Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-12-21
THE STANDING ARMY.
Advantages of skeleton Organization
Capable of Instant Expansion.

Advantages of u Skeleton Organization
Capable of Instant Expansion.
The stereotyped criticism against the
American army is that it is topheavy
with rank and that the officers have not
enough to do to keep them busy two
hours out of the twenty-four. This
prejudice, like most others, is founded
on ignorance. The plan of the army
is that Of a skeleton organization, AL
though not larger than asingle division
in European army, it could expand
itself in week into vast body of half
million men. The Government, re.
alizing that officers are not made i'll a
day, educates great number of them,
ready for any emergency; and, wiser
than the Governments Of Europe, in
stead of buriening the taxpayers with
hundreds of thousands of private sol.
diers, merely provides the officers and
the organization, relying upon the peo.
pie to fill the ranks in the time of need.
Three-fourths of the private soldiers
are of foreign birth. The native-born
American has an invincible objection
to touching his cap whenever he meets
an officer, and forever wearing uni
form that makes him an inferiOr-for,
as in all countries where military serv-
ice is voluntary, the chances are iniln-
itesimal of q private ever becoming a
commissioned officer, The practice of
officers using the soldiers as servants
for themselves and their families, while
it is utterly indefensible, is not so hard
on the soldier as it appears. If he is a
foreigner he takes it as matter OF
course, and if he is an American he
usually passes too much of his time in
the guard house to be available for
much domestic duty.
These drawbacks and imperfeotions
of military life are common everywhere
and under all circumstances, but to
offset 1t are many agreeable features
confined almost exclusively to military
life. In the outer world men are usu-
ally divided into two classes-those
who have time and money to cultivate
the graces of society and are of very
little account for any thing else, and
those who do the worlds work and are
thereby debarred from studying the
humanities, as the old-fashioned people
say. Army men, on the contrary, are
both men Of affairs and men of society.
They may be idle without discredit,
and accomplished without being use.
less. The whole tone of army society
is to elevate merit above money, Rank
is every thing, and although a man
that toadies to a Major-General can
not be very superior person, he is
usually little above the man who
toadies to millionaire. As regards
the fancy of young women for the mil
itary, it is as old as time itself. 1t may
be called relic of barbarisme dating
back from the time when warrior was
the highest type of manhood but old
Sam Johnson told Roxy the philo-
sophie reason for 1t, SOLDIERS, " said
he, represent bravery. Courage is
their profession. Anyhow the aver
age girl is happy when surrounded by
cloud of Second Lieutenants, and few
of them, after one brief glance Of life
at a military post, will stop short Of
marrying a cavalry officer and going
put to Montana to live on sedge grass
and Second Lieutenant's pay.-Cor.
Albany argus.