Evening star., 1942-10-18
Soldiers, 19, Are Men
In Britain, Those 1S
Are Only Reserves
Youths in Younger Group
Trained With Care
And Used Cautiously
BY WILLIAM H. STONEMAN,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chiraro nailv Naus

BY WILLIAM H. STONEMAN,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
LONDON, Oct. 17-If the Amer
lean Government calls men of 18
and 10 to the colors, it may profit
by the experience of the British
with youngsters they have had to
summon to the service In both this
war and the last.
Boys of 10 have been considered
as men in both wars, but 1S-year-
olds have been reserved until the
last possible moment, trained with
care and used with caution.
In the last war boys of 18 were
taken into the army only when ter
rifle casualties on the western front
created a definite shortage of man.
power. Then, when they were put
into uniform, the rule was to give
them full year Of careful physical
hardening, followed by six months
OF military drill before sending
them as draftees to depleted units
In France. When the 18-year-olds
turned up in France In 1918, it was
found that they were excellent SOL
dlers, thanks largely to the prepara-
ton given them.
Year Of Hardening Needed.
Nlneteen-year-olds were caught
by the first militia called up in
England in April, 1899, before the
war began, and they have been serv-
ing since. Eighteen-year -olds were
not called up until April 18 of this
year, 1917 months after the war
began, the second section of the 1924
class being summoned August Is.
Before these men were finally con-
scrlpted, the Government had first
drawn all available men from age
groups between and including the
ages of 81 and Al.
Elghteen-year-old Britishers are
not as mature, either mentally or
physically, as boys of corresponding
age in the United States, but the
rules applied to them may be help
ful In deciding how to deal with
our young men.
Most British officers will agree. in
the first place, that boys of this age
require a great deal of physical
hardening and mental discipline be-
lore being thrown into action. A
year or more of drill and camp
life will make an 18-year-old green
norm into a tough frontline 19-year-
Old and that year is worth the
trouble and expense, they believe,
Ihey also believe, in the light of
thelr experience, that it is best to mix
lS-year-old or 19-year-old troops
with older men who have learned
dlsclpline themselves in private life
and can act as wise uncles to the
Kids In their new military environ
ment.
Physically Best at 22 or %.
AS far as fighting qualities in
modern warfare are concerned. the
British believe that the ideal age
Tor a soldier is somewhere between
"a and 80. A man is physically at
his best when he Is around % or
23, they argue, but he has not
achieved the maximum amount of
common sense and individual judg-
ment until he has gotten past the
25-year-old mark.
The fact that they themselves
nave finally drawn on 1S-year-olds
without having reached the low
water mark of British manpower is
accounted for, first. by the fact that
modern war requires greater sup
plies of manpower in industry and.
second, that the British do not ex-
pect to get through this without
casualties Of serious dimensions
Copyright, 1912, by Chicago Daily News