The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-12-10
BRITISH OFFICERS DUTIES.
Many Things He Should Know bu

Many Things He Should Know but
 Fails in Usually in War Time.
 Tn view of the recent report of the
 South African war stores commission, with its severe strictures on the mem
 tai, professional and business capacity
 of the British officer, it may be of genr | eral interest to review briefly few of the miscellaneous accomplishments in
 which the average subaltern is expect
 ed to excel
 Apart from the study entalled blythe
 particular branch of the service to
 which the subaltern belongs there are ! numerous courses of instruction about
 which the long suffering taxpayer
 these courses are compulsory, and to-
 gether with the voluntary ones they oc- cupy the greater portion of the initial stages of a subalterh's career.
 After few months service he pro- ceeds to Hythe where he learns the theory and practice of musketry, the
 history of firearms and the mechanism
 of the rifles and machine guns of all nations Later, at Aldershot, he is taught signalling with flag, lamp, hell- ograph and semaphore, and afterward, at the veterinary school, he learns the
 structure and diseases of the horse, the care of the animal in health and its treatment when sick, how to forge it's
 shoes and nail them on, how to fit sad dlery and harness, and the construc- | ton of stables and management of an imals both on land and shipboard. He then qualities as a transport off, cer, receiving instruction in the de- tails of manufacture and care of all army vehicles from the water cart to the gun carriage. A knowledge of mo- tor cars and traction engines has re- gently been added to the curriculum. Afterward he is taught how to judge the quality of forage, and he often has to compete with the farmer and pro- fessohal buyer in the purchase of hay and straw by the rick from the mead ow, or oats by the shlpload from Mark Lane
 In order that the soldiers food shall be the best obtainable Cat a price), the officer has to be instructed in the qual- ity of flour and meat (dead and aliye), and he also has to be conversant with the arts of breadmaking and butchery. Likewise the signs of age, health or disease in cattle and sheep and the quality of groceries, as well as beer, wines, spirits and milk, must be learned if he wishes to gain a Supply certificate" At Chatham he is taught to make trenches, temporary bridges and military obstacles, and to draw maps, write reports and Observe" the stars. There, too, he is shown how to survey an enemy's country from the giddy heights of a balloon, or to ap- proaoh his fortresses by means of un- derground tunnels; and he may, if he be so inclined be trained at the local gymnasium as boxer, fencer. a. gymnast or an exponent of jiu-iitsu, and-having achieved all these oualif- { cations-he can crown his ambition by graduating as a chef at the Aldershot school of cookery.
 Advantage is taken of his linguistic abilities to send him to Japan for two years to study Japanese, and he is like wise encouraged to qualify as an inter- preter in as many languages as he has a fancy for, from Chinese to German and from Hindustani to Cape Dutch.
 Every British officer is now supposed to know how to render first aid to the | wounded" and how to bandage, splint and prescribe for minor ailments. and | he is even expected to be a caster of l phonetics and an essayist on subjects varying from the report of a cricket ! match to the strategy of Moltke or the tactics of Napoleon.
 If he has any pride in the appear ance of his men he must possess the at- tributes of tailor, bootmaker and Ieath- CT seller in order to supervise and in- spect the fittings of their garments and the quality of their boots, saddlerv and f accoutrements, and to look further af- ter their comfort he must be able to Dit himself against the retail dealer, so as to watch over the soldiers interests in their canteens and grocery bars.
 On courts-martial he plays the part both of judge and jury, and when ap- bearing as prosecutor has often to meet the astute lawyer on his own ground.
 As ianitor he superintends the yari- ous military prisons and detention bar racks in England and the colonies. and as parson he conducts divine service. and in isolated garrisons even buries tho dead.
 So much then, for the actual needs of his profession. If however. he de- sires to become social as well as regimental success he should be a crlcketer. footbaley and a polo nlax-