The Indianapolis journal., 1898-06-19
THE REGULAR SOLDIER
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC
OF AMERICAS TOMMY ATKINS.
Physically Fine Animal, Morally
AmenabIe to Discipline, Spiritually
a ChiId-Has Opinions.

Tampa Letter in New York Commercial
Advertiser
The assembling of tents in Tampa affords
the biggest opportunity since the civil war
to see what the army is like. Not since
the civil war has so large a collection of
regulars been gathered together. The first
impression is that they are splendid lot.
To the republican who comes to Tampa
cherishing the careless notion that our reg
ular establishment has been the refuge OF
the criminal and the vicious, the impress
sion derived from the regulars here is a
constant source Of surprise. Count Get
zian, the Germany military attache, now in
Tampa, says, for one, that the United
States army, SO far as it goes, is the finest
in the world
Who are the enlisted men? In the first
place, they are Americans. Superficially
even, this is apparent. One hears traces of
few foreign tongues among them. 1 talked
with one private who had a pronounced
German accent, and there are those with
the brogue of Ireland or the burr of the
Scot; but these are the conspicuous ex-
ceptions that help prove the Americanism
of the whole. The men talk, most of
them, as Americans, and no other English
speaking race, talk. BY far the greater
part of them have the peculiar articula-
tion Of the letter r which is not roll, as
with the LatinS, and not gutteral, but re-
suits from throwing the tongue close to
the roof of the mouth and is a thing as
distinctly American cider chin boards.
Their physiognomy, too, attests their
Americanism. The American face has not
been crystallized yet by pen or pencil, but
it is recognizable; and just as the Gibson
girl has the face of the woman of no other
nation. the American soldier has face
that is composed of very little that is
any other countrys. There is a uniformity
of feature, too, which is in itself a novelty.
The very fact, probably, that the army is
that rare American thing, that the army is
not a collection of individuaities, is at
once it's own merit and its misfortune with
an Indifferent country. Specifically one
of the notable things is the dash of ex-
tremes jim black and white hair or complex
ions among the men: They are neither
Latins nor Saxons. In general, they have
the neutral coloring that the American
Americansm of the enlisted man is more
than superficial. The requirements are
of them, so far as | have been able to dis
cover, are the sons of American parents.
and 80 per cent: is given as the proportion
of those born in this country. The pro-
portion of those whose parents and of
those whose grandparents were born here
is, of course smaller.
PHYSICALLY PERFECT.
What kind of man is the enlisted man?
HIySlcdlly ne is perfect <4Ily one CdH see
what his measurements are required to be
by consl'' ting the colored bulletins that are
posted q torily, as it may seem to the
public, at the various recruiting stations
A man five feet four inches must have a
chest of thirty-tWo inches. A man six feet
must measure thirty-five inches about his
chest. The result makes for the uniformity
which has been mentioned. There are few
giants and no gawky men. The requirement
is proportion rather than size, and adapta-
bilIty, not effect. As a body of men they
show that Count Getzian'S praise was not
all fiattery. Physically, they are their own
superb vindication. Socially, perhaps, they
are another matter; but it is wrong. as an
intelligent critic here not long ago did, to
dismiss them as being recruited from the
lowest social ranks. Some of the recruits
may have been criminal or vicious to begin
with; it is a. supposition that they all are.
The fact is that they cannot remain GRIM
inal or vicious and remain in the army. Be
sides, every initial precaution is taken
against enlisting men not morally sound
Certificates of moral character are required,
and these are not perfunctory. One require
ment is, of course, that they must know
how to read and write, and reading and
writing, if not INDUCED in to excess, are
safeguards of moral sanity.
TO say that the men are socially of the
lowest classes is in any case to beg the
question. Many of them are farmers sons,
who are socially, one should suppose, as well
off the fellows in civil pursuits. Very
few of them come from cities, especially
large cities, where sociological strata can
be definitely marked. One curious fact gives
evidence of the scarcity of recruits from
large cities is the small number OF deser-
tions. In all colonizations the supreme difn-
Guilty is that of weaving the toWnSman from
his accustomed haunts. The city vagabond
out of the city has the homing instinct.
With the, farmer lad, the case is different;
He is no longer a haySeed, but soldier and
potential hero And If few come from cit
les most of them come from decent homes.
Take away the small number who are ad
or served in foreign armies
this country, and It viii be found that most
of them have had the benefit of and are
still reached by decent home influences.
With social demerit, in the smaller sense
Of the term social they certainly cannot be
charged Army discipline of whatever else,
makes them a polite and, as men go,
clean-mouthed set In this they compare
favorably with many volunteers The vol
unteer in camp is usually on an outing. The
regular is living his ordinary life, and is
tempted into no excesses of speech or con-
duct.
HIS MORAL STATUS.
What the regular is spiritually and NOR
ally is a more interesting but more difficult
question. Morally he is taken care of pre-
sumably by the esprit du corps, by the
chaplain and so on. The wooden tabernacle
on Tampa Heights is filled several times
day, which may be the result of moral sua-
sion or only the attraction of a cool place
rate. Unless in the privacy of their Sibley
tents, l have noted no disposition the
part of the agnostics to chaff those who go
to church. They don't believe all they are
told in the wooden tabernacle, and you can
hear dissenters holding forth afterward; but
they respectfully let the preacher have his
say. So far as general morality is con-
cerned, their condition. like their physical
Soundness, is safeguarded by discipline.
There are few recalcitrants. They find that
it is much happier in the end to behave in
the prescribed way. A man addicted to
drunkenness and lewdnesS cannot hold his
own, and so there comparatively few
excesses. While in Tampa the regulars
were all paid up, spending their money as
rapidly as they could. Some of their $13
went doubtless for things they would have
been better without, but most of the money
was spent harmlessly, if not nationally.
Souvenirs, cigarettes, pies, knick-knackS-
one saw them investing in for several days.
Some of the homely ones sat for their photo
graphs. Some of course, went to Ybor
City. On one pay day man said to me:
well, I'll spend all this right here" Greed
certainly is not the soldiers failing, and
this couldn't any use in saving pay
on the eve of an invasion of Cuba. Through
out the paying off period provost guards
were set in town, and of course tended to
moderation; but that the soldiers came off
creditably anyway there is no doubt. Few
volunteers, or men of similar stripe in civil
pursuits, need have feared contamination
from them
s.sA- -