HOW THE ARMY IS

CLOTHED

BY GENERAL M. I. LUDINGTON QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, U.S.A.

OON after a young man enlists in the United States Army at a recruiting station, he is transferred to a recruiting rendezvous, where he is outfitted with the necessary articles of clothing preparatory to joining the organization to which he may be assigned. From that time until the termination of his service, wherever he may be serving, the government provides for him all the essential details of dress from head to foot. This is regulated by the grant to him of an annual money allowance, to be drawn in

clothing as his needs may require during the term of his enlistment, which is now fixed at three years.

This money allowance is based upon the aggregate cost of a fixed list of articles for the first, second, and third years, respectively. The list of articles is the same for privates and for all grades of noncommissioned officers, except that gold lace and cloth chevrons and trousers stripes are added for noncommissioned officers.

There is some variation in the money allowance for clothing for the cavalry, artillery, and infantry arms, and other organizations of the army, due to the difference in cost of hat trimmings and ornaments and coat facings; but the average allowance now for a private is sixtynine dollars and twelve cents for the first year, thirty-two dollars and thirty cents for the second year, and twenty-nine dollars and forty-seven cents for the third year, making a total of one hundred and

thirty dollars and eighty-nine cents for the three years.

This allowance is increased for noncommissioned officers by the cost of chevrons and stripes, averaging from two dollars to eleven dollars for the first year, two dollars to three dollars for the second year, and one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars for the third year.

About five sixths of the allowance for the first year is authorized to be drawn within six months after the soldier's enlistment, and includes certain articles of dress expected to last him through the whole three years of his service. It is to be understood that the allowance for clothing is separate and distinct from the soldier's pay allowance.

A clothing account book is kept by each company, troop, and battery commander, in which the soldier signs a receipt for every article received. The clothing account of the soldier is settled six months

after the date of his enlistment, and

thereafter on June 30th and December 31st of each year. If, at these settlements, it is found that clothing has been drawn in excess of the money allowance for the period, the amount in excess is charged upon the muster rolls and pay rolls, and is deducted at the next pay day from the amount due the soldier on account of his pay allowance. Any balance due the soldier at such settlements, on account of clothing undrawn, remains to his credit on the clothing account book, to be drawn in clothing afterwards if required, or, if not, the final balance due at the date of his discharge from the service is paid to him by the paymaster.

In the army as in civil life, some men are more careful of their clothing than others, hence at the end of their enlistment some soldiers have considerable savings to their credit, while others have little or no clothing money due, or are in debt on such account.

Only the actual average cost of the

clothing at the place of purchase or manufacture is charged to the soldier, and in case his clothing is destroyed as a sanitary measure to prevent infection, the articles are replaced free of charge; or in case of loss by fire or flood while he is engaged in saving government property, he is paid the value of his authorized clothing, which may have been lost.

No allowance for clothing is made to commissioned officers. They are required to clothe themselves entirely at their own expense. They are, however, privileged to purchase at cost prices such articles of the soldier's clothing as they may need, and during campaign service they avail themselves of this privilege to a considerable extent.

Before the war with Spain, when the army consisted of twenty-five thousand men, located at the various stations in the United States only, no great difference in the variety of the clothing issued was necessary, but now the clothing sup