The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1899-11-04
ENGLISH ARMY BEARsKINs
the Regulations About the Ma Far
Hats OF the Coidstream Grena-
diers and scots Guards.

For more than $50 years "a tall hat
Of headgear in the British army, and il
was with something of shock that
people read in the papers the other day
that n committee was going TO sit TO
consider the growing scarcity of the
bearslxins from which are made the inn
posing fulldress hat of the Foot guards.
War office committees on clothing are
dreadful things, but those that sit on
hats are unutterable. Everybody re-
members with horror the alleged he'll
met which such committee produced
few years ago. LII was TO be the uni-
yersal headcoyering of the British
army, and must be serviceable and use-
full. The committee decided, as first
principle, that an article possessing
these two qualities must be ugly. Pro-
ceeding from this premise, they gave
| full expression 10 their ideas of utility,
and produced head covering the like
of which was never before seen on earth,
and IL Is to be hoped never will be again.
There are members of the headquarters
staff who to this day have not quite got
over the sight of the experimental he'll
met devised by the committee. Fortu-
nately, only one was made, or instead OF
only having TO lament the scarcity of re-
cruits the nation would have found IT.
self without any army whatever. No
regular soldier or self-respecting mill
| tiaman-a volunteer will wear any
thing-would have put IL on, and it's
adoption into the service would have
left no service TO wear IL.
This much is necessary TO explain the
alarm felt the other day when il was an
nounced that war office headilress
committee was about TO tamper with
the guardsman's bearskin. Fortunate
" the committee has only limited pow
ers. It's only function this time is, so
| to speak, TO haggle with tradesmen.
The plain factis that bearsl<ins are grow
ing scarce, and the cost of providing
the guards with their magnificent tall
hat of fur" is increasing yearly in re-
markable manner. Only one kind of
fur is used for this purpose. IL is that
produced By the American black bear,
and as Ursus Americans, despite the
| extraordinary cordiality subsisting be-
tween the two great branches of the
Anglo-Saxon race, refuses TO produce
well furred integument in sufficient
| quantities to cover the heads of our
| guardsmen at reasonable rate, the
never failing resources Of committee
has been called into operation.
1t costs, on an average, one pound n
head per annum TO maintain the impos-
ing appearance impaired by the busby
The great caps cost the government
about eight pounds each. Those worn
by the Coldstreams are little less, but
those for the Grenadiers and Scots
guards cost more than that sum. Ac-
cording TO the regulations, a busby
must last for eight years, but there are
several reasons why the regulation
life" of busby, like the regulation
life OF a whole lot Of other equipment,
falls considerably short of the war Of
fee span. One Of the principal reasons
is that the cap is only home service
equipment. When n guards battalion
Is ordered on foreign service the big
busbies-stirring battle pictures to the
contrary Notwithstanding - are re-
turned TO store at the Pimlico clothing
factory. They are not kept there await
ing the return OF their former owners,
but are reissued 10 newly joined re-
cruts or to battalions returning home,
so that men get what is called part
worn equipment" -London Telegraph