The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-26
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Big Soldier rs

The American is a much bigger man
than the %Spaniard, and that is an i'm
portant advantage for the American in
this war. With all his alleged pride of
race, the naughty o is a little fell
low. In stature he is least among the
Europeans, averaging only 51s Inches
over 5 feet. The soldier who fights IN
der the stars and stripes averages >
feet 7h inches in his stockings. he
weighs 10 pounds more than the Span
lard and his chest girth is nearly two
inches greater. These are points thai
count on the field of battle.
" course, size is not everything In
a soldier. Never in history has II count
ed for so little as II does to-day, mas
much as modern warfare is conducted
chiefly by machinery. Battles are
fought at long range, and hend-to-hand
! encounters are rare. The japanese are
smaller than the Spaniards. yet there
are no fiercer fighters. But, other things
being equal, the bigger nan has an
advantage. The Yankee Is the tallest
of civilized men. In Europe only the
Norwegian approaches his nearly in
this respect. and the Englishman lis a
full inch shorter.
Recruits for the wal with Spain have
been subjected to physical examina-
tons of unparalleled severity 20 n
even 25 per cent of many companies be-
ing thrown out on account of defects.
The supply of men is so much greater
than the demand that requirements
have been raised proportionately, n
the soldiers gathered for this conflict
on the American side will average
higher in respect TO bodily development
and health h any army ever before
assembled by any nation. Fledgling
youths, such as were enlisted so numer-
ously in the civil wal, will be conspie-
uous by their absence. There will be no
drummer boys of nursery age. and fat
men n bow-legged men will be turned
down.
The average volunteer being reject
ed on his physical" these days Is a
much astonished person. He has been
accustomed to consider himself as rep
r~esenting the beau ideal of manhood,
and his surprise is great when a cold
eyed military surgeon picks out flaws
all over him. He is too tall. perhaps.
Not that six feet and a bit over is an
Objectionable feature, but very tall men
are apt to lack depth of chest. which is
a quality indispensable fn a soldier.
Depth of chest means lung capacity,
which implies endurance, marching
ability. etc.
The surgeon inspects the teeth of the
would-be recruit. as if he were a horse.
and turns him down If they are bad.
Good teeth are required for the proper
chewing of food: defective ones mean
dyspepsia. If ii be true that an army
travels on its stomach" the individual
fighting man is handicapped by trou-
BILE with his digestive apparatus. May
be the volunteer is too short or too fat.
Plumpness is we'll enough. but the war
department does not want fat men. be-
cause they lack strength. endurance
and activity. Besides. fat is a symptom
OF physical degeneracy and is apt to
mean weakness of the heart.
The volunteer "it' in other respects
is likely to be amazed at finding him
self rejected because his feet are *
cessively fiat, vet the requirements are
carried to such an extreme as this. II
seems that a very fat-footed soldier
does not make a satisfactory infantry
man, because he cannot march well
Negroes, of course. are extremely nat.
footed, but data are lacking to show
how their marching powers compare
with those of whites. During the civil
war they did some pretty good march.
ing. Necessarily the recruit must hav'
proper feet, and even his toes must an
ewer to certain specifications. An in
growing nail or even a corn VIII coun'
seriously against him. B~ow-legged ant
knock-kneed men are objectionabl bic
partly because they do not look well
The military art has Its aethetic side.
During the present war much atten
ton will be paid TO the gathering o
statistics of all sorts relating to tn
soldiers. This was lone to some ex
tent during the civil conflict and SOM
OF the most interesting facts noted ha'
; to do with the varying stature of re
cruits from different parts OF III
The biggest men came iron
Kentucky, averaging a trifie over . fee
I 81 inches. Close, behind was Kansas
I with Minnesota, Missouri, California
I and Nevada following in the order Civ
en-. The men from all these states av
eraged about 8 feet s inches. siains
5 Illinois and Michigan fell two-tenth
of an inch below that mark, and mex
2 came Ohio and Pennsylvania. Massa
chusetts and Connecticut were at tn
foot of the list. the volunteers from tn
: latter state averaging only 5 feet 81
/, inches.
: The ideal height for a soldier is
: feet 101k inches. AT that stature tn
, most perfect physical development
seems to be attained. The popular no
= ton that a man stops growing at abou
I 20 or 81 years of age is a mistake; tn
truth is that he keeps on growing unit
I he is 80 or even more. and his chest in
= cresses in capacity up to the same pc
riod. At about so the man begins {
] loss height. and this loss may amour
a TO an inch and a half in the next 2
:. years. This shrinkage is due chiefly
{ a contraction of the ~cartilaginous It's
: sue between the vertebrae of the back
bone. but the bones themselves e
|; smaller actually. The fact Is alread
familiar hi any human being is tails
in the morning than in the eyenin:
the body of the recumbent perso
= Iengthening out during sleep.
! Youth counts Cor much in a soldie
Young men are most active and en-
/ t~husiastic. fun Of vim and ready to sr