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Conservative * 9
ADVICE TO SOLDIERS.
Fierce indeed is tils lighting in a
war wherein more iron are slain by
bullets than by disease and accident.
Realizing this , the war department ,
by order of the President , lias issued
the following order , which it is
hoped will convince the careless
soldier of the error of his way , and
might be read with profit by youths
who are not soldiers :
"By direction of the President , the
attention of the officers and enlisted
men of the Army , especially of those
serving in the tropics and away from
home , is called to the following facts :
" The only really efficient way in
which to control the diseases due to
immorality is to diminish the vice
which is the cause of these diseases.
Excessive indulgence in strong drink
is absolutely certain to ruin any
* man , physically and morally ; while
disease due to licentiousness produces
effects which are quite as destruc
tive and even more loathsome.
"It is the duty of regimental and
particularly of company officers to
try by precept and example to point
out to the men under their control , and
particularly to the younger men , the
inevitable misery and disaster which
follow upon intemperance and upon
moral unoleauliness and vicious
living. The officers should of course
remember always that the effect of
what they say must largely depend
upon the lives they themselves lead.
It is in the highest degree necessary
that each officer should be an ex
ample to his men in the way of tem
perate and cleanly livinc. He should
point out , " using the utmost tact ,
discretion , and good sense , to the
men that disease is almost sure to
follow licentious living ; that it is
never a trivial affair , and that it is
criminal folly to believe that indul
gence is necessary to health. Experi
ence shows that in a majority of
cases diseases are confined to a com
paratively narrow circle of men who
are admitted to the army hospitals
again and again. These men always
seriously impair their own efficiency
as soldiers and sometimes utterly
destroy it , and they throw upon their
self-respecting comrades the burden
of performing all of the duties , hio
they have unfitted themselves to
perform. The officers should strive to
teach their men self control to show
them that morality and efficiency in
the life of a soldier as in civil life
-go hand in hand. Idleness during
the hours when there are no military
duties to perform and the lack
of healthful amusement and
occupation are provocative of de
bauchery. Officers should do nil in
their power to encourage healthy ex-
erpises and physical recreation as
well as to supply opportunities for
cleanly sooiaraud'intorosting mental
occupations among the men. The
young men in especial , many of
whom have been but recently taken
away from the restraints and influ
ence's of home should bo encouraged
to look to their superiors , both com
missioned and noncommissioned offi
cers , and especially to the company ,
troop or battery officers for leadership
and support amid the temptations
around them. Every effort should
made to promote throughout the
Army a cleanly and moral tone in
word no less than in deed. As a na
tion we fool keen pride in the valor ,
discipline , and steadfast endurance of
our soldiers , and hand in hand 'with
those qualities must go the virtues of
self restraint , self respect , and self
control. ' '
CULTURE IN HELPING MOTHER.
America still has several million
girls who find a largo part of their
physical culture in helping mamma ,
and are not blushing because of the
fact. For such girls , the vista of
possibilities is long and alluring.
For arms , fiogefq and wrists , wash
ing and wiping dishes will bo found
admirable. One is as good as the
other. Perhaps the water aids in
giving suppleness to the joints of the
fingers. That is an advantage wash
ing dishes has over wiping them.
However , there is surely fine elbow
movement in the wiping.
Bed making , as it is still taught in
the homely physical culture acade
mies , of Yankee farm houses , cannot
bo too highly recommended. With
the folding of every counterpane ,
blanket and sheet , the arms are
stretched as far apart as they will
go , each hand holding one end.
Then , standing perfectly erect , the
chest is thrown out. Quickly the
hands are brought together again ,
presto ! the sheet is folded double !
Shoulders , body and limbs are all
developed by the mattress turning.
'
The eye and sense of symmetry learn
much from the regular arrangement
of counterpane and pillows. Of
course , this exercise ought not to be
carried too far.
Sweeping gives much the same
motion , without the jerkiness ol
golfing strokes. For the graceful
perfection of arms and shoulders , so
much desired by every ambitions
girl , nothing could be better. I do
not advise excess in this recreation.
But there will be nothing harmful if
you only sweep each room in the
house once a week.
Floor scrubbing , like lawn tennis ,
is rather violent , and not to bo tried
unless yon are sure about your heart.
At first , it will bo almost as severe
on the knees as rowing in a shell
but , as you "get used to the ocoupa-
ion , it will give "a subtle satisfaction
of i'ts own.
Running up stairs when mamma
ivaiits something is first-class exercise
and * running down stairs is almost as
jood. Interesting diversions will bo
'ouiid in egg-beating , and ice cream
rebziug. Dusting ought to have a
chapter by itself. First , you are
down on all fours ; then you are on
tiptoe , seeing how far the dustqr will
reach. This tiptoeing , with its
ankle development , is superb ! But
that isn't all ! ' You twist yourself
into all sorts of positions to get at
the corners of the carved furniture.
First you are on one knee , and then
on the other. Every muscle , every
teiidou is brought into service before
you are through. Even this mag
nificent exercise can be overdone ,
but you will make no mistake if yon
only dust every room after you have
swept it although most housekeepers
dust ofteuer. Cynthia Westovor Alden -
den in Success.
BIRDS AND TREES.
In some parts of the country they
have what they call Bird Day , which
is celebrated by the schoolchildren at
least. Why keep any other bird day
than Arbor Day ? Ho who plants a
tree plants also a bird , or rather an
endless succession of birds. Wher
ever there are trees there will be
birds. As the pioneer has pushed his
tree-claim , his windbreak and his
home-grove further and further out
upon the barren plains , the birds
have followed him. Every new
patch of green- that appears on the
iwaste of the prairie is espied by
some tiny eye hurrying northward ,
high in air , in the spring , and be
comes the birthplace of some little
brood that might never have seen the
light had it not been there , and
certainly would not in that place.
Even the station agent's house on
the western railroads , where the
clusters of boxelders that the com
pany -has set out are the only green
thing in the landscape , furnishes a
nesting place for sparrows , who , like
the tramps they are , follow the rail
road. No one can doubt that the
bird population of the west has in
creased enormously in the last half-
century ; at least as rapidly as has the
human population. Yon never find
a tree , an orchard or a hedge that
has not its nest or collection of nests.
The birds need no fostering ; pro
vide the trees , and heaven will send
the birds. The thing some people
notice the most in coming from the
city to a town in a grove , like Ne
braska City , is the constant variety
of bird songs that are heard from all
quarters all day long.
