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Show Everything for Useful Service mi Inconspicuous Color. Fw Frills I or .'Trimmings for Modern Soldiers I i I ISe the South African war tho nTfltarv nations of tho. world have Seen giving much thought to the iclTi servle- dress of their troops, pf been a hard blow to some Bfmarilal loving countries to do twlih their handsome and historic fns- many of which have been a fTthe history of the nation and Keen worn with honor on many Sv battle field. These uniforms aie Sib the pconlo. and the appearance ifdirfcrent regiments always called enthusiastic "demonstrations from ttrlotlc citizens, they were pointed IiTPCide. and th-ir historic deeds ex-Alto ex-Alto the children and foreign vlsit- I 111, the invention of long range id the Introduction of balloons, 'hts. high power telescopes, etc.. :n warfare, make It little short ot to send troops Into anion ar-' ar-' tho bright colored uniforms and g metal equipments of former jountrics have preserved all their al uniforms and. though thor-equlpped thor-equlpped with Held service out-so out-so are never (en except the re ordered on active service; oth-rles oth-rles have retained their old unl-or unl-or parade and gala occasions, r.sihelr service clothes for all work, round barracks and on the drill Ht Is with the Held uniforms alone fie writer proposes to deal. Kfirst requisite necessary is Invlsi-HtThe Invlsi-HtThe material must blond, as far (Bible, with its surroundings, so that fearer will not be in any way a con-us con-us figure. Next, tho absence or Tight object either button or orna-4that orna-4that can In any way catch, the Third, the absence of all ,con-ilsuch ,con-ilsuch as the wearing of a black KSa, brown coat or black shoes .with tlleggbis, each object by Its con-Baking con-Baking the other show up more f. It is In thc-si' last two points he new United Stales army uni-8so uni-8so much at fault. With these lonB our field service uniform is Athe best In the world, but those Ions will cause the death of many Ifcsoldler and reveal many tactical icnts, should we have U oppose an equipped with the Implements of hlwarfarc There is no bettor ma-fas ma-fas to color, than our olive drab, Xmorc comtortablc or useful cut tiose uniforms issued by our Quarter's Quar-ter's department The campaign e proved Its worth, and though I itan advocate for the canvas leg-hey leg-hey harmonize with the rest of the nnd, with the dark yellow shoes. Sfbclts (brown for officers), mako ten as near a neutral color as Is iry for the greatest variety of ounds. Why, then, has all this polled by little details that could Ijeon avoided without the least i? Tho cords on the campaign lay be removed In case of war; at :they would give a man s position ong before the rest of the uniform pment became visible. Sabro scab-iniake scab-iniake veritable targets of their sj and so many reports have been ilBlnce the maneuvers at Manassas the sparkling tin cups and metal ithe canteens that further remarks necessary on this point, newest acquisition to the uniform iflcld cap. which, contrary to all if ; field uniform, has the greatest it of tho whole outfit. Everything il'officer wears being brown or olive the powers that bo have put a patent leather visor on an olive BP. This, coming as It does bc-tne bc-tne light cap and the man's foro-pnakes foro-pnakes a half moon of glistening lyllcather catches the rays of the m':-ti w IrJafHHa I sun) black, that by its contrast will make a man more conspicuous, than if he were clad In the old blue. That this visor could have been made of brown leather, to correspond to the general tone, has been nroved by other countries coun-tries who have similar caps for their Hold service outfits. 'Though the field service uniforms of all countries would s?em at first glance to bp similar, there Is a vast difference when they aro analyzed, and It Is remarkable to see how opposite the Ideas of different nations na-tions have been as to invisibility and service ser-vice required In the Hold. Should tho United Slates and England "agreo to disagree," dis-agree," unless you could see below a man's knoo it would be difficult to tell a Jiiend from a foe. The material and cut are nearly the same, and except that in timo of peace the English campaign hat Is caught up on tho side, tho upper parts of the uniforms look almost Identical at a short distance After experimenting with our canvas legging they have gone back to