A DEMOCRATIC ARMY. It May Come.

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 161, 1 August 1903, Page 8

A DEMOCRATIC ARMY. It May Come.

BRITISH officers who are liable to fainting spells from tight-lacing, and use perfumed Jaoe handkerchiefs, can surely love "Bobs" no longer when they read his latest general order commanding that the First Army Corps' manoeuvres in August will be held under strictest active-service conditions. However, if we accept the earlier stages of the African campaign as a basis, two-thirds of the available transport will be used for officers' baggage, servants' mess plate, champagne, tinned chicken, cooking stoves, pianos, and plunder. We believe Lord Roberts does not mean this, seeing that he intends to dispen.se with soldier servants. Up to no<w, officers' soldier servants have been drafted from the ranks, and have weakened the regiments. They are exempt from, all military duties, and are mere flunkies. No man need be a servant, but any officer lacking servants has been able to detail a man for twenty-four hours' duty, whether the man wanted to clean boots or cook rations or not. For tlus reason tens of thousands of men in the British Army on service have been absolutely useless, from a military point of view , and "Bobs's " new order will increase the fighting strength of the Army immensely. One cannot expect the poor officers to at once '•turn to" and cook their own rations, and the probabilities are that civilian servants will be employed. This will not be so cheap as the soldier variety of flunkey, and possibly aristocrats who Rave hitherto led a picnicking kind of a life on service will go out of the professional man-slaying industry for something with more comfort in it." * ■* * During the South African war thousands of waggons were used solely for officers' gear that could easily be dispensed with. Troop horses were commandeered to use for officers' Cape carts, each of which usually had a couple of servants 1 aboard. In the meantime, men who ought to have been riding these horses were tramping, and out of action, all because officers 1 wanted to carry provisions not on the Army bill-of-fare. The miles and miles of perfectly supe.rfluous and white-hooded vehicles hampered operations continuously. * +• * Lord Roberts did not object to this kind of thing. It was only when the iron-handed Kitchener got to work that mess plate and champagne got left behind. It seems to be a part of the British officer's faith that a campaign is arranged as a special picnic for himself and his brother officers. The British Army as an aristocratic social amusement organisation will cease to exist in the near future. With the loss of his soldier servants, the "silly subaltern" will either become a soldier or go into the church, where one may have one's meals cooked for one and one's slippers worked by adoring female parishioners 1 . * * * Perhaps, who knows some day "Bobs" may be persuaded to issue a still more necessary order, prohibiting an officer from appearing in mufti without special permission. "Tommy" is dealt with very severely for this "crime." The man who gets out of the clothing of his calling in the hurried fashion common in the Army, ought to stay out of it— and the Army.