October l i > . ISM. OMAHA T5T3E.
Taking "the Queen's Shilling'
They are putting out "the queen's shill
ing" In Great Britain Just now with unusual
liberality , mid the chances are that Its cir
culation will be still further and wonder
fully Increased within the next few months.
For the British army Is greatly In need of
recruits to bo sent to South Africa , and , ac
cording to the Urltlsh system of enlistment ,
a "queen's shilling" Is paid over to every
man who enters the service. The "queen's
shilling , " by the way , Is not n coin of ape
dal design. It Is exactly like every other
coin of the same dcnomlnatl n nnd It Is
termed "tho queen's" from the fnct that Its
acceptance from a recruiting set grant makes
the receiver a "queen's man , " b dy and soul.
The greatest task ot the United States gov
ernment , when the war with Spain broke
out , was to furnish an eftcctlvo land lighting
force on short notice , and our critics In
England , friendly and otherwise , had a good
deal to say about the shortcomings of our
army system , under which only n ridicu
lously small force of trained soldiers was
maintained In time of pence , a force qulto
Insufficient to do our fighting In time ot
war. In the present Juncture the British
army system , which Includes the recruiting
department , of course , may be put to al
most as severe a test as was the American
system last year. For , although the total
military forces of the British empire are
enormous In numbers , aggregating consider
ably over 750,000 nil told , the forces Imme
diately available for service against the
Boers , In whose subjugation the British
navy obviously can take no part , are only a
try except for defense , some are trained
but little If any better than our National
Guard , while otheis the reserves though
they hove seen service , nro pretty old to do
active service in a foreign clime nnd have
long been out of training. And , no matter
how many are sent to South Africa , their
places must bo filled by recruits , some
how , If possible , since it would never defer
for England , with potent possible enemies
separated from her by only u few miles of
sea , to allow any material reduction of her
forces at home. In these circumstances the
i present activity of Great Britain's recruiting
machinery Is a matter of necessity.
.11 a iiVlio ( ilvvN I lie SlillIliiK.
The British recruiting sergeant , the man
| yho gives the shilling , Is a splendid cren-
\\ire , Ho Is tall , erect , broad of shoulders ,
.1 of chest , supple of limb , with the
[ saring of a conqueror tempered by molting
hniallty. nnd with an Ideally persuasive
T.nguo. Always In uniform and white gloves ,
Kth little cap a-tilt on his head , with baton
| "lrllng airily in his hand and continually in
iidence , ho plays a mcst Important part In
1.0 army system of his country. He gen
ially hunts In couples and his chosen
lilks are either In the vicinity of some
it barracks or in the poorer quarters of
| > o town where ho is located. Naturally
lioro mon are recruited in London than
laywhero else. The favorite stamping
rounds nf the London recruiting sergeants
i re in the neighborhood of the Horse Guards
ind In Trafalgar square , on the side fronted
I'.iy the National gallery and St. Martin's
> ( "urcli.
No one who lias been much in London
rC'need ' be told why the recruiting sergeants
f , " patrol in the vicinity of the Horse Guards ,
lne there , day after day , a miniature mill-
tnry parade the regular ceremony of guard
mount Is held. The detachment of the
household cavalry that goes through this
evolution is made up unquestionably of the
very Mower of the British army. The mun
nro stalwart and dashing , with movements
thnt show perfect training ; their uniforms
are fairly dazzling In their spick nnd span
splendor , and there Is always nil admiring
crowd In the courtyard to view the Inspir
ing spectacle. Judged from It , life In the
army Is mainly pictorial and It is an un
usual day In times of no special excitement ,
even , on which from twenty to forty young
men arc not tempted by the guard mount
show to take "tho queen's shilling" from one
of the trim sergeants.
These who take the shilling In the
neighborhood mentioned are Initiated to the
service of her majesty nt the recruiting
depot of St. George's barracks , Just back of
the National gnllery. H Is the largest In
Great Britain and probaHy one-quarter of
all the Biitlsh recruits are there enrolled.
Other large depots nro located at Wool
wich , Ilounslow and elsewhere. In fact ,
there Is n recruiting depot In every sizable
town in all Great Britain.
