The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-23

They have military drill ia the Boston
public schools. and the Society for Physi-
cal Education has been investigating
| IL through a committee of eminent edu-
Gators and experts in physical culture
Colonel THOMAS f. EDNANDs, DIR. DUp-
LEY A. SARGENT and DIR. EDWARD NJ.
HARTwEEL.
The committee reported the other
night. They find that to the pupils
in public schools, the manual of arms
seems to cover only a small portion OF the
infantry drill, scarcely more than just
enough to permit the boys to indulge in
prize drills of questionable value and in
public parades, together with the cere-
monies OF review and dress parade
while to military training in its wider
sense, little, II any, attention is usually
given. This superficial teaching, the
committee finds does not tend to lay
foundation for good soldiers, and does do
physical harm to growing muscles from
the necessarily one-sided movements and
positions Of the work with the muskets.
The committee commends the marching
movements, the soldierly attitude required
and the habits OF obedience incuIcated,
but contend that these could be secured
without the so-called military drill.
The report concludes with the follow
ing deductions and recommendations,
which are worth the consideration of
those advocates OF the introduction OF
military drill In Providence:
SIN all well-trained and efficient mod
ern armies the ends are secured by in
struetion and practice I'm less technical
and more generalized forms of systemat-
lied exercise, known as military GYM |
nastics, which include the so-called set
ting up exercises, (which are free move |
ments, pure and simple, gymnastic exer- |
cises, IN which the piece is used as hand
apparatus, gymnastic exercises with or
upon ordinary gymnastic machines, and |
applied military gymnastics for escalad- |
ing and otherwise overcoming obstacles. |
"Any one of the forms of military gym
nastics mentioned above is better calcu- |
lated to develop the general and profes- |
sional forms of bodily control required of |
the soldier than is the narrowly technical |
form OF exercise termed the manual OF |
arms. Ihe full value OF the special train |
ing whereby a marcher and marksman Is |
developed out OF raw recruit depends
very largely upon the thoroughness of |
the preliminary drill OF the recruit in |
N n ttCe mi n
nasia and specially trained gymnastio |
instructors are provided Tor the general |
and special physical training of the rank |
and die OF the leading armies of Eur ope,
e. e., the German, French and British,
as well as the Danish and Swedish.
"The value of any Of the forms of drill |
at present employed in the so-called mill
tary Training OF American high school |
boys would be greatly enhanced IL 1t were |
based upon thorough preliminary course |
In general and military gymnastics. |
At present the American school |
cannet get e. smn1s' TSs lack ,aaiams O ahog
ough and genuine gymnastic train
ing, such as is common in the leading |
military states of the world, but which is |
not well organized in any city in the |
United States canot be made good by |
drill In the manual OF arms, and the cere-
monial evolutions belonging to parade |
and review.
This committe holds that the interests
OF sound military training and OF rational
physical training demand that an effec-
tual substitute for the musket and the
OF arms be sought.
1T is the opinion of this committee
that all instruction relating to the musket
should be eliminated from the military
drill commonly taught to scboolboys in
order that the militia recruit may be prop
erly instructed In the use OF the musket
alb initio, and that the schoolboy should
be drilled In the use OF the quarter staff,
or the bar bell, or the gymnastic wand,
and be further drilled in the use of the
siugle sfick - |