The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29
B,rs... Soldier. In IN. World.

than the Spaniard, n that Is an I'M
portant advantage for the American In
this war. With all his pride Of race.
the naughty don Is a little fellow. In
stature he IL least among the Europe
ans. averaging only 81 inches over 5
feet. h soldier who fights under
the stars stripes averages 5 feet
1h inches in his stocking feet: he
weighs 10 pounds more than the Span
lard and his chest girth is nearly two
inches greater. These are points a
count on the field of battle.
OF course, size is not everything in
a soldier. Never I'm history has IL
counted for so little as 1t does to-day.
inasmuch as modern warfare Is con-
Quoted chiefly by machinery, and
hand-to-hand are rare. The
Japanese are smaller than the Span
iards. yet there are no fiercer fighters;
the American Indians, on the other
hand. are superior in stature to the
Yankees. But. other things being
equal, the bigger man has an advan-
tage. The Yankee is the tallest of civ
ilized men: In Europe only the Norwe-
gian approaches him nearly in this
respect, and the Englishman is a full
inch shorter.
Recruits for the war with Spain have
been subjected TO physical examina-
tons OF unparalleled severity, 20 and
even 25 per cent. of many companies
being thrown out on account of de-
fects. The supply of men is so much
greater than the demand that require
ments have been raised proportionate-
ly. and the soldiers gathered for this
conflict on the American side will av-
erage higher in respect 20 bodily de-
velopment and health than any army
ever before assembled by any nation.
F1edgling youths. such as were en-
listed so numerously in the civil war,
.-tII -, @sa
There will be no drummer boys of
nursery age. and fat men and bow
legged men will be turned down.
The average volunteer rejected on
his physical these days Is a very
much ~astonished person. He has been
accustomed to consider himself as rep
| ~resenting, pretty nearly at all events,
the beau ideal of manhood, and his
surprise Is great when a cold-eyed mil
itary surgeon picks out flaws all over
him. He is too tall, perhaps. Not that
6 feet and a bit over is an objectionable
stature. but very tall men are apt to
lack depth OF chest, which is a quality
Indispensable in a soldier. Depth OF
chest means lung capacity. which i'm
plies endurance, marching ability. etc.
The surgeon inspects the teeth of the
would 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. II it be true that an army
travels on its stomach" the individ-
ual fighting man is handicapped by
trouble with his digestive apparatus.
Maybe the volunteer is too short, or
too fat. Plumpness is well enough. but
the war department wants no fat men.
because they lack strength. endurance
and activity. Besides, fat is a symp-
tom of physical degeneracy and is apt
| to mean weakness OF the heart.
The mi at in other respects
is likely to be amazed al finding him
self rejected because his feet are ex-
cessively fiat; yet the requirements
are carried to such an extreme as this.
Ii seems that a very h~at-footed SOL
der does not make a satisfactory in
fantryman. eau he cannot march
well. Negroes, of course are extreme
ly nat-footed, but data are lacking to
show how their marching powers COM
| pare with those of whites. During the
| civil war they did some pretty good
| marching, certainly. Necessarily the
recruit must have proper feet. and
even his toes must answer to certain
specifications. An i~ngrowing nail. or
even a corn. will count seriously
against him. Bow-legged and knock
kneed men are objectionable. partly
because they do not look well. The
military art has its aesthetic side.
During the present war much atten-
ton will be paid to the gathering OF
statistics of all sorts relating to the
soldiers. This was done TO some ex-
tent during the civil conflict, and some
of the most interesting facts noted had
to do with the varying stature Of re-
cruits from different parts OF the coun-
try. The biggest men came from Ken
lucky, averaging a trifie over 5 feet
So inches. Close behind was Kansas.
with Minnesota, Missouri. California
and Nevada following in the order
given. The men from all these states
averaged about 8 feet s inches. Maine.
Illinois and Michigan fell t~wo-tenths
of an inch below that mark. and next
came Ohio and Pennsylvania. Massa-
chusetts and Connecticut were at the
foot of the list, the volunteers from
the latter states averaging only s feet
81, inches.
The ideal height for a soldier is S
feet 1915 inches. At that stature the
most perfect physical development
seems TO be attained. The popular no.
ton hat a man stops growing at about
20 or II years of age is a mistake: the
truth is that he keeps on growing until
he is 80 or even more. and his chest in
creases it's capacity up to the same
period. AT about so the man begins
TO lose height. and this loss may
amount to III inches in the e. 20
years. The shrinkage is due chiefly 20
a contraction Of the c~artilaginous It's
sue between the vertebrae Of the back
bone, but the bones themselves get
smaller actually. The tact is already
familiar that any human being is tall
er in the morning than In the evening.
the body of the recumbent person
lengthening out during sleep.
Youth counts for much in a soldier.
Young men are most active and en-
thusiastic. full of vim and ready to en-
dure hardships. All things considered.
however. the fighting man is at his
best at 30 years of age: at 40 he is
more conservative. less capable OF ex-
ertion. and not SO much disposed to
take risks. During the civil war the
average American volunteer a a
chest girth of about IS inches. with an
expansion of IS inches. The men from