150 Years Ago Uncle Sam Was Saying:
I Want You for My Army,' but He Had
Much Less to Offer Than He Has Today
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
YOU see it everywhere
now—on sidewalk bill
boards that stand in
front of post offices or in the
(corridors of other public
buildings. It’s a poster in
which an arresting figure
catches the eye and holds it
long enough to deliver this
laconic message to the young
men of America:
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It’s a part of Uncle Sam’s
campaign to increase one of
his arms of defense to a new
peacetime strength of 480,000
men. For, if the flames of
war leap across the Atlantic
and the forces of totalitarian
ism threaten his land, Uncle
Sam intends to be prepared
in time to resist them suc
cessfully.
One hundred and fifty years ago
he was engaged in a similar cam
paign, yet how different! There
was no such emergency then as
now, although Uncle Sam, then
but a stripling, had already heard
the rumblings of an imminentwar
across the ocean. More than
that, two disasters to his puny
army on the western frontier had
made him uncomfortably aware
of how inadequate he was to de
fend the new nation if trouble
came to its shores.
From its beginnings, the United
States has been a peace-loving
nation and has figuratively leaned
over backwards to avoid any
semblance of militarism. The
founding fathers, seeing in Europe
the results of despotic power sup
ported by a strong military estab
lishment, resolved that there
should be no such thing here to
hinder their efforts to establish a
government whose power would
be derived “from the consent of
the governed.”
When Washington became our
first President two of the prin
cipal objectives of his adminis
tration were the establishment of
a strong financial system and a
sound military organization. Al
exander Hamilton, his secretary
of the treasury, provided the for
mer, but Gen. Henry Knox, his
secretary of war, had more dif
ficulty in securing the latter.
Knox prepared a plan for com
pulsory military training and
service, which Washington recom
mended to congress on January 1,
1790. It was not favorably received,
mainly because Knox, in his letter
of transmittal, said that his pro
posed continental militia would
protect the country from internal
as well as external enemies and
he also stressed his opinion that
“the government should possess
a strong corrective arm.”
The secretary s choice of words
was unfortunate, especially at
this particular time when con
gress was trying to safeguard the
liberties of the people by enact
ing a Bill of Rights as the first
amendments to the Constitu
tion. Naturally a proposal for “a
strong corrective arm” rang
harshly on the congressional ear
and Knox’s plan was rejected.
First National Defense Bill.
On July 1, 1790, Elias Boudinot
of New Jersey introduced a na
tional defense bill which proposed
that the organization and training
of our peacetime army consist of
grouping all the younger men in
special "light infantry com
panies” in each regiment of the
general militia. If war came,
these companies could be assem
bled into battalions and regi
ments and thus form a new Con
tinental army. Similar com
panies were to be formed in the
other branches of the service and
all of them were to have a "sound
system of discipline” and be
trained under federal supervision.
The first congress failed to act
on the Boudinot bill and in the
first session of the second con
gress a similar measure was in
troduced by Jeremiah Wadsworth
of Connecticut. But before it was
finally passed it was so amended
and emasculated that Wadsworth
himself voted "no” on it.
Washington, though greatly dis
appointed in this new militia law,
nevertheless siened it with the
Recruiting Instructions
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. «4>>u ire immediately to commence the
recruiting fervice in the State of G<yn'ne cZlci.it _ The principal
rendezvous will be at — cXCidoth
dX toiCC ouotiXtJ- one. luL. 2a) fa &
Tour recruits will be furnilhed by- uy
et~ Jt&to'uf**' j w'th rations, barracks, barrack utenfils,
(haw and fuel; and alfo with fuch necelTary medicinal alii (lance as they may
require.
I'llmcto*—‘*<vvice is fnmetimc/Vbu!'ed
Gen. Henry Knox, secretary of war, was sending these instruc
tions to his recruiting officers back in 1792.
hope that it might be amended
later. How worthless was this
law was proved two decades later
when the nation tried to assem
ble an army to repel the invasion
of the British in the War of 1812.
It failed miserably with the result
that the enemy easily defeated
the defenders of Washington, cap
tured that city and burned the
Capitol and the White House.
Meanwhile events on the fron
tier already had proved that our
regular army was inadequate to
perform the tasks expected of it.
