The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-09
Our Army of To-Day.

The tribute which Adjt.-Gen. CoRBIN
pays in the Forum, to the regular army is
not exaggerated. Ell Caney, San Juan,
Manila, and the campaign in Porto Rico
have opened all eyes to the qualities of the
American regular, and Gen. CoRBIN shows
to what the present high standard of the
army Is due.
First OF all he ascribes it to tho care
taken in recruiting. During the eighties
the laxity was SO great that "for a time
the assertions outnumbered the enlist
ments, and became a national disgrace"
But when the need Of reform became most
urgent new methods were introduced, scru-
tiny became severer, and last year 1927
applicants were rejected against 20, 521
accepted. AS to the quality of the army
to-day no more striking fact is pre-
sented by Gen. CORBIN than that from
the time the Fifth Corps. nearly all
regulars. left Tampa, on June IA, until It
went to Montauk on Aug. "a, Gen. SKATER
was not called lpon to order the trial
OF a single officer or private by general
court-martial." That is a wonderful rec
ord for 20, 900 men.
The law now requires that the soldier
Sllull pc al hlll' lNdh NlLlLfll " Sllull HIVE
legally declared his intention to become
one; and out of the recruits accepted last
year, 24,940, or about five out of every six,
were native born. He must be not only an
American citizen, but "A good citizen, bring
ing with him testimonials signed by two
persons; and the requirements say that "if
satisfactory evidence of good character,
habits, and condition cannot be furnished
by the recruit or be otherwise obtained, the
presumption should be against him and lie
should benot accepted" He must especially
be "free from incorporate habits, and the
law requires that he shall he able to speak,
read and write English. He must give the
name OF any person who has employed him
within six months, so that this employer
can be consulted. He must say whether
he has ever been convicted of a felony or i'm
prisoned. He must answer questions con-
corning his parents and his own physical
condition. Ifa recruit Is carelcssly accepted
in violation Of the regulations, the expenses
may be deducted from the officers pay.
Such are some of the means adopted for
securing sober. intelligent md sound men
as soldiers. They may not be invariably
successful, but Gen. CoRBIN anlrms that
1.-THE barriers to the enlistment OF u~nsuita-
BILE men are much greater than in any other
country" We are more exacting, for
example, than England as To height,
weight. chest measurement, and age. and
there, too, certificates Of good character arc
required only for the Household Cavalry and
educational tests for the Engineer Corps.
This high standard Of our regular army
must aid the movement pending in Congress
to increase its numbers.
Gen. CoRBIN praises the militia for its
response to the Presidents call, "but in
the future the National Guard must he
conducted on a different basis II it is
to become adequate as a fighting force"
At the outbreak OF the war with
Spain in only one or two States was
1t found ready; "a laxity of dminis
tration was only too apparent. equipments
were missing, and there was great delay
In mastering ii in. He would have the reg
ular army officers furnish more instruction
at State camps, while at such camps "an
organization relying upon a caterer to fur
nish food can never acquire the self-reIiance
which characterizes the regular soldier"
1t has been found that one cause Of the
present fine condition of the army has been
the lettering Of the soldiers lot during
recent years, He has good pay, although
that Of the non-commissioned officers should
be increased: he has liberal furloughs on
pay; his clothing allowance is so large that
often at discharge he gets over 500 in
cash to represent the difference between it
and tho clothing he has drawn; he is
well fed and has comfortable barracks
and many things provided for his amuse-
ment shoulder straps are not beyond his
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