Iti'cniKN in ( iciicrnl.
The recruiting sergeants who work in the
square nnd near the Horse Guards have n
far easier task to perform , generally than
these who do duty elsewhere. Under the
splendid stimulus furnished by , , the crack
cavalry's appearance the recruits rarely have
to be subjected to much piirsunslon and
often offer themselves unsolicited. Recruits
me easily obtained , also , In many places on
- * v > - sst :
> * . * - - ' . .y.L. . . K EI V-4 * ti
-s * s""V - * - -
* * ; 5 iii
4 S&.X. . ' * -4.- „ „ * i-.vJW-'L
OFFICERS OF THE FAMOUS "JACOB HOUSE" REGIMENT.
small fraction of that number. Even the
figures representing the active fighting
forces numbering nearly 250,000 are mis
leading , since they Include 123,000 , or there
abouts , that must bo kept In India. That
leaves only about 100,000 effective troops In
Great Britain and Ireland to draw upon.
It is true that there nre nearly 440,000
others , more or less well trained in mili
tary affairs , but only a portion of these
can bo drawn upon , and a large fraction of
tbern would make as sorry \\ork of fighting
In the Transvaal , or anywhere else for the
matter of that , as the rawest of American
recruits. This force Is divided about as fol
lows : Army reserves , 83,000 ; militia , 15,000 ;
yeomanry , 10,000 ; volunteers , 232,000. Some
of these can not be taken out of the coun-
occaslons of great parades. But In ordi
nary circumstances , In most localities , se
curing recruits for her majesty's service Is i
not a task to be lightly undertaken.
It is to the credit of the English that
crimping and the press gang are no longer [
necessary In order to keep the army ra's j
well filled. But It is true that the recruiting
sergeants for the militia nnd the ordinary ;
foot regiments are sometimes obliged to re
sort to rather devious expedients. It Is also
true that a very large percentage of the re
cruits are picked up In city slums , where a
glass or two of ale and a good jollying from
a splendid fellow , like a recruiting sergeant ,
are far more likely than anything else to
produce the desired results. Recruits obI
tallied In slum neighborhoods nro youngsters
out of work In the mnln , often without tarn-
lly tics nnd eometlmeo quite willing , If well
persuaded , to get awny from their current
surroundings , even If the pi.JpoctB bo fairly
favorable for service against half-savage
native rebels In India , the still more savage
blacks of Africa or the Boers , more danger
ous , because of their superior marksmanship ,
than cither Hindus or blacks. A guaranty
of the recruit's good moral character Is re
quired , ostensibly , but the regulations upon
this point are not administered with great
rigidity In many Instances nnd the contin
gency of rejection upon the moral record of
the recruit Is remote Indeed.
Very many of the men recruited In the
more crowded sections of the cities go Into
the mllltln , which Is about ns unlike the
National Guard here ns con easily bo Imag
ined , and whoso members are regarded with
less favor by the middle class population nf
Great Britain than those of any other branch
of the service. It has been commonly sup
posed. b"th In nnd out nf England , that the
militia could not bo ordered to do foreign
service , but this Is an error. The mllltln
may be sent out of the country If occasion
arise , and , furthermore , If its ranks 1)0 tint
filled by "volunteer enlistment , " limited
conscription may bo enforced to that end.
This has not been resorted to In thirty years ,
but the lav authorizing It Is still on the
statute bonks and would be effective any
year In which the customary militia ballot
suspension act wore not passed by Parlia
ment.
ItrcriiltH From tinIVimiuit CIiiN * .
In the regular foot regiments recruits
from the English peasant class , or , rather ,
as some one has said , "peasants deterior
ated by two generations of life as mill op
eratives , " are much In evidence. The re
cruit of this class in general Is a somewhat
undersized , narrow-chested , flaxen-haired
lad of what would 'be termed rather defec
tive education In America and with abnor
mal appetites so far as nle and tobacco are
concerned. The British "crulty" of this
type is decidedly Inferior in body , mentality
and general training to the average Amer
ican regular army recruit In time of peace
or volunteer as accepted while the war with
Spain was on , but probably not below the
bodily standard maintained during the
greatest demand for soldiers In civil war
times.
