The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-04-28
TRIALS OF A SOLDIER
What He Must UndeIgo Be-
fore Becoming a Full
Pledged Guardsmah.
NEWARK ARMoRY VISITORS
Very Numerous Of Late and
Among Them Many AppIi-
canls for Membership.
NEWARK ARMORY VISITORS

iiSlltt Ia ANtWdtA 411o pNSh " - 49,
three weeks the largest in several years
On Wednesday night Of this week, when
the squad was drilled, there were 1Ol men
in line. and Adjutant Arthur Mackie,
who has charge of the instruction, was
busy all the evening supervising the
squads. Sergeant Dreener. of Company
NJ, is the chief Instructor, and acts as
first sergeant, and he is assisted by Ser
geants Edward and Wallace, of Company
F, n Corporal McAllister, of Company
c. If the squad increases in size other
instructors may be detailed.
The classes in the different grades of
instruction can readily be- seen in the
manner in which the men conduct them
selves, from the raw recruit who is all
askew and who stands in a different man
ner from every other man in the squad
to the man who is brought before Lieu
/ tenant MacKie for a final inspection be-
fore being turned over to his company.
To those who visit the Armory fire.
auently and heard the term 1.-The squad"
or who have friends who have Joined the
guard, the process of becoming a soldier
seems to be easy. Any one, apparently,
can walk into the City Armory on Or
ange street, Newark, be received with
open arms, fitted out with a uniform and
| become a guardsman at once, but one who
has gone through the process has a dill
| ferent story to tell. Ills story concerns
examinations by recruiting officers, by
| company committees, by one of the regl-
ment's surgeons, the latter being severe,
| and finally of eight weeks passed IN the
awkward squad, where the of
a soldiers training are taught TO him py
a drill Sergeant with a great deal OF pa
tienee. Before or while he has been in
4 tho cn11odE ha haS haan QaT11nR nAftS OF
his uniform. and by the time the recruit
hears the welcome order You are dis
missed from the squad, report to your
company commandment he is generally
completely equipped by the Quartermas-
ter.S department.
Most of the recruits to the First Regi-
| ment come in through friends. A young
| man with military instincts generally has
his desire to investigate further developed
by the fact that some one he knows be-
longs to the guard, and a trip to the Ar
mory watch the company or battalion
drills is the result of an invitation by his
| friend. Others drift into the Armory and
ask the first man they, meet about JOIN
Der who drifted into the big brick build
| irg largely increased, and every drill late
ly has been attended by fully 200 young
men.
In various ways application blanks are
obtained and the member of the regiment
vouching for the recruit fills it out. lie
submits the APPLICATION to his own COM
pany with his name signed to the follow
ing Endorsement of the candidate
Il believe him TO be morally and physi-
caly qualified to discharge the duties OF
d member of this company. and that he
Will make a good and efficient member"
The candidate signs his name to the fol-
ITO the officers and members of Com
4 pany --, First Regiment, N. G. N. j.:
I am DESTROYS of becoming a member Of
your company; if admitted to membership
1 will, to the best of my ability, perform
| all the duties required by the laws gov.
erning the National Guard of the State Of
New Jersey and bylaws of your COM
| pany; / will obey the commands of my
superior officers. and use my best en-
deavors to become a good and efficient
States. My 6 is years; Ny resi-
| denee is -. My place Of business is
- Ny occupation is that of -. Re-
This application is presented to the com
pany, and a commissioned officer and two
enlisted men are appointed. to nave a
They tell the candidate what he win be
expected to do, of his term of enlistment,
which is five years, and Of all his duties.
In some companies there is an Ambulance
| fee of 81, in others none at all, and in still
others candidates are required to pay one
years monthly dues in advance. The
cues are generally ten cents q month and
are devoted TO the social affairs of the
company. Upon the report of the COM
mittee that the candidate is worthy the
company proceeds TO elect him. If re-
I u ICu dlhN lily lAO 4AAOhS - ReA&
to the application.
After his election The captain of the
company has an interview with the pros
! p~ective recruit. and if the interview is
favorable to the applicant he is told to
report the Monday night following for
the surgeons examination. The new re-
cruit has then taken but the first few
steps toward becoming a member of the
regiment. Upon the examination by the
surgeon everything depends. Before he
made his application he had been meas
11rad in the anmnQnV'c III rfn y m seq
whether he fulfilled the requirements that
he shall be five feet six inches In height
in his stocking feet. Now he will be test
ed to see whether his lungs are sound,
whether his heart is right and is eye
sight is good. He also has to be of a GER
tain weight in proportion to his height.
and a man too stout or too light is liable
to be rejected. The average recruit en-
tiers the surgeons room with fear and
why, but it is generally SO. There are four
surgeons attached to the First Regiment,
and one is present each Monday night,
which is known as headquarters night"
Take off your coat is the first com
mand the recruit gets, and generally the
vest is taken off, too, and the prospective
soldier is thoroughly examined for defects
of lungs and heart. II he passes the test
for these. his eyesight is tested at con-
siderable length. and many men fail in the
test. Men who have never realized that
their eyesight was defective until the
were rejected by the examining surgeon
are many in number, and more than one
has remedied the defect by the consulta-
ton and treatment by ar oculist and en-
tered the regiment afterward. The mans
walk about the surgeons room has been
noticed, and If there is the slightest limp
or u-nsteadiness a further examination is
made. Then the applicant is weighed and
measured, and the medical examiner fills
out a report which shows the mans age,
height, weight, general appearance, chest
measurements at rest, at forced expira-
ton and at inspiration. the state of his
vision and other remarks.
II a favorable report Is made the exam
lining surgeon igns the following indorse-
ment to his report
examined the above-named man. and that
In my opinion he is free from all bodily
defects and mental infirmity which would
In any way disaualify him from perform
ing the duties of a soldier
The candidate goes back to his company
and takes the oath of allegiance in which
he swears to his age, birthplace and oc-
cupation, and acknowledges to have vol
unfairly enlisted as a soldier in the Ma
tiona1 Guard of New Jersey for the period
of five years unless sooner discharged by
proper authority and agrees to accept
from the State of New Jersey such
bounty, pay, rations and clothing as are
or may be established by law. The soldier
also swears thai he knows of no impede
ment to serving honestly and faithfully
as a soldier, and adds
"And / do also solemnly swear that I
will bear true faith and allegiance to the
Government established in this State. I'M
der the authority of the people, and that
! l will serve them honestly and faithfully