The evening times., 1899-09-20
SOLDIERS FIERCE HEADGEAR.
BenrslSins Worn by the Coidstream
Grenadfers and Scots Guards.

Bearslxins Worn by the Coidstream
Grenadiers and Scots Guards.
(From the London Telegraph-)
For more than one hundred and thirty
years "a tall hat of fur has been a con-
spicuous article of headgear in the British
army. and it was with something of shock
that people read in the papers the ether
day that a committee was going to sit to
consider the growing scarcity Of the bear
skins from which are made the imposing
full-dress hat of the Foot Guards. War
Office committees ON clothing are dreadful
things. but those that sit on hats are un-
utterable Everybody remembers with hor-
ror the alleged helmet which such COM
mittee produced a few years ago. 1t was
to be the universal headcoyering of the
British army and must be serviceable and
useful The committee decided, as a first
principle, that an article possessing these
two qualities must be ugly. Proceeding
from this premise, they gave full express
sica to their ideas Of utility, and produced
a head covering the like Of which was
never before seen on earth, and it Is to be
hoped never will be again. There are mem
bers OF the headquarters staff who to this
day have not quite got over the sight of the
experimental helmet devised by the COM
[
or instead of only having to lament the
scarcity OF recruits the nation would have
found itself without any army whatever.
No regular soldier or self-respecting mill
tiaman-a volunteer will wear anything
would have put it on, and its adoption into
the service would have left no service to
wear it.
This much Is necessary to explain the
alarm felt the other day when it was an
nounced that war office headdress COM
mittee was about to tamper with the
Guardsman's bearskin. Fortunately the
committee has only limited powers. Its
only function this time is. SO to speak, to
haggle with tradesmen- The plain fact is
that bearskins are growing scarce, and the
cost of providing the Guards with their
magnificent tall hat of fur" is increasing
yearly in a remarkable manner. Only one
kind of fur is used for this purpose. 1t is
that produced by the American black bear,
and as Ursus Americans. despite the ex-
traordinary cordiality subsisting between
the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon
race, refuses to produce we'll furred integu-
ment in sufficient quantities to cover the
heads of our Guardsmen at a reasonable
rate, the never failing resource of COM
mittee has been called into operation.
1t costs, on an average, Ell head per
annum to maintain the imposing appear
ance impaired by the busby. The great
caps cost the Government about 9S each.
Those worn by the Coldstreams are a little
less, but those for the Grenadiers and
Scots Guards cost more than that sum.
According to the regulations, bushy must
last for eight years, But there are several
reasons why the regulation life of a
busby, like the regulation life of whole
lot OF ether equipment. falls considerably
short of the War Office SPAN One of the
principal reasons is that the cap is only a
home service equipment. When Guards
battalion Is ordered on foreign service the
big busbies-stirring battle pictures to the
contrary otwithstandiIg-ere returned to
store at the Pimlico clothing factory They
are not kept there awaiting the return OF
their former owners, but are reissued to
newly joined recruits or to battaiions re-
turning home, so that men get what Is
called part worn equipment.