 affirm which Louis XVI. aud
Marie Anioine,te were bekeaded, and
Carrier mounted tie EoyGdSs OF Nantes.
You can form no conception OF the
excitement which this order concerning
boards has caused. nor Of the passion
ate polemic between It's admirers AMI
deiractors IN the army, who air their
respective sentiments IN the ueTspA.
ptrs. over pseudonyms Of coarss. as
10 otfeer, save with the consent Of the
Minister Of War, has q nigh, 70 sign
any article in the press. and the Ria
d.msnthus Of the Rue ST. Dominique
would not be likely to authorize the pub
heation Of anything not entirely in
accordance with his own sentiments.
And Jet, As | state above. there are 50
many other reforms really necessary
which are being neglected. Take, for
example, the matter of subsistence.
Napoleon used 10 say. " When the SOL
der eats, be marches Alas he can
not march well or long with the food
that he gets nowadays. and little can be
expected from him whose stomach con-
talns nothing more substantial than =
meagre soup made out Of dry beans and
tleshless bones. Nor IS it the quantity
so much as the quality Of the ra;ioas Of
which the French soldier most con-
plains. his beef Is coarse, his bread
and vegetables are mouldy and insipii,
and then, too. il Is 80 horribly cooked
ard prepared by such dirty cooks.
whose filthy blouses are in themselves
sufficient 10 inspire disgust and destroy
all appetite it is infinitely worse in
every way than the provender issued 10
the convicts at the peniten,iaries al
Melun and Clairvaux. Here. though, the
fault rests with the officers, who, since
the institution Of the system Of Obliga-
tory military service and the in
ierdiction OF reenlistments, except for
uon-commissioued officers. haze ceased
10 take any interest il their commands.
In the oldeu times the regiment WAS =
sort Of family circle, over which the
Colonel presided, as it were. ps;ernally,
but now, as the men who are here to-
day nay. If ;hey ar good subjects, be
replaced by others to-morroT, neither
the Colonel nor The sub.l,erns care FOR
their wel-being and comfort, beng
somewhat Of the opinion Of that Colo
lei OF one Of cur artillery regiments
before the war. who used = declare
that army life would te the
happ.es, imaginable If Il were not for
those ID soldiers" In the Ehole
French army there Is. 50 f2r a have
been able 70 ascertain. AMI | have seen
a good deal Of II, but oae example Of
soldiers fare which would not na-seats
arr sslfre>pectirg menticant in Ame-
Tica or Ergland. and that one example
IS 10 &c found az Versailles, IN the bar
racks occupied By the ariidcsrs Of the
Tenth company Of artillery. Certa!nl?
these men are no; nillioa2ires they
are 80 IN number who mess together.
and their combined annual bulge; does
not excee.i t3.C00f., which : a. average
daily Of about II cents apiece. and yet
thanks to the intelligent supervision OF
tie officers who command the detach
mert, = very remarkable Improvement
has been obtained. as you can Judge
from the bill Of fare Of two meals
al which / WAS present. and
which. | an assured, may Re taken
as specimens Of what IS slEAys
served up as AZ ordinary: Breakfast
Onion soup. roast beef, potato salad.
Dinner-Roast mutton. beans, salad,
cheese. Lucullus probably would have
turned ID us nose before such rePast,
but can assure you tia; n no other
French garrison can any nearly 50 good
be found. While in no other have the
men a refectory, bu; are obliged TO sit
on their beds and gobble up their VIC
,uals a. best they can. And to a.
complish this not one eentime Of debt
vas incurred. Less than the allowance
spent elsewhere vas, IL fact. expended.
The captain IL command simply argued
with his men that. being men. they
should not live Ike pigs. and the men.
beng intelligent took in the adv-n-
;sges Of reform and lent their hsal
Willingly to the good work until the
installation was completed. I 10 not
kDow whether you will be surprised
when | tell 10 know that ! was
BOT al al surprised when | was il
formeG-that the hierarchical superiors
Of this intelligent officer, on learning Of
the innoyation, memorialized al hoe the
Board Of Control Of the War Depart
ment. and that be, being summoned TO
It's presence, was obliged to justify By
evidence his conduct,
which had been reported As reck-
less and w2nton expenditure Of the
company funds"