The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-04-13
SOLDIER LIFE AS 1T IS.
There is Far More Drudgery Than Glory
in IT.
in It.

greater part of his time to washing
oishes and scrubbing the quarters. If
ne is in Z cavalry regiment he is allow
ed to amuse himself with curry comb
and scrubbing brush several hours a
day.
But probably the sorest experience
that a recruit has is that with his new
uniform. In the old days any old
thing in the way of a uniform was
coed enough, but now the class of men
enlisted take a pride in their appear
ance and prefer any amount Of discip-
line to misfts. But as a rule it is
insists that they get when they enlist.
Under the contracts made with army
:aiiors the Government is supposed to
be supplied with uniforms to tit every
kind of man, but as q matter Of fact
nc recruit has ever been known to be
fitted. l can imagine nothing funnier
than a group of young recruits in uni
forms that leave wrists and ankles
bare, and bulge at the waist enough to
hold another man Of the same size.
trying to conceal their embarrassment.
Of course they are marked men with
the Old-timers, and suffer even more
from their gibes than from the con-
seriousness Of being guys. But as
every company is supplied with a
tailor and they are allowed to draw
cloth as soon as they get to their regi-
ments. they are soon neatly fitted and
respectable. 1t is not until then that
they begin to take the least pride in
their calling or to realize that they are
the equals of the older men. For
what between the relation that they
bear to their officers and the suffering
that they have endured drilling they
arc pretty welf subdued by the time
they are ready to quit the awkward
squad and do guard duty.
"The three months Of drilling that
q recruit generally has to go through
before he becomes a frst-class man is
an ordeal, but it makes a man of him
at least so far as carriage and appear
I'M goes. He comes in, say from the
~backwoods, with Jumps Of lazy fat on
him the size Of my fist and a stoop in
the shoulders that would make an out
slider declare him incapable Of ever
Strengthening. But an old drill SER
geant knows more than that and has
peculiar methods Of his W that work
miracles. 1t is either very hot or
very cold on the parade ground, and
by the time he has been put through
the setting up drill, in which there.
are eighteen exercises, he is half dead,
but the Jumps Of fat roll off Of him
and the stoop goes away, and when he
takes his place in ranks he is lean and
straight, and altogether G soldier. He
complains some while it is going on,
but III the end he appreciates the value
of it and approves Of it as one of the
great institutions Of the service.
There is something remarkable
about the regard that the regulars
have for the flag, and that is one of
the first things that impresses a young
soldier. There is nothing that one Of
them will resent quicker than q re-
Election upon it. 1t ranks everything
and everybody. If a general officer
and Inc flag pass at the same time the
soldier s%alutcs the flag and lets the
general pass unnoticcd. Other people
have their States and Counties, and
and homes, but the soldier in
the regular army has only his flag and
is at home wherever it floats.
"But Che hard work and lack of re-
cognition from his superiors should
not deter "a young man from entering
she army. He may have to wash
dishes, scrub stoves, cut wood, carry
and go through the setting up
drill /; but if he is bright and %intelli-
gent he may earn a commission after
a. while HALF as many private sol
dieEs az West Pointers received COM
missions last year as second licuten-
ants, and the chances Of eventually
wearing shoulder straps are. good
Henry Ward Beecher's Idea of Heaven.
II could hardly wish to enter heav-
en-, did | believe its inhabitants were
idly TO sit by %purling streams, famed
by balmy air."