Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-07-09
THE SOLDIERS LIFE
ONE OF UNCLE SANS HOSPITAL
ATTENDANTS GIVES HIS VIEWS
ON THIS SUBJECT. t..

ON THIS SUBJECT. .r.
The following interesting communi-
cation relating to the life Of the sol
der in our army is from the pen Of
an enlisted man at Fort Lincoln and
gives a~good view from the inside of
army life as viewed from the ranks: {
In as much as my experience as an
enlisted man in the .. s.. Army may
pc OF value to others I submit the fol
lowing remarks for publication in
your valuable paper: 90
The purpose Of all drills and in
struction in time OF peace and in fact
the reason d'etre of the army itself
is the development of individual and
collective efficiency for ready avail
ability in time of need. The athletic
work, military. training and instruc.
ton in the post school together with
the abundant leisure and rest make
the army military academy, an in
dustrial school, a sanitarium and an
Institution where one is paid ordinary
wages not for work but for self i'm
provement. might mention in this
connection that there is regular
school established in which 'sthe in
struction is not limited to the lower
branches but will include any subject
which the men can pursue with ad-
vantage to themselves or to the bene-
fit of the service. The pay, it is true,
looks small but is liberal when all the
incidentals such as clothes, food, in
crease on reenlistment and pension
after 30 years service are taken into
consideration not to mention free
travelling money. The opportunity of
studying human nature in the nude
with all its weakness and wickedness
without its conventional hypocricy is
also somewhat of a revelation. =.
Economy of space prevents me from
dwelling in detail upon these different
points suffice it to say, that he gov
eminent has done all in its power to
improve the men in the service physi-
cally, intellectually, financially and
spiritually. The fact that a great
many men neglect the many and bril-
liant opportunities does not change the
fact that these opportunities exist.
These are few Of the advantages
offered by the service AS my purpose
is not to entice men into the service,
but to give brief perspective of the
army pro and con as 1t appears to me
after three years service, 1t becomes
necessary to mention briefly a few
disadvantages. FirstiI wish to men,
ton the companionship into which
recruit comes. In spite Of the re.
quirements demanding physical and
moral health in applicants who pre-
sent themselves for enlistment some
unfit persons will come into the serv.
ice. These are not SO numerous as is
ordinarily believed for it has been.
again and again asserted by careful
observers that the average enlisted
man compares favorably with the
average man on the outside though
the opinion Of the majority gives him
different status The unfayorable
estimate referred to is in a large
measure to be ascribed to his uniform
which renders one noisy recruit or.
intoxicated old soldier more con-
spicuous than a whole company of
orderly soldiers. On the other hand
we do not mean to imply that the
average soldier is a fit candidate for
sainthood, for the average man on the
outside, decidedly his inferior in bear
ing, readiness. to meet contingency,
ETC., is not a pargon of virtue or nobili-
ty OF character. In a great many
cases he is a free lover with a good
taste for liquor, rather given to the.
use of those expressive explosives, in
which the English language abounds
when in his own set, all OF which
beautiful traits he manages to conceal
until he comes into the army when he
throws Of the mask and appears as he
actually is. s@8
Removed as he is from ali the
enobling influences of home and the.
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