In 1790 it suffered a severe re
verse under the leadership of Gen,
Josiah Harmar who was sent to
subdue the hostile tribes in the
Old Northwest. The next year
occurred the defeat and rout of
the army led by Gen. Arthur St.
Clair, the worst military disaster
in America since the days of
Braddock. These two fiascoes
not only resulted in the Indians
renewing their attacks on the
western settlements with even
greater fury but they indicated
to an alarmed country how im
potent was the new federal gov
ernment.
More than that, France and
England were on the verge of re
newing their ancient feud and
there was danger of the United
States being drawn into it. All
of these factors pointed to the
urgent necessity of our strength
ening our forces for national
defense. So Secretary Knox
launched his recruiting campaign
to obtain a regular army that
would be equal to the task of de
feating the confederation of tribes
which had been formed by Chief
Little Turtle of the Miamis.
In the light of the present drive
to increase our army, the instruc
tions to recruiting officers sent
out by Secretary Knox in 1792
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make interesting reading today.
Indicative of the difficulties which
the federal government was hav
ing in those days is the secre
tary’s statement that “The re
cruiting service is sometimes
abused, both as it respects the
individuals recruited and the pub
lic at large—that is, recruits are
unwarily and unworthily entan
gled, contrary to their intentions;
such men generally desert the
service, at some critical moment,
or serve grudgingly, and set bad
examples to others; or, unsuit
able persons are engaged, who
are constitutionally defective and
unfit for the hardships incident to
a military life . . In order there
fore to avoid the errors of this
business, the following instruc
tions are to serve as the general
rules and principles of your con
duct.”
Knox’s Recruiting Instructions.
He then goes on to list the reg
ulations governing recruiting.
Some of them were as follows:
The recruits are to be inllsted for
three years, unless sooner discharged.
Each recruit Is to receive a bounty of
Eight Dollars; but no part of this sum
is to be advanced until the recruit shall
have been fairly inllsted and sworn be
fore a Magistrate, according to the form
herein prescribed, and then only the said
sum is to be advanced in such propor
Uons as the judgment of the recruiting
officer shall dictate, until experience
shall In some degree have ascertained
the fidelity of the recruit.
Every recrulUng officer shaU be al
lowed the sum of Two Dollars, for the
trouble and expence of lnlisting each re
cruit;—provided however, that such
lowance will not be made for any re
cruit who (hall desert before he lhall
march from the rendezvous of the troops
in the State where he shall have been
recruited.
The utmost fairness is to be used by
the recruiting officers, in engaging their
recruits; no individual therefore is to be
Inllsted in a state of intoxication, or to
be sworn until after he shall have been
Inllsted for the space of twenty-four
hours.
Each recruit (musicians excepted)
must be five feet and five inches in
helghth, without shoes: he must also be
healthy, robust, and sound in his limbs
and body, in all respects; and to ascer
tain which he must be thoroughly ex
amined. previously to inllstment. by a
Physician or Surgeon;—but if. notwith
standing this direction, a recruit should
have any secret disease at the time of
his inllstment, the expence of his cure,
If retained in service, shall be deducted
from his pay.
Each recruit, before he is sworn, is to
have distinctly read to him the rules and
articles of war against mutiny and deser
tion, and relative to the administration
of justice; and also the Act of Congress
of the 30th of April 1790. establishing
the rations, clothing, and compensation
in cases of disability; and the Act of the
5th of March 1792, establishing the pay;
after which he is to take the following
Oath, before a Magistrate, to wit:
"I A. B. do solemnly swear (or affirm,
as the case may be) to bear true alle
giance to the United States of America,
and to serve them honestly and faithfully
against all their enemies or opposers
whomsoever, and to observe and to obey
the orders of the Prudent of the United
States of America, and the orders of the
officers appointed over me according to
the articles of war.”
Each recruit (musicians excepted)
must be above eighteen and under forty
five years of age.
No negro, mulatto, or Indian, to be
recruited.
All the recruits, if possible, to be na
tives of fair conduct, or foreigners of
good character for sobriety and fidelity,
and who have been some years in the
country Any recruiting officer tnllsttng
a vagrant, or transient person, who shall
desert before marching from the place
of rendezvous, shall reimburse out of his
pay the loss sustained by such deser
tion—It is therefore important that the
officers be attentive on this point, as a
compliance with this order will be rigidly
exacted. The public Interests will be
better served by a small army of brave,
robust, and faithful soldiers, than by a
multitude of vagabonds.
