The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-08
TIE SOLDIERS TRAINING.
BENEFITS That Gene From the Military
Life.

Life.
To THE EDITOR or Tvs SUN-Sir: How
does q soldiers training affect the whole
makeup" Of a lad2 This question has not
been asked In the discussion on Enlisted
Men" l am. with my heart and soul. an
American citizen. but ! was born and ored
In Germany. and q man may love his BRIDE
without forgetting his old mother. II
should be asked which fact l considered A.
the greatest blessing for the improvement OF
the German race during the last nifty years
l would answer without a moments hesitation
the fact that every German man has had 10 De
q soldier.
There hs no question about the physical
improvement. Science has settled that by
physiological experiments, and everybody
can see with his own eyes the outward change
In a man. A stopping. sickly looking. bloated
youth enters the service. and after three
months a straight. clear eyed. healthy soldier
boy marches by. A slouohing. Tawky booT
sinks into the barracks, and after a year
a hardy. free and easy trooper rides over the
field. When he returns to his village he Is
a changed man in body and mind. Not
only the village lasses. but his employers
prefer him, because he has learned clean
liness and order, self-discipline and alertness.
and the sense Of being on duty" He has
mingled, on an equal footing, with men OF
all classes and knows his shortcomings. but
also how to take care OF himself.
Would IL be a bad thing for the United
States II every American boy could act a
training like that OF the thorqushbreds Nest
Was the exercise OF, mind and body which
fSTio%srs ana snyt sns s' else s s1s0 the d TRY" Of the
anCsS What man would not rather be 3
s .fifGpiHrH sa al the q scrpseeeiRt;y 81 the animal and
retain all bis superb strength, agility. grace
'u!!f n. /. af1 " sd%its That itO' our enlisted men
are well trained. but he does not know what
this implies. This training mean that eur SOL
lead more temperate, regular and wholesome
lives than the superior persons" themselyes.
" Witch u G Allow SRei ne cso SSfiEnSr or ps snSsss. as saw we'll
as by constant drill and exercise. that the
men build up slowly their wiTy; hardy he con on
ships under which the volunteers and militia
sF. !; D. does not Sispute that cur soldier.
the morale Of an effective army 4 to the mere
physical as four TO. one. and that a soldier
mere muscle when he Is struggIing up a san
Juan Hill; This something. behind z soldier
as historically developed. This may seem
strange. but Il is no less true than that the
With is sta6bcrn staying power, or Of a
French regiment, with It's brilliant Ella n, is
to-day practically the same as IL was CEN
turtles ago. The rank and file Of our army
and navy. whether their names be Irish or
German. English or Norwegian, are all Ameri-
cans and fight as Alnericans-more agrees
sively than the English and holding out better
than the French.
IF. T. d" is sorrowful that the army and
the ranks Of the common people and not
from the refined and cultured classes. The
fact IL that the latter. generally, have neither q
taste nor fitness for soldering. The physical
basis OF an effective army IL not mere muscle.
but ,sll-around ,hardihood and endurance.
iEC and roughing II. This is the reason that
1t is SO difficult to conquer a nation which
is fighting with the north wind at its back
this is the reason that hardy mountaineers
mldable fighters: and this is the reason that
the backbone Of the rank and file Of a national
effective army and navy must be formed from
the ranks OF the common, hardy people. BY
the common people ] mean here all the men
OF a nation who do the bodily productive
things. and have more OF less 10 rough II
from the hour OF their birth. 4 regiment
of volunteers recruited exclusively from
the refined and cultured classes would go
all to pieces in the fret two weeks of a rough
campaign and the men would die of like
sheep in a plague.
A certain PERCENTAGE OF the right fellows
from the more intellectual classes would
be certainly desirable among the rank and
file, but our army. and navy rs they are al
present have made good" They represent
admirably the fighting character OF the nation.
The men are as n rule well behaved, alert,
intelligent, and will do their duty whenever
they are called upon to protect the lives and
property. OF the superior persons" who de-
spise and insult them. ID. s.
NEW EORK, October q.