The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-03-17
Men Who Could Enlist,

The greater part Of the popular mind
mas the mistaken idea that men in the
National Guard, the organized State mi
litia, would be pressed into service next
after the regular army, but such is not
the case. At the first bugle call every
member Of the militia will have chance
| 10 volunteer, but until a draft is ordered
no militiamen viii be required TO take
| the field against his desire. Men who go
! unwillingly are not wanted. They make
| the poorest soldiers.
| There will be no such arm of the service
| as the militia in the event OF the next
great war with foreign power. II would
be illegal for President Mckinley, Com
mander in Chief OF the Army and Navy,
| TO order the militia outside our bounda-
ries for the purpose of invading Spanish
territory or any other foreign domain. No
governor would be required by law to
! homer the presidents call for militia. To
avoid possible complication, therefore, the
president would act on the assumption
| that there is no militia in any of the
! states. The regular army proving insult
| ficient, he would first call upon the gov
errors of states for certain number of
volunteers. Organized bodies of militia
might volunteer in body and offer them
| selves already organized, every man con-
senting. Officers from and including the
rank of colonel down would be appointed
by governors of the states to command
bodies of volunteers, but for the presi-
dent is reserved the privilege of appoint
ing all general officers.
The War Department has prepared
diagram, dividing each state into districts,
and has calculated the quota of troops
which might be drafted into service from
each should volunteers prove insufficient.
Before draft would be ordered in dis
trict slow to volunteer its full quota,
bounties would be offered by the federal
government, and perhaps by the state.
During the late war some townships Of
fered bountfes to men unwilling to volun-
teer Men in those days were known to
receive bounties aggregating 1880 from
the national, state and local governments.
High bounties sometimes as great as $780,
were offered by the federal government
for veterans who had seen their three
years service and had been honorably dis
charged toward the end of the war.
Should the bounty system fail to bring
out the required number of men the draft
would then be resorted to-
Should you volunteer your services at
the first call for an addition TO the army,
you may stand a chance to enter the
ranks if you are between twenty-one and
thirty years old, of good character and
less than five feet and four inches tall
and between 12S and 100 pounds in weight.
If you measure above five feet ten inches
in height, or weigh above 165 pounds,
you can enter the infantry or artillery. but
not the cavalry. These are the require
ments for entrance TO the regular army
They would remain in force during the
mastering of volunteers until men should
be passed in with insufficient speed.
Then the restrictions in regard to age
would be made less exacting. In great
emergency the fighting age would doubt |
less be stretched from eighteen to forty |
five. The restrictions in regard to weight |
would perhaps be changed but very heavy |
men would not be accepted. Fat men do |
not make as good soldiers as thin men. |
The War Department has prepared g. table |
showing what it considers to be the cor |
rect measurement If you correspond |
very nearly to these you may consider |
yourself of military physique. A man /
feet inches tall should weigh 128 pounds, |
should have chest measuring 321z inches |
without breath and a chest expansion of |
at least two inches. A man 5 feet 10 inch
rs tall should weigh 155 pounds, should
have a chest measuring So inches without
breath and should have a chest expansion
If at least 21z inches. Similarly, If he be
feet 1 inch tall, he should weigh 176
pounds, should measure 36H inches
around his chest after breathing out and
should have chest expansian of at least
~ inches. Weights between these are
given proportionate measurements for the
,ther details.
Many vacancies for patriotic boys will
occur in the event of a war. Boys be-
ween sixteen and eighteen may enter
he army, but only as musicians. To be
drummer boy in the war would be very
To enlist for such service,
however. a boy must have 1.-The written
consent of his father, only surviving par
mt or legally appointed guardian" With
imilar consent boys between fourteen
nd seventeen may enter the navy TO |
erve as apprentices. but they must be I
of robust frame, intelligent, of perfect !
y sound and healthy constitution" and :
rec from a long list of physical defects.
| boy of fourteen must measure not less
han four feet nine inches, weigh not less
han seventy pounds. and while breathing
aturally must have chest measurement
OF less than twenty-eight inches.