The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-02
ALAS, ron. TOMMY ATKINS.
| He's Lost Two Inches in Height. One Inch
In Cirth and III Pounds.

Englishmen are steadily dwindling in
size, II the recruiting sergeants are to be
believed. The inspector-general Of re-
c~ruiting lays it to the fact that four-fifths
of England's population is in the cities.
where it hasn't enough to eat nor enough
air and exercise.
At the time of the Crimean war, says
Coliier'e. the minimum standard OF height
for her infantry was 5 feet 8 inches. and
most Of these stalwart troops OF the line
were country bred. Thirty years later.
in 1883, the standard had boeplowered to
feet 2 inches.
In 1900 when the transports were filed
with drafts for South Africa, another inch
was pared off the height, and before the
end of the campaign recruits were mus
tered in If they stood S feet in their stock
ings. More than half the men Of the
British army were below the standard
required of the troops she Cfirnea half
a century before.
T'nere hal beer a similar shrinkage OF
girth of chest. OF every thousand re-
cruits for the Boer war 51l measured less
than thirty-four inches around the chest.
which had been the minimum girth as late
as 1883. In the matter Of weight one
third of the whole number of enlisted men
in the Boer war fell short of the standard
of 1888 pounds, which had been required
Of the preceding generation; In 1900 the
average British recruit at the 2 of 10
around the chest, and fifteen pounds
lighter than the normal .Anglo-Saxon
youth of the same age ought to be.
After the Boer war the standard u
height was restored to 6 feet 3 inches,
but the army made no great improvement
l. IA Ia. A~@rtt
as 1905 the ver go height Of the British
infantryman was 5 feet Al inches. but
his girth of chest was only SO inches and
his weight 1873 pounds. showing that no
had beer underfed and given no fair
chance to grow.
There were worse revelations than
these. Small men may be sturdy men. as
in the case Of the Japanese, but these
millions Of city bred Britons were rotten
TO the core. Fifty per vent of the London
youths who offered themselves as re-
eruits were rejected as unfit, even after
the physical standards nae been low
cred: OF il,0oo young men examined
wan Of stamina or because of physical
defects.
Throughout the United Kingdom from
20 to 60 per cent. Of those wishing to en-
list were found to be unfit for the ser
y !foed ana for so noS dssPer ths, Wa tSs c aas n e ms OF
hooa III oVNV tiue tHV iucc ~ -
thus rejected was as worthless as il is
possible to imagine. OF the men actually
in Hhe ranks three out of five were in
capable Of enduring the hardships OF
active service and broke down in two
years or less time. During the year Of
1908 no fewer than 81. 723 British soldiers
Of less than two years service were dis
charged as invalids.
Almost so per cent. of the recruits In
the Boer war were between 10 and 10
years old. many of them under 10. and In
Manchester lads were enlisted who APP
peared to be no more than Is or 10.
At n time England was ma intaining
in the field $4,000 immature lads, thirty
battalions. an army corps, who would
not have been accepted for service in
France or Germany OF account OF their
youth. II was a British critic, Lord
Denman. who said Of this enfeebled
military strength:
Excepting . few picke ed corps, the
regular army consisted of .derelicts and
weeds, and even Of these a diminishing
number"