The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-11-29
Attitude of COndeScenSion'
Shown in England to Unit
ed States Officers.
SOLDIERS BELITTLED
IN ONE NEWSPAPER
The Militia Comes in for Its Share
of Abuse as Useless for
Practical Purposes.

LONDON, NOV. IA certain con-
descension in foreigners" has long been
noted, and the following criticism OF
the United States army, written by an
Englishman ana published n the Lon
don Daily Telegraph. shows that the at
ritude still exists:
Ia the United States, says the critic.
the regular soldier is neither a familiar
nor popular figure He spends most OF
his service in outlying spots. such as
the borders OF the Indian territories or
the Philippines and the towns see but
little of him. He plays no part in the
literature OF his country; no Kipling has
ever sketched his life in time of peace
on this side of the Atlantic the Ameri-
can OFFICER is virtually unknown. Sixty
thousand is the total strength of the
army and the proportion of the COM
missIoned ranks is kept down strictly;
consequently, so few officers can ever
be ou leave In this country at one time
that they are lost in the multitude OF
their felIOw-JOurlsts.
Moreover, the fact that so many
militia and volunteer officers and self
styled veterans from former petty wars
use, or assume, military titles when in
Europe makes the regular officer very
chary about pTOClaiming his own rank
and he viii often be found passing as
civilian in order 10 avoid the humiliation
of being cIassed with the crowd Of those
amateur soldiers who bring ridicule on
his nation
Officer Stands Apart.
To the average American officer the
army is his home. He enters West Point
Academy as a mere boy, and no effort is
spared 10 break him of all former asso-
cations. 10 force him into the West
Point mold.
The course at west Point is probably
harder than in any other training col
lege in the World-tOO hard, perhaps, in
some ways-and a great many fail to
complete it, but once a cadet has I'm
ished his four years and passed into
the army he is provided with a career |
for life.
The result Of the system is that the
American officer stands very much apart
from the mass of his fellOW-counJTy-
men. He IS a type by himself, and, as
d rule, he is entirely out of sympathy
With all the other types. Politics leaves
him unmOved-he serves the United
States. not a party. He takes his pro
fession as seriously as other men take
their business; he gives his whole mind
10 IL. il is the one thing about which ne
really cares; and in the end he fire.
uuently reaches the point of despislng
all the ways of lie,
The rank and file Of the American I
army consists of curious mixture
There are men of every nation and
every class, ranging in age from mere T.
boys TO gray-headed veterans. OF the F.
latter, many have been in our own +.
army, and on being discarded as use .
less for further service by a sapient
British government, have been received F.
with open arms by the American re- /
cTUiting officers
Service Man No Type.
Unlike his officer, the American 'seT- /
vice man" does not form a type He I
has no salient characteristic nothing
which renders him interesting or marks 4
him out from the rest OF mis- fellow /
citizens. The system Of three-year en- /
listmeuts does not make for efficiency, /
and the fart that on re-enIisting a man /.
IS free to enter any other regiment or /
any other branch of the service, goes /
far toward preventing the growth OF I
regtmentaI spirit
Many enlist again and again, for the /
pay is good and the duties are light; I
but, somehow. the men, at least the /
American born ones, are always citi- .
zens nrst and soldiers afterward, and .
discipline has to be maintained more .
by tact than by the exercise of author /
ity.
Even on active service the American
private expects to receive his rations
OF fresh meat and soft bread as laid .
down in the regulations, and the mo
ment these are not forthcoming he be
gins to complain. and to talk Of writing
10 his Congressman. He has none of
that grit which makes the British pri-
vate tighten bis belt and go on, with
the certainty that, before long, he viii
have a fight which viii more than com
pensate him for his privations-
On Level With Private.
The nOn-Commissioued officer plays a
very small part in the American army,
mainly because he has no position, save
when actually on duty At other times
he is merely on a level with the pri-
Yates The short service and the fact
that he reverts to the ranks on re-en-
listment make his promotion a matter
of little moment and he values it &C
cordingly Instead Of being of assist
ance to his company commander in
dealing with the men, he is the mouth
piece Of the latter in their complaints
against their officers.
The American. auxiliary forces are es-
sentiaIly amateur and Inefficient. They
lack everything which a combatant D
force should have-training, discipline,
organization, and eQuipment-and they
cannot be said to form even the nucleus
of an army. For the purpose Of pre-
venting, or presiding over lynchings, or
sa.av.
burning the street cars, the States mi
litia may serve some useful purpose, but
the CHASTITY failures made at the time
Of the Spanish war showed that IL was
utterly useless for national purposes.