There has been much criticism by the
English themselves of the low physical
standard or the army recruits and more
than one British authority has referred to
them as a lot of "half-grown boys. " A
British ofllccr of high standing , who admits
that many immature youngsters find their
way Into the ranks , says this Is a good thing
on the whole. His theory Is that the recruit
who begins his service before attaining full
growth will soon "fill out , " thus acquiring
the proper size and weight. Meanwhile lie
will receive his training as a soldier at Just
the time It Is most likely to prrduce a lastIng -
Ing Impifcslon upon him in every way. In
fact , ho continues , many commanding olll-
cers have reported that young recruits often
devclo'p into more satisfactory soldiers than
other men because they received their mil
itary training during , and not after , the
formative period of tlielr lives. It should
bo understood that not nil British recruits
are of Inferior physical types. Men from
every walk of life enlist In her majesty's
service anil many of them are splendid
chaps bodily. They outer the. crack regi
ments , of course. It Is not expected that
any of the raw recruits will bo sent out at
this time. The British aim Is always to
Imvo the lighting done by seasoned soldiers
and should it continue in any instance till
they are exhausted the new soldiers will
have been pretty well trained meanwhile.
Recruiting sergeants are paid CO cents for
every ordinary recruit ; for a recruit sult-
able to enter the Scots Guards , the cavalry ,
the I engineers or the artillery , whose qual
ifications I must ho of a higher order than
tlutso ' of a recruit for most roKlnionts of
foot I soldiers , the pay Is ? 1.2. > . Much more
Is i often allowed for a man lit to bo a Llfo
Guardsman i ; the equivalent ot $ lf > Is not un
precedented , and there uro sonio other regi
ments ru-rults for which bring fancy \i.\y
to the sergeant securing thorn ,
"Tummy AlliliiN. "
The nickname "Tommy AtkinV which
outside of the British empire Is gonioially
supposed to apply to nil British soldiers ,
In icallty applies only to the Infantry of the
lino. To call tin artilleryman anything but
"Biinnor" would bo tu Insult him ; the en
listed cavalryman , who , like his miporlor ,
Is a bit of a swell , would snort at any title
save "trooper , " the engineer Is .1 "sapper , "
and the men of the Grenadier Gu.irds would
have Ills were they to be spoken .f as "Toiu-
mli s. " The origin of the nickname Is rather
curious. Twenty yeais ago , when General
Lord Wolboloy wrote his colebiated "I'ockol
Bo. k , " ho used the name "Thtimas Atkins"
In the forms prescribed for olllicn : ' accounts
and reports. Somehow , after tbu ilimluuilvoj
"Tommy" was substituted for "Thomas , "
the name stuck and the ordinary British
boidier will probably romnlii "Tommy At-
Kln " to the end of time.
The raw recruit Is a "Tommy" I" every
benso of the word , from the moment he
takes the shilling , and Is liable to punish
ment for desertion should ho fall to report
at the recruiting depot very soon after
his acceptance of the coin. But should he
lepent , ho may bo bought elf within a cer
tain definite period , and British mothers ,
who hate the recruiting bcrgeants Intensely ,
fic < iuenlly sccine their sons' release In this
way. In tlmo of war tlm duties of the
British soldier are like the duties of all
soldiers engaged in actual lighting ; in time
tf peace they are far more arduous than
llicso of the American holdler. u much
greater degree of attention being bestowed
up n the condition of arms and accoutre
ments , trlmness of uniform , etc. , than here.
On the whole the cuvulryiimn IIHH more work
in peaceful times than the fout soldier , for
the cavalryman has his horse as well as
himself to keep In constant condition.
ArniH mill UiilforiiiM ,
The uniforms furnished to the British sol
dier are well made and comfortable as a
rule. Some of them nro gorgeous ami there
Is great variation In the outfit of different
regiments of the same branch of the service.
