Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-19

'IHe EngHSH SOIdfer IS the OcSt-trdtned SOL
dter in the porld. The English soldiers fire Is
ten thousand times toorSe than hell II oe could
only beat the English It toould be toeH for as,
but am afraid shall neUer be able TO beat
these English devils."-Extract from letter
found the body of German officer.
TT, as has been stated, the Anglo Boer War
i of 1900 all but buried the much cherished
reputation of the British soldier, Tommy
Atkins" and his officers have come back"
in the present campaign in a truly magnif-
cent way, blotting out all blemish-if any
eXisted-on their records and traditions. For
there will be more brilliant page in the
history of the war than that which has been
furnished by the deeds and daring exploits
of French's "contemptlble little army" The
indomtable pluck against any odds the
splendid fighting qualities and all-round
efficiency of Tommy" have proved a rude
and bitter awakening to his Teuton foes, re-
viving again the glories of Blenheim, Water
loo and the Crimea.
AT a critical stage of his career, like the
present. when he is in the full glare of the
news limelight, much is printed concerning
the military activities of Tommy Atkins"
giving only the technical phase of his life;
but a far more interesting chapter is that
which affords an intimate view of the man
as he really is and in the making. To know
and to understand the nature of Tommy"
one should have actual experience in the
"monotony of soldering" the drill and riding
school, barrack-room routine and all that
makes up the daily life as well as the ex-
ceptional and picturesque The portraits of
Kipling, queer eccentrics debased in drink
and gifted with strange linguistic tendencies
are delicious characters. but no more true
to type than the "dashing heroes" of the pop
ular military novelist. The real soldier-the
product of the barrack-room, not the hastily
trained recruit for emergency-rarey shows
himself to the civilian, for whom he con-
fess an ill-concealed contempt; yet, curiously
enough, it is always the civilian writer who
writes of army life.
"Reveille" TO lights Out"
The popular belief usually entertained by
the outsider that soldiers life is a profess
sion of lazness is promptly dispelled after
entering the barrack gates, Generally speak
ing it takes three years of daily training
to produce a finished infantryman; still
longer in the case of trooper or cavalry
man, and five years or even more are neces-
sary to obtain proficiency in the special de-
partments Of the service such as the engi-
neers, medical corps etc.
The path of the recruit is, indeed, hard
one His is strenuous life each day a full
one from "reveille" to flights out" II he
should elect to be trooper his day starts
at $3.50 a. m. and finishes at 8 p. m., pro-
viding he has not in the meantime been |
warned for night guard.
Here is the average days program; Aroused |
at $3.50, he Is expected to dress and be |
equipped for stables in Is minutes and get |
below and "muck out" Water and feed his |
horse and groom until breakfast sounds At |
$3.50 he is ready uniformed for riding school |
or field drill which lasts until 1890 With II |
o'clock the bugles sound stables" and the |
recruit has changed his riding suit for that |
of a stable outfit and grooms and cleans
saddlery until /. DINNER up" and over, he
has to turn out for square drill" and mus
kerry practice, which keeps him occupied till .
late in the afternoon BY 5 p. m he is back
at stables again to water, feed and bed
down." Then for the first time in the day,
he has a moment OF leisure. which he is
free to put to his own use. but the chances
are that, thoroughly tired out, lights out"
will find him In his coarse hard bed unless
he be the fortunate possessor OF a pass.
The life of an infantryman is not SO hard,
excepting perhaps the long and arduous
marches he is forced to undertake and the
extra foot drill. Such rigorous training is
essential for soldiers need a great supply Of
moral and physical strength to enable them
~ Mithstahu suSh hie as they are now eX-
perieneing in the trenches. Under such con-
ditions one must hre. drink eat sleep and
die under the nervous strain OF expecting
sudden attack at any moment, denied often
the coveted luxury OF smoke, lest the flash
of the match should draw hail OF bullets.
Under Fire
If barrack life does not tend to deyelop
plaster saints" "boudoir flowers" II
brings out in a striking way all that A.
best-and' for that matter, all that is bad
lin man II Is a rough school. 70 which
only the httest survive. But theirs h
rough task in grim -Yisased var" And war
= 10 best Is an unholy AFFAIR. under modern