tence is inseparable from the
traditions of its long list of battle honours.

The British public loves to read of its Guards' regiment and to watch
them in their brilliant uniforms at review. When a cadet comes out of
Sandhurst he names the regiment which he wishes to join, instead of
being ordered to a certain regiment, as at West Point. It rests with the
regimental commander whether or not he is accepted. Frequently the
young man of wealth or family serves in the Guards or another crack
regiment for awhile and resigns, usually to enjoy the semi-leisurely life
which is the fortune of his inheritance.

Then there are the county line regiments, such as the Yorkshires, the
Kents, and the Durhams. In this war each county wanted to read
about its own regiments at the same time as about the Guards, just
as Kansans at home would want to read about the Kansas regiment
and Georgians about the Georgia regiment. The most trying feature
of the censorship to the British public was its refusal to allow the
exploitation of regiments. The staff was adamant on this point; for the
staff was thinking for the whole and of the interests of the whole. In
the French and the German armies, as in our regular army, regiments
are known by numbers.

The young man who lives in the big house on the hill, the son of the
man of wealth and power in the community, as a rule does not go to
West Point. None of the youth of our self-called aristocracy which
came up the golden road in a generation past those in modest
circumstances who have generations of another sort back of them,
think of going into the First Cavalry or the First Infantry for a few years
as a part of the career of their class. A few rich men's sons enter our
army, but only enough to prove the rule by the exception. They do not
regard the army as "the thing." It does not occur to them that they
ought to do something for their country. Rather, their country ought to
do something for them.

But sink the plummet a little deeper and these are not our aristocracy
nor our ruling class, which is too numerous and too sound of thought
and principle for them to feel at home in that company. Any boy,
however humble his origin, may go to West Point if he can pass the
competitive examination. Europe, particularly Germany, would not
approve of this; but we think it the best way. The average graduate of
the Point, whether the son of a doctor, a lawyer, or a farmer, sticks to
the army as his profess