The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-05-25
Regulars
And 81
Volunteers

pny officers talk about 80 much as the
Regular army, says the Tampa corre-
bpondent of the New York Post. do
pot mean that they exalt it ON all occa-
sions. Army officers are for the most
part men of modesty as well as courte-
BY. But they often speak in q more or
Jess impatient way of the prejudices
that prevail against q regular army
pnd Of the unkind and suspicious things
that are said about it, and they like to
tell you how much better and more ef-
fectively and mercifully this war might
have been fought if we had had reg
ular army Of $4,000 men at the out
break Of hostilities instead of ono of
rs, ,000 ! am not going to repeat any of
their arguments, but have seen some
things in Tampa lately which have
been, it seems to 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 q
peighborhood where some 10000 or
1900 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 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 a 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
ere 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 it only as 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 go
out in the same way. The private SOL
dier or noncommissioned 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 a regular private SOL
dier.
Now, we who had been in Tampa for
q couple of weeks and had grown accus-
toned to this state Of things saw some
thing Of quite different sort when the
Florida volunteers arrived. Volunteer
privates Of Florida arc seen at the tables
of the Tampa Bay hotel at dinner Wis
avis with generals and colonels Of the
regular army. There was "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 shoul-
der straps l saw young soldier who
had no shoulder straps. His uniform
was not unlike that of private Of the
that he belonged to the Florida militia.
He was n private. But presently a
young lady who was talking with an
officer rushed up 60 him and shook his
hand cordially. Then she presented him
to tho officer. Captain ---, this is
Mr.. -" 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
are thus meeting private soldiers ON
plane of social equality, they say: "Oh,
that doesn't mako any difference. They
are volunteers They are not response
bic for the discipline Of the Florida
militia They suffer no loss Of military
caste Oh account OF social intercourse
with its priyatcs Their position is con-
sistent enough. A regular army could
not be made and kept good for much if
the officers aud soldiers wcro likely to
rleet anywhere or the same social plane.
Bat in this fact there lies question Of
considerable public consequence. 1t is
fact that is likely to keep the ranks Of
the regular Grmy filled with mon OF a
certain sort and al:nost no other and
prevent it from being really representa-
tive OF TIE American people
In view of the claim that tho regular
army i made Up in largo proportion ct
native Americans, IL Is u matter of ii-
tcrest to note here the fact that very
1i.ca when you address any conversa-
tion to private soldier he replies i'll
English which is spoken with foreign
accent. a great many speak with a Ger
man accent and Lreat many moro with
nI Irish accent. A few arc evidently
Englishmen. Many more have Irish
names. do not mean that they may
not be quite as good Americans" as
any ono elso. l am simply noting an
chronological or social fact. In some reg
iments, however. such as the Sixth cav
nlry, one finds largo proportion of