The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-03-09

UNSURPASSED FLORAL EFFECTS
In charge of the celebrated firm of
JOSH GRAY & co.
Performances All Over the Home
Grounds BY Carpenter and
His Band.
TAKE ANY ROAD FROM THE CITY
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS FOR Low.
ERS AND LUNGERS.
Get an idea of what MILE. SPRING
and her marvellous troupe will dc
by viewing our sample exhibitions
in Elk Park, Souse Park and The
Cut.
Transfers from Dayton, Milwaukee
Danville, Marion and Leavenworth
Half Fare. Rummies from Hamp-
ton Barred.
Said an old Regular apropos of the
many schemes to increase the army
of defense:
What we want is an army which
| is ready to move at all times at the
Presidents command. All the units
must be well organized and officers
and men should be familiar with their
duties. This does not require that
the army in time of peace should be
on a war footing. Every unit can be
so constituted as 10 permit of an ex-
pansion, in case OF war, to two or
three times it's size on a peace basis
without changing the units in any
way. How much of an army, then,
do we want? / suggest one of 200,-
600 men on a peace basis, with re-
serves. We now have a small army,
and it is impossible to keep it re-
cruited to its full strength. Why?
Soldiers enlist for all sorts of rea-
sons. Some are without money; some
are too lazy to work; some are bro
ken hearted; some are romantic and
adventurous some wish to travel;
some are attracted by the uniform,
the march, the camp, the parade
etc; but few if any enlist for the
pay of a soldier. We cannot forget
the sad spectacle of converting the
militia into volunteer army in the
War with Spain, The boys who en-
listed were hailed as heroes and if
not killed came home as hobos, par
alytics, neurotics and consumptives.
Let us have done with tin-soldier ar
mics. Yet today great men are advo-
eating plans for arming the nation
which are but slight improvements
on the old one. How then shall we
recruit this army in spite of the eff
forts now being made to dissuade
men from enlisting? First: Prefer
for civil service appointment all sol
diers who have served three or more
years in the army, and have been
honorably discharged. Second: APP
point all officers of the army from
the ranks, instead of from civil life,
through West Point. This would
make an officers commission the re-
ward for faithful service to ones
country. officers thus occupied will
be benefited. A spirit of study and
ambition would prevail in the army.
These two principal inducements,
with the main reasons for enlisting,
should be ample to recruit the army
to its full strength of 100000 men.
Upon being discharged from the army
after three years service, all men
should pass to the first reserve for
another three years, whether they go
back TO civil life or enter the civil
service. Then, and finally, they should
pass to the second reserve.
al
the old Volunteer, for the reason that
in time I'll be glad to see all the
Branch Homes filled to their capac-
ity, as well as your Regular Home
with it's $4,000,000 reserve fund and
only 1900 inmates. The increase to
100000 in the Regular Establishment
will soon furnish disabled soldiers
to all the Homes, and this talk of
closing up three or four Branches
now on account of overhead cost, ETC.,
will stop.
"Ah, yes" said the Oracle of Co. c,
"this community life has its attrac-
tons as well as its drawbacks. While
many OF us here are members through
inevitable circumstance of merciless
obligation-igure it out yourselves
the fact remains that many are sat-
isfied, no matter what happens. AT
times it requires only a moment for
self-assertlye nature to come back to
beset us with whims and yanities,
and in another moment age tells
Here we have sublimity, Intellectual
ity, stupidity, comedy tragedy-just
the same as on the outside. We have
poverty and riches, joy and sorrow,
peace and plenty-and the nightmare
of loneliness. But what's the odds?
Next Tuesday will be pension day,
and I'll go as usual to Bristol to
mingle and gurgle with the common
herd
The obligatory salute by member
of the Home. which obtained for 35
years. to an Officer" under Home
rules was abolished gradually, al
though some veterans owing to an
ingrowing habit will salute lamp
post. The salute was a sign of class
distinction in the Branches. In the |
Army and Navy the uniform of au-
thority and not the officer is sa-
luted. We hail its passing, as it only |
prevailed by order of martinets of |