The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-05-26
IN THE REGULAR ARMY.
The Difference Between Profess
sional Soldiers and Volunteers.
AS SEEN IN TIE CAMP AT TAMPA.

tive Of Our Rural Nasses-Socisl Ambi
tioas Of American Women Cut q Ffsar,
In Increasing the Army.
There is nothing that the regular ar
my officers talk about so much as tn,
regular army, says the Tampa CORE
spondent OF the New York Post l Dc
not mean that they exalt il on all occa
sions. Army officers are for the most
part men of modesty as we'll rs courte-
sy. But they often speak in more on
less impatient way of the prejudices
that prevail against regular army
and of the unkind and suspicious things
that are said about it, and they like to
tell you how much better and more eff
fectively and mercifully this war might
have been fought if we had had reg
ular army of rs, 900 men at the out
break of hostilities instead of one of
%, 900. l am not going to repeat any of
their arguments, but have seen some
things in Tampa lately which have
been, it seems 20 me, instructive ON the
main point-whether we are to de-
pend in great crises on regulars or ON
volunteers.
Just now we have something more
than 1000 volunteers encamped in a
neighborhood where some 10, 900 or
IL, 900 regulars are encamped. In many
ways these volunteers are ridiculous in
comparison with the regulars They
are younger, smaller. paler, weaker
They are undisciplined. Though they
are mostly of very good class of peo-
pie morally. they furnished more cases
of drunkenness in day than all the
regulars had furnished in a week. That
was not because they were as individ-
ual men more inclined to drunkenness,
but because they were undisciplined
youths suddenly turned out of their
homes into camp and felt themselves
bound to do something rough and sol
dierlike. AS soldiers they are simply
not, man for man, one-half what the
regulars are.
But there is one point in which they
are worth something more Socially the
regular private soldier is nowhere at
all. II he enters the big hotel where the
headquarters of the army are and
which is constantly full of officers, he
enters 1t only rs a messenger for an Off
Ger and must enter it hat in hand and
go by an inconspicuous way around to
the desk and present his message. and
when he has had his answer he must 90
out in the same way. The private sol
der or nQncommissioned officer cannot
eat at the same public table with Off
GERS or drink at the same bar This
social distinction is not founded, it
should be said, on the assertion of any
difference of class, but on the necessity
of discipline. An additional circum-
stance of some interest is that the girls |
of Tampa are ashamed TO be seen in |
the company of regular private sol !
der
Now, we who had been in Tampa for |
a couple of weeks and had grown accus-
toned 70 this state of things saw some |
thing of quite a different sort when the
Florida volunteers arrived. Volunteer |
privates of Florida are seen at the tables |
OF the Tampa Bay hotel at dinner Wis
avis with generalsand colonies of the |
regular army. There was a hop at
the hotel the other evening. The dan
GERS were made up almost entirely Of Off
GERS Of the army and of resident young
women. In the midst of all the shout
der straps | saw young soldier who
had no shoulder straps His uniform
was not unlike that of private of the
regular army, but it was easy TO see
that he belonged to the Florida militia.
de was private. But presently a
young lady who was talking with AN
officer rushed up TO him and shook his
hand cordially Then she presented him
TO the officer Captain -, this is
MIR. -. The officer shook his hand
and began talking in cordial fashion
with the young man. They met as So
cial equals.
If you mention this matter to regular
officers and point out the fact that they
IRE thus meeting private soldiers on
plane of social equality, they say: "Oh.
hat doesn't make any difference. Thay
ire volunteers. " They are not RESPONSE
Die for the discipline Of the Florida
militia They suffer no loss of military
;aste on account of social intercourse
with its privates Their position is con-
'istent enough. A regular army could
not be made and kept good for much if
he officers and soldiers were likely to
meet anywhere on the same social plane.
But in this fact there lies a question of
considerable public consequence. 1t is
act that is likely to keep the ranks of
he regular army filled with men Of
,ertain sort and almost no other and
prevent it from being really representa-.
i've of the American people
In view of the claim that the regular
lrmy is made up in large proportion of
native Americans, it is matter OF in
crest TO note here the fact that very
,ften when you address any converse.
ion TO a private soldier he replies in
English which is spoken with a foreign
Iccent. A great many speak with Ger
nan accent and great many more with
m Irish accent a few are evidently
snglishmen. Many more have Irish
James 1 do not mean that they may
lot be quite a. ''gocd Americans" as