the best leg gear that a soldier ever wore the wrapped puttie. With the exception ex-ception of some few mounted corps and staff officers who are equipped wltli the strap leather puttie, tho British army throughout tho world wears tho wrapped putllo on active service, and has done so for many years, whether In the heat of tho tropics or tho cold of mountain cajn-tain cajn-tain campaigns In Northern India. It Is always ready, never wears out, there arc no fastenings to give way and It can bo strapped loosely or tight, as the leg requires re-quires support. England wears the field service uniform only for work, as it would break every loval British heart to give up the historic red coat, and Tommy Atkins is as smart as over when on parade or out for an evening around town. Germany still clings to her spiked helmets and padded coals, vet the greatest care has been given to the investigation of Held unl-Fcrms. unl-Fcrms. Tho troops for duty In China and In East and West Africa were uniformed before leaving In the outfits that It is sun-posed sun-posed the entire Gorman army would have, should it be necessary. Tho color is similar to ours, but several different materials have been tried; the last troops to bo sent away had their uniforms mado a lightweight corduroy The uniforms hp.vo been spoiled for field work by putting put-ting on colored collars and cuffs and using the ordlnarv bright buttons. At first a regulation helmet was used, covered with cloth to match tho uniform and trimmed with the usual metal ornaments; this, ; however, has been superseded by a gray felt campaign hat, turned up on tho side and fastened with a metal ornament. Tho usefulness of this hat has also been spoiled by binding the brim and putting on a broad band of colored braid to match the facing on the uniform. When war was declared betwce.n Russia and Japan tho Russian army had no particular par-ticular field scrvico uniform. The troops woro in winter a dark green tunic, fiat round cap and light gray overcoat, substituting sub-stituting in summer for the.heavy, padded coat and cloth cap a looso blouse and cap of white drill. It was not thought necessary neces-sary for such an Insignificant enemy as Japan to make any changes, and the first trc'ops sent to Manchuria were thus "JSI iff Wmw'ti I equipped. A few months' work taught them many a bitter lesson, and the authorities au-thorities began to look Into tho question of a more Inconspicuous Held uniform. Since last spring tho troops sent out have been fitted out with light brown blouses and caps, khaki colored overcoats and shelter tents (used as blanket rolls) of the samo-color. Tho dark green trousers and high black boots have still been retained. The Japanese troops "left home In their regular uniforms of blue, faced with bright color., whlto leggings and bright metal trimmings. When they reached the front, however, with that wonderful system sys-tem that has astonished the world, the troops were soon completely uniformed and equipped Jn a khaki colored outfit. It is similar In cut to ours, except a cap, Is worn Instead of a campaign hat, and the English wrapped puttie Is used Instead of a canvas legging. The army of Sweden, though small, has always been known for the elaborateness and stylo of Its uniforms. It has now adopted a most serviceable field outfit of dark greenish gray, made very loose and comfortable A colored collar designates the different branches of the service-Boots, service-Boots, buttons and equipments aro all black, but tho contrast Is not as noticeable notice-able as It would bo with the olive drab or khaki colored cloths. The campaign hat is the most unique of any of the world's armies. It Is nothing more than tho three cornered hat of tho Revolutionary period, the same color as the uniform, bound "with colored braid to match tho collar, and ornamented or-namented with a metal device and a blue and yellow horsehair plumo about eight Inches high. This Is only worn In times of peace. When In active service the plume and device aro removed and the sides unhooked, un-hooked, so that It makes an ordinary broad-brimmed hat. Denmark has a plain, dark gray uniform, uni-form, with a campaign hat to match, both without trimming of any kind. Blach boots and equipments aro worn, and on active service these are not cleaned, so they soon get rusty and blend In well with tho rest of the uniform. Tho army of Switzerland, though a seml-mllitia seml-mllitia