Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-10-29
GERMAN SOLDIERS.
The Way Soldiers Are Disciplined I'm the
German Empire.

The Way Soldiers Are Disciplined in the
German Empire.
heard good deal of martial music
while at Rastadt. "Drums and flies
were beating in the street with rat-ta-
tat, ta-raha-tat-tat; drums and flies
were all the 60, for everybody was out
as sojer.' Some such noise as that
was my reveille the morning after my
arrival, and when jumped out of bed
to see what was up, 10. under my win
dow was passing battalion of infantry
on its way to the drill ground; and how
we'll the men marched, to be sure. No
troops could keep step more accurate
swinging strides Every foot was was
lifted quickly and just high enough, all
heads were held up straight, and the
battalion as it moved down the street,
reminded me of a coat of chain armor,
all the links being closely knit and very
strong. and vet the whole light and
supple. These Germans can get over a
bit of ground when they start out or
the march. The stride of an infantry.
man is about thirty-one and one-haH
inches, and their cadence 112 to the
minute; that of an English ''Doughboy''
is thirty inches stride and a cadence of
1l6, and that of United States soldier
at least it was when | lived at home
is twenty-eight inches stride and
cadence of ninety in common and no in
quick time. You see the German in
fantry would gain almost mile on
us Americans every hour. The French,
who are VIGOROUSLY short-legged, beat
us on the march. They step twenty
nine and half inches at cadence of
115 to the minute, but. l must admit
it, they carry great deal more
weight than our men do. So, too.
do these Germans. Of course, there
are few things which a soldier
ought never to be separated from. as,
for instance, his cartridges. his mus
ket, his haversack and canteen, and
his knapsack, but then the knapsack
ought to be reduced to the smallest
possible compass. After a man has
carried it day after day, as so many
of US in the North and South did dur
ing the "wah,' through long and
weary marches, he will find it sufficient
lv burdensome, no matter how light
it was packed at the beginning of the
forward movement.
Having dressed myself, I ran after
the soldiers, and followed them to the
Place d Armes. l fell into step; natur-
ally couldn't help it. The drums and
flies of these Badeolse troops said ''hay-
foot, straw-foot, and now you've
got it, you keep it, left, left, Left just
as plainly as though Pete Cunningham
was shouting it at me.
The first thing that struck me when
arrived where the troops were hard at
work was the close attention being
given to individual instruction, to bayo-
net drill and to gymnastic exercises.
All the "greenhorns' were being drilled
one by one by non-commissioned
officer; each fellow was kept at it for a
long time, and his work was criticised
and carefully corrected if made i'm
properly. All drill was. however, under
the eye of lieutenant. but he said
nothing. German soldiers are under
remarkable discipline. The German
laborer or the mechanic, as well as the
peasant, is of patient, phlegmatic
disposition, and his sluggish mind
is easily bent to discipline. Ac-
customed to life of hardships,
they support the labors and fatigues
of war almost without a murmur
and obey mechanically without refec-
ton. Moreover. they are ruled with
an iron hand, the social difference as
we'll as that of rank between COM
mon soldier and an officer being far
greater than it is in any other service.
The soldiers of France, animated by
the general warmth of their climate and
their VINE, are dry. small in body,
strong of sinews, and of lively magma
ton. They are quiet, active. suscepti-
BILE of enthusiasm. and march with
great rapidity; but they are sadly lack
ing in discipline, and can only attrib-
ute this great fault to the reckless
chauvinism. political absurdities and |
increased consumption of that poison
Gus drink called absinthe that seem to
be such important factors in the service
of that country. - Carlesrhue (Bade')
Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.