The daily Alaskan., 1917-11-10
MARCHING TROOPS
Length of a Days Tramp De-
 bends on the Methods Used.
A HARD WAY AND AN EASY WAY

cry HoJueteo h Lssbens tno N"SSHh
 of Energy He Has to Expend and in-
 creaaos His Staying Powers.
 There are two things, and two things only, which determine the length of a days march for soldier. The first is the amount of actual labor or mechan- ical work done while marching, the second is the degree of even distribu- tion of this labor among the chief mus cles used in performing labor. Now, labor, or work, is simply the product of the force overcome and the distance through which it is overcome. The forces to be overcome are by no means confined to the weight of the man and his pack. Many other forces are called into play in the course of a days march.
 To illustrate, suppose the marcher has to carry five pound weight on the end of five foot stick. Suppose he places this stick across his shoulder with four feet behind him and one foot in front. By the simple exercise of bad judgment he multplles the weight of his load by four; he has 10 pull down continually with a force of twenty pounds, and the shoulder must contin- ually push up with force of twenty five pounds, all on account of that i've pound load which is carried on the end of the stick.
 Another way in which energy may be wasted is somewhat more subtle and perhaps bit harder to understand, but of equal or greater importance. It lies in the principle that work has to be done whenever n mass of any kind Is changed in Its motion. It takes more energy to start street car, for tn- stance than to run 1t at uniform speed. It takes more energy to make Its speed a little faster than to maintain 1t at the last speed-that Is, whenever a body Is given an acceleration a new force has to be used. Now, every time sol dier bobs up and down when walking be has to start the weight of his body and pack and gun upward and let them down again. To do this uses up more energy than simply to keep them moY- ing up or down. In the one case only the pull of gravity has to be overcome, In the other the inertia of the soldiers head and body. And the faster this Is done the more energy Is used up per step. Hence it is that slow walk can be maintained, not merely for a longer time than a fast one, but for longer distance on a stretch.
 Under the principle outlined above would come the loss of energy due to all swinging articles. such as bayonet scabbards. tin cups, tassels. etc. These have to be put in motion, then Jerked back and stopped by bodily contact, then put i'll motion again. All this con- sumes energy, and work has to be done.
 Again, any weight on the breast or 8 soldier or tight coat or shirt, has to be overcome every time he breathes. And the deeper his chest expansion the more work be has to do with his breast every time he takes a breath. This amounts to an enormous total during days march. A loose coat and under clothes will cause him to travel with less expenditure of energy. It must be remembered that this is actual energy used up, taken from the store of en- ergy available to march with.
 Besides the up and down motion of a soldier while marching, he sways from side to side Every article he Is carry ing and his own body are thus started and stopped In this swaying direction also. Thus energy is used up. Now the upper part of his body sways fur ther than does the lower part, so If the pack there must be, the heavier part of 1t should be placed just as low down the trunk as is convenient or comforta- ble. The heavier articles should also go as close to the back as possible, so as not to increase the leverage on the straps holding the pack to the body.
 To sum up then: The gun should be carried with fits center of gravity just wee bit behind the shoulder, so Rs to balance the weight of the hand and forearm which keeps 1t steady (thts is the usual practice, be it said); the pack should be as compact as possible, close f1tting to the back, the heavy articles tightly packed in the lowest available space; no swinging articles should be allowed, not even tassels; the coat across the breast should be loose fitting, as should also the underclothes; slow gait should be used; as small rise and fall as possible of the body should be indulged in and as short sway as pos sible To the above may be added that the shoes should not have stiff soles, for every time the sole of shoe is bent energy is used up.
 To decrease the rise and fall of the body in walking the old Indian walk" used by some surveyors is useful It consists in slightly crooking the for ward knee as the body Is showed for ward on to the front fOot.-Philadel- phia Press.
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