Blue Shirt and Khaki: A ComparisonArchibald, James F. J. (James Francis Jewell)
History
Blue Shirt and Khaki: A Comparison
Archibald, James F. J. (James Francis Jewell)
Great Britain. Army; Military art and science; South African War, 1899-1902; United States. Army
In the United States it has not been found necessary to resort to
these expedients to gain recruits. The recruiting offices in time of
peace show a small but steady stream of callers; they are not from
the degraded classes, nor are they ignorant men; they are young men
of various social grades who, in many cases, have been advised by
older men to enter the army, or who think they see in its discipline,
regularity of life, and opportunity for promotion a promising opening
for three years of trial.
The rigidity of the examinations is in itself an attraction to the
young American. There is no other line of work for which he must submit
to such searching competitive tests as he finds in the recruiting
office. Physically he must be perfect; unsoundness of eye, ear, lung,
heart, liver, skin, limbs, extremities, or any other defect, will debar
him no less than would his inability to read and write.
There is also in the United States a continual fostering of the
military spirit among the youth by means of the cadet corps in the
public and private schools. Again, the fact that so many boys in
America are taught to ride and shoot has its natural influence in
leading large numbers of them to think of the army. The patriotic
instruction and the devotion to the flag which are now so prominent a
feature in the public schools, have also an influence in turning the
minds of many young men to the national service.
Two exceedingly strong attractions which the American army presents,
and which are lacking in the British army, are the inducements of
good pay and of promotion. The English recruit enlists for a period
of twelve years, without the opportunity of ever becoming more than a
non-commissioned officer, and for the sum of twenty-four cents a day;
while the American enlists for three years, with the possibility of
becoming lieutenant-general commanding the army, and for pay which,
including ration and clothing allowance, a portion of which thrifty men
can commute into cash, amounts to at least one dollar a day, and from
that up to three dollars and a half a day, together with twenty per
cent. increase on all pay for active service. The American government
provides that the paymaster shall take charge of any funds that the
men do not wish to draw, and it pays a high rate of interest on these
deposits. Thus, large numbers of our men have saved several thousand
dollars out of their pay, and yet have lived well and had money to
spend all the time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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