The normal pay Is a shilling a day , or 24
TUOOI'EUS OF THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OAVALUV ORDERED TO SOUTH AFRICA.
pouts , while the normal dally ration , varied
sometimes to suit conditions , IH a pound of
broad and threi'-quarlufR nf a p-uud of meat.
Of course , the actual faro of the British sol
dier has more varloty than this would indi
cate , but ho has to pay for the additions out
of his scanty stipend. Ills ol < thos cost him
nothing , but ho hns to pay for his washing
U Is claimed by the authorities that lili
"not" Is larger than the avoniRO artisan
claws In England. H Is of record that mor
than one British roglmeut has mutinied be
cause of poor malntoiiauco , but enmpliilnls
of liisulllcloiit and bad food have boon rare
of lalo years. The pay of * o Id lorn serving
lu India and the colonies Is generally sup
plemented somotlmoH doubled.
Much moro respect IIHH boon paid to the
THE HIGHLAND MOUNTKD INFANTRY , SENT TO T1IK CAI'K
volunteer service In Oicut Britain than for
merly. It appears to have much In common
with our own state national guard , chpu-
clully lie membership In a volunteer organ
ization is counted a sort of social distinction
and the prime object of the volunteers l
home defense and not outHlde lighting. The
Lce-Mulford rllle , the standard arm of the
.British army , has been dealt out to the vol
unteers only lately , however , and they are
nlnust as unfamiliar with It as our volun
teers wore with thu so-called Kiug-JorKon-
sons when the Spanish war brnko out. Thu
Leo-Motford Is considered Inferior to the
Mauser by sumo authorities , especially for
use against a civilized enemy. The ofton-
uxprcsBcd fear that the British ujldlur will
prove defective In marksmanship , particu
larly If pitted against the Boers , Is based on
admittedly Insufllclont rlllo practice.
Tiansportatlon of troops to South Africa
lit numbuis sulllclont to carry on a war with
the Transvaal , of necessity , calls for an
Increase of thu British transp irt servLo ,
and tills has already augmented the
demand for biiltablo ships , and there Is great
danger of a woiao mlx-up than attended
our sending of troops to the West Indies
and the I'lilllpplues In thu early utugcs of
thu game. British troops unused to service
away from homo will undoubtedly llnd much
to learn about the proper euro ( .f themselves
In South Africa , but every reglinont will
piobubly contain enough experienced soldiers
to reduce thu complication ) from a change
of climate , otic. , to u mini > miim.
Lieutenant General Sir Redvuru Henry
Duller , recently adjutant genet al of the
forces as miece-s.sor to Sir William Butler , is
just the man to command the forces against
the Boers. Ho is uald to have an old grudgu
against them. He served In South Africa
in 1878-lt , when thu British armu vlitually
wiped out the X.nliiH , the Boor's grcaio-t
enemy. Sir Redvers IH ( JO. Ho has liouli
In the Korvlcu since ho was 111 , nnd has
served In China , N rlh America and Egypt ,
winning many honois and distinctions for
extreme gallantry.
A Confident Youth
Washington Star : "So , sir , " exclaimed
the father , Impressively , "you wish to marry
may daughter ? "
"I do , " anwvorod the youth resolutely ,
"Do you think you ran support her In the
luxury to which who has boon accustomed ? "
"I do. When Him makes her homo with
mo Hho won't have the ga turned down nt
10-30 from thu motor IIH a hint that It Is
tlmo for company to go homo , and she won't
have any complaints about the amount of
coal burned In order to heat the parlor for
visitors. I kind of think , maybu , the dear
girl will bo pleased with the change , In
tlmo. "
Price
Detroit Journal : The robber baron was
much moved when told the price that had
boon ct upon his head. '
"Ten thousand plastron ! " ho exclaimed.
"Well , well I And yet I cannot wondei'
For twenty yeais , now , I haven't done a
thing but make myself source when wanted ,
and If I am scarce , I am statistically strong ,
I suppose ! Yes , indeed ! "
The knightly retainers knew nothing of
economics , presumably ; it wax an Intuition ,
doubtloni ) , which prompted them to laugh
violently and ralso a loud acclaim ,