The evening times., 1898-08-04

1t is required Of army men that they
must be shapeIy. well set up. The fine
forms both officers and privates show Is
not the effect OF padded clothes. as many
suppose. The Hartford Courant notes
that to begin with they must be neither
too tall nor too short. too fat nor too
thin. Their weight must be propOrtioned
to their height. according to well estab-
lished rules. Giants are not more desir-
able than pigmies. Indeed experience in
all armies has shown that large men
cannot endure as much as smaller. wiry
men-what are sometimes called the
typical Americans. The limit of weight
in the cavalry is l60 pounds. in the other
branches of the service. 100. The ques-
tion which has the more courage, the
large man or the small. is still argued
around the camp fire.
The material in hand, 1t is necessary
to work 1t into shape. literally. Though
their term Of service may have been
short. there are friends of recruits who
will be astonished at the change in fig
ure of some of the boys when they come
SHihS 1hdt lSs VI Couist, pre-
suming that they have been under good
drill masters. Considerable has been
said about college athletes in this war
There were college athletes who went
to Mantle last May. splendid specimens
OF ply steal development. but round
shouldered or slovenly of gait. Today
they are as straight as an arrow and
walk smartly with beautiful economy
Of energy. Strong men went there from
the farm and the rolling mill. their mus
cles like iron. match for any of their
comrades in a tussle. but they couldn't
have made a days march. which is only
fifteen or twenty miles. without being
exhausted or Iamed. They simply did
not know how to carry themselves. say
nothing of their, guns. blankets and
knapsacks. They would have laughed at
external burden. they would have
learned, II put o''it that their greatest
burden was themselves. Today. If their
officers know their business. they would
make nothing OF. two or three days
tramp across the country. They have
added to their strength suppleness. and
suppleness implies that grace of carriage
which distinguishes the soldier and
which. perhaps. plays as strong a part
as his uniform and courage In winning
place AOE NM tht Us VI Tue lar
Sex. 5000,
The training is. simple. In its usual
FORM 1t has nothing to do with guns and
is reminder of the gymnastics of the
primary school II begins before the
men are given places in the ranks for
drilling and 1t Is. or should be. continued
as a part of each days curriculum.
Special stress, is laid upon 1t at West
Point and Annapolis, Every man in civil
life, whether his labor is manual or men
tai. would be the, better and look the
better for it if he would so through these
motions ten minutes every day. No ap-
paratus Is required.
In the army drill regulations there are
seventeen prescribed "setting-up exer-
cises." After recruit has been taught
how to stand correctly-which in itself is
a good deal to learn-he is put through
these exercises by a non-commissioned
officer. The arm. hand. trunk. leg and
foot exercises are alternated and the drill
is varied by instructions in the facinSs,
marchings. etc. and by frequent rests.
for. simple as it looks this drill Is :atigu-
ing to green men. The arms are moved
in such a way as to bring every one of
their muscles and joints into play. slowly.
rhythmically. in unison. by command:
then The hands. then the trunk. then the
legs. and finally the feet and the toes.
While exercising one part of the body,
care is taken that the other parts remain
quiet as far as possible.
A good proportion of the people you see
on the street do not know how to walk
properly. No matter il they are going
slowly, they are wasting a lot of energy
in the way they move their legs and
work their bodies. They come down on
the rearmost part Of their heels and finish
the step on the tip end of their toes: they
toe out too far or toe in: they run their
shoes over on one side or the other; they
shuttle or their feet interfere. All these
faults are speedily eradicated by the army
exercises. There are natures with not the
remotest conception of rhythm. When
We see Tor feel is perhaps a better word)
so many of them around us, 1t is not sur
prising that they show up among the re-
cruits-men who appear to be physically
unable of keeping step. It's comical to
watch such in the awkward squad; they
sometimes stay there for months, but
there never yet was a case that these ex-
ercises could not conquer, just as there
never was a round-shouldered or rolling
gated man whom they did not restore to
natures ways.
Watch the squads of recruits drilling,
say, the leg exercises by the hour. To
the careless observer they look silly and
the recruits usually are far from appre-
ly stirring from their tracks not only
are learning how to walk. without real
izing it perhaps, but they are hardening
themselves for campaign. For one
exercise there is what the Prussian SOL
diers call the "goose-step." One leg Is
lifted with a sligh; bend at the knee and
then thrust quickly forward, the toes
at the same time pointing downward till
in a straight line with the leg and to
within two inches of the ground. All
the force possible is put into the mo-
tion, the other foot remaining firm on
the ground. the body erect and not tip
ping. Try that-some day when there
is not so much shuhidity-alternating the
legs. and seeoI how the muscles may be
developed for marching. Then, II you
would try the other setting-up exercises.
It would be good thing for you, but
the probabilities are that you will not
do 1t any more than your friends among
the recruits would have done 1t II they
hadn't been compelled to by Uncle Sans
orders. Verify, war has its virtues.
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