organization, has long been noted for Its efficiency, und only recently has begun to uniform and equip Its soMlo'rs according to the most advanced mod?rn Ideas. Tho uniform Is grayish brown In color, cut very loose, with a half belt in tho back of the coat. The trousers are very baggy and fastened in at the ankle with buttons, so that leggins or boots can bo dispensed with. Tho uniforms are neatly trimmed with narrow, Inconsplcu-I Inconsplcu-I . lp ' 1 Jol j ous, colored braid. Brown equipments and whlto metal buttons are worn. Tho latter lat-ter stand out against tho plain cloth of the cont, but tho" excuse Is given that they can bo rubbed with dirt and made to match the uniform exactly if It Is nocessary.- The hat Is made of the samo material as the clothes and Is llko a low, helmet, with the spike and trimmings left off. The brim is llexlble. so that It can bo turned up out of a man's way should he bo shooting In a prone position France, like all the other nations, has been experimenting with uniforms for field service, but It has met with great opposition, both from tho army and tho people They aro proud of their historic uniforms, and believe they are still good enough to win back some of the lost glories of France. At the Fete of tho Republic review, on July M, 1003, a battalion bat-talion of infantry appeared in an experimental experi-mental field uniform Tt was grayish blue-In blue-In color, with broad-brimmed campaign hat. Though the uniform had been trimmed up w4th red braid, red epaulottes and white gaiters, they would have none of It, and tho battalion was jeered at from the time It marched on the field until It left. Since then no troops in field service uniform have appeared In public, and whether further Investigations are being made or not Is one of the war office's of-fice's secrets. In South America Chile and Bolivia always al-ways have an eye on eacli other and are at all times ready to Improve tho condition condi-tion of their armies for field service. Chile hag recently adopted a dark, brownish brown-ish gray uniform, very plain In cut and trimmings, though she still retains their merman style fatigue caps, made In bright colors. Bolivia has a uniform simplo in cut and about the color of the gray uniforms uni-forms of West Point, with a cap to match. AVIth the South American love for show, however, she has trimmed up the officers' coats and caps with gold braid and many buttons and the enlisted men's uniforms with much colored braid. The reorganization of tho army of China on European ideas bas uniformed some of Its troops with what Is called a field service uniform. Though hardly according to our Ideas, it is vastly superior to the bright colored, loose gowned, baggy- trousered dress of the old Chinese arm . Tho color is black and the cut of coal and style of cap arc distinctly European; the baggy trousers and native boots are still retained, and both officers and men wear the long pigtail. The combination of European and Chinese Ideas makes a very peculiar looking outfit, and the two Chinese officers detailed to observe tli French maneuvers in 1504, and the first to show this new uniform to the Western world, were always the center of curious and critical observation. What the other military nations of thr-world thr-world are doing has not yet been mad public, and the annual maneuvers last year of Austria, Italy and Spain wrr made In the regular uniforms that fiav long been worn In those countries. In tho IH advance of tho allied forces on Peking Italy had only a small detachment. Thej were uniformed In a khakl-colorcd outfi' with helmets to correspond. Being from the famous Bersaglleri corps, they re-fused re-fused to give up their historic eock'-t feather plumes which were affiled to tor side of tho helmets. This gave them a tM most picturesque but absurdly cons,i'U- tM ous appearance for field service. Thore uniforms were for special scrvie-1 onl and have never been adopted by the rcgu-lar rcgu-lar army of Italy. That these natlo will have to change is as Inevitable their adoption of longer range rifles &s higher power artillery, for the advantn.c of an army equipped in semi-invisible o. t fits over the old style, with Its bright oil ors and glittering equipments, is at least three to one. Tho days of the shining bi-met bi-met of the cuirassier, the braided coat cf the hussar and the waving plumes of the infantrv (except for gala occasions) nro gone forever. D. W. C. FA I L. |