The Washington herald., 1909-06-06
ALAS, FOR TOMMY ATKINS.
He's Lost Two Inches I'm Heights, One
Inch In Girth, and IL Pounds.

mon N ArArLAr ana AB rounds
Englishmen are steadily dwindling in
size. if the recruiting sergeants are 10 be
believed. The Inspector general Of re
cruiting lays it to the fact that four-ffths
OF England's population Is in the cities,
where il hasn't enough 10 eat nor enough
air and exercise.
AT the time of the Crimean war, says
Golfers. the minimum standard of height
for her infantry was i've Ieet six inches.
and most OF these stalWaTt troops OF the
line were country bred Thirty years
later. in 1SS3, the standard had been low
cred 20 five feet three inches.
In 1900. when the transports were filed
with drafts for South Africa, another inch
was pared of the height. and before the
end Of the campaign recruits were mus
tered in II they stood FIVE feet IN their
stockings. More than half the men OF
the British army were below the standard
required Of the troops in the Crimea half
a century before.
There had been a similar shrinkage OF
girth Of chest. OF every 1000 recruits
for the Boer war 81 measured less than
thirty-fOur inches around the chest.
which had been the minimum girth as
late as 1sS3- In the matter Of weight one
third Of the whole number of enlisted
men in the BOer war fell short OF the
standard Of lS6 pounds. which rzd been
required OF the preceding generation In
1900 the average British recruit al the
age of nineteen years was two inches
shorter. an inch less around the chest.
and fifteen pounds lighter than the nor
NAL Anglo-Saxon youth Of the same age
ought 10 be.
After the Boer war the standard OF
height was restored 70 Ave feet three
inches. but the army made no great I'm
provement Ia its average physique. AS
recently az 1906 the average height OF
the British infantrymaa was five feet
four and three-quarter inches. but his
girth Of chest was only thirty-three inch
es and his weight l25 pounds. showing
that he had been underfed and given no
fair chance 10 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
10 the core Fifty per cent OF the London
youths who offered themselves as recruits
were rejected as unit, even after me phys
ical standards had been lowered. OF II COO
young men examined IN Manchester S.O0C
were rejected for want OF stamina or
because OF physical defects.
Throughout the United Kingdom from
20 70 50 per cent OF those wishing 10 en-
list were found 10 be unfit for the SER
vice. and so desperate was the need OF
food for powder" that the class Of men
thus rejected was as worthless as Il il
possible 20 imagine. OF the men actually
in the 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
1903 no fewer than SL723 British soldiers
OF less than Two years service were dis
charged as invalids
Almost 50 per cent Of the recruits in
the BOer war were between eighteen and
nineteen years old. many Of them under
eighteen, and IN Manchester lads were
enlisted who appeared 20 be no more
tha fifteen or sixteen Al one time Eng
land was maintaining in the field 5000
immature lads. thirty battalions. an army
corps. who would not have been accepted
for service in France or Germany on
account Of their youth II was a British
critic. Lord Denman. who said OF this
enfeebled military strength.
Excepting a few picked corps. the
regular army consisted OF derelicts and
weeds. and even Of these a diminishing
number