Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-26

smiles in their teeth when they essay to
| make monkey of MIN in this fashion.
Not Long Step.
The step from private in the rear rank
to "lance-jack,' or corporal in waiting for
vacancy is no very long one in the
United States army, and the soldier who
gets a corporalshp within a year after his
enlistment is not considered to have been
the beneficiary of an unusual amount OF
luck When a man gets the chevlons Oh
his sleeves in our army he occupies a posi-
| ton of more dignity than is commonly
supposed He IS trusted by the oihcers.
The men have to obey him as implicitly as
they obey the orders of the commissioned
officers. True the difference between the
pay of a private and the pay OF "A cor
poral is imma terial, but then, the canteen
does not get SO much of the non-commls-
stoned officers pay as it does of the pri-
Yates money. When the corporal takes
| the jump from two stripes to three in his
chevrons the amount of money he has at
his disposal over and above all expenses
every month is fairly respectable sum
for an enlisted man to carry in his pocket
about $50. including unused clothing
money. A sergeant in the United States
army is a good deal of a man, too. and
he draws his pay for work Of "a purely
overseeing nature-for commissioned
officers in our army are superintendent
of fatigue duty. and no man who wears the
chevrops is required to perform any labor
| with his hands. aside from keeping his kit
IL.
who have no idea of striving for commits
sions there are all sorts of good enlisted
mems billetS in the army. sergeant
ma or either post regimental, has no
soldering duties to perform besides mount
ing the guard, and is generally clerk to the
adiutant commanding officer Quarter
master, commissary and ordnance ser
geants have comfortable time of 1t, with
any amount of bunk fatigue, heavy sit
ting around while watching unchevroned
men work, and. considering the amount of
their perquisites-quarters for their fam
lilies, if they are married. fuel, a ration.
forage, etc.-pretty good pay even for men
Cczily situated in civilian life.
Opportunities in the Navy.
While it is within the range of the pos
sible for young man who enlists in the
army today to become major general COM
handing the United States army in time
the same young man could never climb to
the rank of fleet admiral should he ship
in the navy bluejacket, unless the
breaking out of war should cause modi-
fication in the navy regulations they
bear upon mean forward. The highest po-
siton to which a man forward may aspire
In our navy at the present time is thai of a
warrant ofcer'-gunner, boatSwain, car
penter or sailmaker. The top pay of war
rant officers is $3.50 year. A warrant
officer lives aft among the commissioned
officers In the junior grades. wears practi-
CaIly the same uniform as the commission
ed officers apd is the recipient of the same
amount of respect and obedience from the
enlisted men as the commissioned officers
yet he is not Invariably happy mar. I'm
fortunately, the commissioned officers, who
come into the navy not through The hawse
pipe" but get their commissions through
the Naval Academy ordeal, nave an I'M
pleasant habit, many of them. Of regarding
the warrant officers interlopers-as
neither fish. flesh. fowl, nor good red her
ring. This is gradually passing away, but
1t still survives. In all other respects. the
nffi tn &c
comfortable position, but he is out of the
line of promotion, except in case of war
and in this respect the army is better than
the ravy for the young American of today
who wants to enlist in either OF the outfits.
The Better Outfit.
But in all other respects-the writer has
been in both services-the navy is perhaps
the better outfit of the two for the young
man who does not propose making uniform
wearing a lifelong business. Naval sailors
who. ON account of misconduct, are barred
from shore liberty for considerable periods
while their ships are cruising often speak
&C ntemptuously of this business of seeing
the world through a deadl!ght'-but, all
the same, no man who puts in three years.
the term of an enlistment, on the decks Of
an American man-of-war. is gong to be
any the worse for the experience, unless
he is naturally perversa ard a bit of a
blackguard into the bargain II he has an
aptitude for the absorption Ct evil, he will
probably leave the navy worse than he en-
tered It: but II he Is straightforward. ION
the level" acqutsitive-,n a word, q natur-
ally decent man-an enlistment il the sea
service Is bound to be of benefit to him in
numerous ways3n the very wide amplifiea-
ton of his experience, and the training of
his body and mind in particular.
Bluejackets are very much better paid
than soldiers in Our service. The young
American of no sea experience must ship
in the United States navy either as a lands
man or coal passer. unless he is suffi-
GENTLY youthful to go in as an apprentice,
or unless he is skilled Observation-Disclosures
and filter, coppersmith. blacksmith. ma
chinist, carpenter. or the master Of any
trade of use about man-o'-war, in which
case he ships at once as an artisan and
wears a rating badge on his watch arm
from the go-ofr. Most Of our navy recruits
go in either as landxmen or coal pasaers.