As soon as the recruits shall be as
sembled at the rendezvous, they are to
be taught, by gentle methods, regularity
of conduct, as it shall respect cleanli
ness of their persons, diet and rooms,
and also due subordination, and they are
to be exercised at least four hours in
•very day, in the attitudes and other first
principles of a soldier.
Qualifications Today.
Compare with those specifica
tions laid down by Henry Knox,
the qualifications for enlistment in
the regular army today:
Applicants must be between
the ages of 18 and 35 for original
enlistment, unmarried, without
other dependents, and those un
der 21 must have the written con
sent of parents or guardians; they
must be at least five feet four
inches in height, and weigh not
less than 115 pounds; they must
be of good moral character as
evidenced by written testimoni
als from reputable citizens of
their respective communities;
they must be in good health and
free from incapacitating or dis
figuring deformities; they must
be citizens of the United States
by birth or naturalization at the
time of enlistment; and they
must be able to pass certain in
telligence and literacy tests pre
scribed for the regular army.
Monthly rates of pay for the
several grades as prescribed by
law at present are as follows:
Master sergeant, $126 to
$157.50; technical sergeant, $84
to $105; staff sergeant, $72 to $90;
sergeant, $54 to $67.50; corporal,
$42 to $52.50; private, first class,
$30 to $37.50; private, $21 to
$26.25.
The first figure given in each in
stance is the pay of the grade
during the first four years of
service. This amount is in
creased by 5 per cent every four
years, until a total of 25 per cent
has been added. In addition to
the foregoing, numerous special
ists ratings are provided for pri
vates and privates, first class,
whereby their pay is materially
increased.
In addition to these monthly
wages, Uncle Sam furnishes
clothing, food, mousing and free
medical and dental treatment.
In view of all these facts it is
easy to understand why he is hav
ing a greater and readier re
sponse to his “I want YOU for
the United States Army” than he
would likely have had if it had
heen uttered back in 1792!
Black Lace on Sheer White or
Pastel Is Intriguing Vogue
By CHERIE NICHOLAS
DLACK lace old looking? We
should say not! That’s an ol(J
time fallacy which modern fashion
has exploded.
When designers start in to create
a party frock that will reflect the
very embodiment of youth and
charm, it is delicate-as-a-cobweb
black lace they select to tell the
story. The program of fine black
lace is a vast one endless in Inter
pretation. You’ll love these lace
flatterers, especially the all-lace
gown so filmy In mesh it looks like
a mere tracery of flower and leaf
patterning silhouetted against shoul
ders and throat.
Take our word for it, if you want
a costume that will outglamour any
that go dancing on a starry mid
summer night, choose one of these
black fantasies artfully styled in
terms of youth. With these wispy
lovely all-black lace creations the big
fashion is to play up pastel acces
sories. To a fetching little flower
hat in mellow pink together with
necklace and bracelet that repeats
the pink, add pink matching gloves.
It will be equally effective with ac
cents of pastel blue or orchid. If
you are a black-and-white devotee,
wear chalk white jewelry, gardenias
for a headpiece, with a gardenia
tied at your wrist.
The dresses that particularly lay
siege to the heart of youth fpr party
wear this summer are those airy
fairy creations of frothy white
starched tissue-like chiffon (pastel
tinted sheer makes up equally as
effective) that take on a profusion
of ruffles and bands of exquisite
black lace. You can see in the il
lustration that gowns of this type are
heart-smashers of the most danger
ous sort.
Note how youthfully these summer
fantasies play up the witchery of
black lace. The figure seated is a
picture in a lovely dress that gen
erously and artfully bands and ruf
fles billowy white chiffon with en
chanting black lace. There are
animated rufflings of the lace me
andering about the wide skirt and
accomplishing an adorable off-shoul
der decolletage. And here’s good
news in that this delectable model
is available in white, pink, blue or
all black.
Parasols are coming back! We
are showing one to the left in the
picture made of handsome allover
lace and it’s a beauty, the sort that
imparts allure to any dainty sum
mer costume. Lots of lace on the
dress, too, you will note. The but
terfly appliques on the skirt under
write the up-to-the-minute chic of
this gown.
