The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-11
PHYSICALLY SOUND
QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR
ADMISSION INTO THE ARMY.
Few Men Who Can stand the Tests Re-
CURED by the Regulations Govern
ing Admissions to the Ranks
of Uncle Sam.
cincinnati Enquirer.I

fCincnnati Enquirer.l
A couple of Notwithstanding dudes were
feeling each others muscle and discussing
their own good points, in the hearing Of G
third party, at the rooms last Thursday
morning, and after enduring it as long as he
could, the latter paralyzed them with:
"Bet you the cigars neither of you can
pass the physical examination which every
man in the United States army has to
undergo before he is enlisted in the ranks u
"It's go, deah boy, it's a go. But no sto-
gies, please, as thou lowest me-genuine
Henry Clays."
"All right. We will walk down TO the re-
cruiting Office right now and settle the mat
ter"
Capt. Callinan, the recruiting officer at
this post, is a gentleman, and when the mat
ter was explained to him, he was perfectly
ready to put the dudes through their PAGES
Before beginning the examination, how
ever, he wanted it distinctly understood that
he would give his decision precisely as
though the men were genuine applicants,
without bias in either direction, and hoped
that whatever the result might be there
would be no hard feelings entertained
against him.
certainly not, my dear captain; Ger.
tainly not. We are under obligations to
you, awfully," chirruped one Of the contest
ants, who was standing in the doorway,
where the captain eyed him quizzically for
a minute.
Il am glad to hear you say that" said the
captain at last, "because-now remember I
am treating you as 1 would bona fide ap-
plicant-because in your case 1t is useless for
the examination to proceed further. Your
name would be entered on my books fol-
lowed by the words, Rejected Cause, un-
symmetrical legs"
The statement was a crusher, but there
was no appeal from it as the captain showed
by producing the laws of the United States
governing admissions TO the army, that
bOw-legs are bar against the enlistment of
a would-be soldier. The laws plainly state
the amount of curve admissible in pri-
Yates lower limbs, and the dudes tight
trousers showed that while he could not
hold barrel comfortably bet ween his knees
when his feet were together, the space there
was altogether beyond the limit set by law.
After satisfactorily passing an examine
ton as to the height, weight (which must
be 10 pounds) the chest measurement mot
less than thirty-three inches at expirationl.
the second man was required to tell the
number Of spots on three inch card held
at a distance Of fifteen feet. There were
four black spots on the card, but he calmly
stated that it was an ace.
SWELL, tell me how many are on this one.n
and he held up a ten-spot This was de-
clared to be an ace also; but when it was
held directly before his eyes he plainly saw
what 1t really was. The verdict in his case
was, of course, rejected; defective vision"
"You must not be surprised that you did
not pass the examination" said the captain.
"Four men out of every FIVE are troubled
with some physical ailment, whether they
know it or not Only a short time ago I
was compelled to reject a man for color
with which he was afflicted to a
gerry severe extent, although before he came
to me he had no idea OF his falling. That
man was railroad engineer, and for all I
know to the contrary he is running an en-
CINE to-day; and yet he could not detect q
'ed card from a black one at a distance of
-en feet. 1t is a mystery to me how he
passed the examination required of en-
yineers.
'fSif joints and defective vision are the
omm onest causes of rejection, and almost
the victim has no idea Of his
ailing until It Is proved here by actual test.
The physical standard for admission to the
rmy is only high enough to insure the gov
rnment in getting sound men; but it is far |
igher than obtains among the masses Of |
men in Cincinnati to-day. Do not take |
ny word for it, but look at the books Here |
record Of all applicants, together with
be reflections and aoceptances."
At a curSory glance the reflections seemed |
} outnumbsr the others four to one, some
the causes being given below just as they
ERE copied from the captains book:
'Defecttve vision; Yaricocsle; defective
seth; weak ankles; under weight; unsyn-
letrical legs; color blindness; poor phys
Iue; impaired vision; defective feet; de-
Ictive hearing; stiff joints, and SO on for
olumn after column. proving. conclus-
ely, that unsound men are the rule
ather than the exception.
SIn community which can be considered
loroughly healthy, the captain went on,
of the men should be able to
and the tests required by our laws. Men
,untPy born and bred are generally
salthy, while city <men are sound
about the proposition of one to
ur or FIVE I sometimes tell my
If that we will presently have no
en- in our cities, and am especially gloomy
hen L have examined long list Of appli-
nts and only found two or three good men
nong them. The reason for this decadence
the surface. It is not necessary to
udy the subject very deeply in order to
low that no man can retain his health
ithout more or less exercise for all his
uscles. Able-bodied men who have spent
e day seated at their desks pass to and
ON their homes seated IN street-cars. In
lgland and on the continent men pIav
It-dOoP games when their work is done. In
lnerica we pay half dollar to watch our |
vorite baseball club play for us Com
ent is unnecessary"
Flirting with a Princess.
TOndOp ettar