The Springdale news., 1898-07-08
THE SPANISH SOLDIER.
4 Description of Him ani His Ways by
 an English Observer


 meet in mortal combat the sturdy sol- diers of "Uncle Sam" would be the despair Of an English or German staff officer.
 Watch him as he slouches along; his tunic faded, tern, ard probably minus a button oT two; his red trou- sers frayed and threadbare; his feet cased in the clumsy hempen sandals of the country; and his hands muf- fled in huge green woolen gloves, be- tween the top of which and the sleeve of his tunic is usually to De seen two or three inches of bare, brown, sin ewy arm. He carries his rifle any how-at the trail, al the slope, muzzle foremost, slung at his back. Not an inspiring picture! Far from it, New ertheless, that the Spaniard can fight, and fight well, too, on occasions, has been proved on many bloodstained field. NJ Igualada, one of the fercest battles of the late Carlist war, an en- tire battalion had 10 choose between annihfation and surrender, and se- lected the former Despite his shuf- fling gait, too, lie marches well and uncomplainingly. In fact, the span ish "Tommy" never seems to tire, and he is seldom out of temper.
 Two meals a day, served at nine a. m. and five P. m., constitute the regular commissariat allowances, but, in addition, he is served in some corps with coffee and soup in the carly morn ing. Bread, and bread only, at the rate of a pound and half per man per day, constitutes the government ration Any additional food he has 10 buy from the regimental canteen. This is kept by a civilian, but the scale of prices is regulated by a regi- mental committee Very little meat enters into the Spanish army's diet ary Perhaps this is the reason his wounds heal So rapidly and easily. A chunk of dry, black bread, little oil, and clove of garlic suffice him for the day.
 If to this he is able to add half a pint of wine tha. looks like red ink and tastes like vinegar and water, he is in clover One thing, however, he will never consent to do with out, and that is his cigarette. The number of these an average Spanish Tommy" will consume in the course of the day is appalling He rolls them himself, using a yellow, dry, dusty-looking tobacco, which pos scsscs no more flavor to an English smokers palate than would 50 much chopped straw.
 In theory every Spaniard must serve his 12 years in tile army; butt there is a wide difference, in this case at all events, between theory and practice. To begin with. any citizen can discharge lis liability to serve by the payment, in a lump sum, of 12,000 pesetas. This sounds like good lot of money. But 1t takes 25 pesetas to equal an English sovereign, So that lie really has 10 disburse only about fl8 Enormous numbers, even of the peasant cl3ss, have taken to availing themselves of this priyi- lege. There has even sprung up in many of the provinces a special class ofvillage insurers, who lend the smart money '-at a ruinous rate ofintcrcst, of course-to young men who have been drawn" Benefit clubs, hav- ing the same object in view, are also rife in the agricultural districts. This has the effect of increasing the Span ish revenues; but from a military point of view it is dcrlorable. Be- sides those who honorably purchase their exemption, large numbers of young men obtain what. are known as ''disponsations," absolving them from serving their time under any circumstances whatever. To get one of these "dispensations" it is not necessary to be either braver, wiser or bettor than ones neighbors. But one must have what the Americans call ''pull' with the authorities l Louis Republic.