No story on lace would be com
plete without telling of the entry
into the summer scene of the most
stunning sheer black hats imagina
tion can picture. These diaphanous
concoctions of lace, or tulle, or chif
fon in dusky midnight black are
the big millinery sensation of the
season.
You can go as far as you like in
the matter of breadth of brim, in
fact, the wider the better the brim
that halos the head this season.
The use of sheerest of black lace
in connection with crisp thin horse
hair braid gives you the very trans
parency fashion insists upon for
hats.
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Flower Headdress
The perfect recipe for glamour for
any belle who dines and dances at
fashionable summer fetes is a head
dress of fragrant gardenias with
streamers of silvered leaves to sil
houette her coiffure. Orchids,
carnations or roses make equally
as glamorous headpieces.
Sidesaddle Drapes
Is Latest Fashion
Side closings for both coats and
dresses is the message fashion is
broadcasting for the coming months.
Watch the development of this styl
ing feature that is bringing about
an entirely new silhouette. Ad
vance coats now tie way over to the
side, while the newer dresses fasten
over toward the one axie via deftly
arranged drapes.
Black Dress With
Gay Shawl Is New
With style sophisticates the black
dress is still a favorite. The latest
is to add a spice of color with a
gay fanciful shawl. It’s a clever
way of making a stylish black dress
look more stylish, especially if you
add a hat to match a shawl.
Choose a colorful printed crepe or
vivid sheer woolen for these com
panion pieces. It is a most excit
ing fashion, be assured, full of high
drama, especially if you acquire
wearing the shawl in a casual non
chalant manner—practice the art of
wearing these whimsical fringed tri
angles before your mirror. Lots of
room for romance and coquetry in
wearing the new shawls!
Pocket Popularity
To Have Long Life
Anything so practical as the fash
ion for multiple pockets is destined
to have a long life and a merry one.
For the schoolgirls, who never seem
to have enough of them, they are
being doubled and redoubled.
They’re set in rows on bodices and
skirts, anywhere from two to six of
them, and occasionally, for good
measure, small change pockets are
sewn on top of bigger pockets.
Two-in-One Skirts
Practical Notion
Now you see it as a formal skirt
and now you see it as a practical
daytime skirt. A detachable flounce
is the trick that works this magic.
The knee-deep ruffle is made to but
ton on or snap on and off in a jiffy.
These two-purpose skirts are selling
in leading stores.
AROUND
the HOUSE
Items of Interest
to the Housewife
—
A little milk added to the blue
water used for lace curtains will
launder them beautifully.
* * *
When freshly washed windows
are dry wipe them with tissue pa
per to make them sparkle.
• • *
To prevent cauliflower from
turning dark while cooking, put a
slice of lemon in the water in
which it is cooked.
* * •
Shades of pink can be set by
soaking in salt water.
* * •
Never use water that has been
boiled before or has been standing
in the kettle to make tea. Draw
fresh cold water and let it boil for
the first time. Water that has
boiled before tastes flat, because
the air has gone out of it.
It is poor economy to save ice
by wrapping it in heavy paper or
cloth. Such covering insulates the
ice from the rest of the refrigera
tor.
• • •
A layer or two of blotting paper
put over grease spots on the wall,
and a warm iron laid on top of
them, will often take away the
marks.
USE THE OUTSTANDING BLADE VALUE
KENT jJaSSpS: 10c
cupplis company, st. Louis, Missouri
A Masquerade
Things are seldom what they
seem; skim milk masquerades as
cream.—Gilbert.
Man’s Wealth
A man’s true wealth is the good
he does in the world.
Gift Received
A gift in the hand is better than
two promises.
A*®*4/ 'I
6 TEASPOONS}
FOR ONLY50i\
Land Trademarks from J
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iw
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Do not confuse this with similar offers. For this is
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WHY OFFER IS MADE-We make this offer as a special
inducement for you to try Sunkist Oranges, California’s
finest. They are wonderfully juicy...vitamin rich.. .easy
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Buy a supply next time you buy groceries and send at
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SEND NOW I TODAY I Just shave the trademarks from
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Cbpyrtght, 1940, CaUfaml* fruit Oim« ftrhtnf
