第8章
hunter。AttheendofthelunchSethBullocksuddenlyreachedforward，sweptasideamassofflowerswhichmadeacenterpieceonthetable，andrevealedabronzecougarbyProctor，whichwasapartinggifttome。Thelunchpartyandthecougarwerethenphotographedonthelawn。
Someoftheyoungerofficerswhoweremyconstantcompanionsonthesewalksandridespointedouttometheconditionofutterphysicalworthlessnessintowhichcertainoftheelderoneshadpermittedthemselvestolapse，andtheverybadeffectthiswouldcertainlyhaveifeverthearmywerecalledintoservice。Ithenlookedintothematterformyself，andwasreallyshockedatwhatIfound。Manyoftheolderofficersweresounfitphysicallythattheirconditionwouldhaveexcitedlaughter，haditnotbeensoserious，tothinkthattheybelongedtothemilitaryarmoftheGovernment。Acavalrycolonelprovedunabletokeephishorseatasmarttrotforevenhalfamile，whenIvisitedhispost；aMajor-Generalprovedafraideventolethishorsecanter，whenhewentonaridewithus；andcertainotherwisegoodmenprovedasunabletowalkasiftheyhadbeensedentarybrokers。IconsultedwithmenlikeMajor-GeneralsWoodandBell，whowerethemselvesoffinephysique，withbodiesfittomeetanydemand。
Itwaslateinmyadministration；andwedeemeditbestonlytomakeabeginning——experienceteachesthemostinveteratereformerhowharditistogetatotallynon-militarynationtoacceptseriouslyanymilitaryimprovement。Accordingly，Imerelyissueddirectionsthateachofficershouldprovehisabilitytowalkfiftymiles，orrideonehundred，inthreedays。
Thisis，ofcourse，atestwhichmanyahealthymiddle-agedwomanwouldbeabletomeet。Butalargeportionofthepressadoptedtheviewthatitwasabitofcapricioustyrannyonmypart；andaconsiderablenumberofelderlyofficers，withdeskratherthanfieldexperience，intriguedwiththeirfriendsinCongresstohavetheorderannulled。SoonedayItookarideofalittleoveronehundredmilesmyself，incompanywithSurgeon-GeneralRixeyandtwootherofficers。
TheVirginiaroadswerefrozenandinruts，andintheafternoonandeveningtherewasastormofsnowandsleet；andwhenithadbeenthusexperimentallyshown，underunfavorableconditions，howeasyitwastodoinonedaythetaskforwhichthearmyofficerswereallowedthreedays，allopenobjectionceased。Butsomebureauchiefsstilldidasmuchunderhandedworkagainsttheorderastheydared，anditwasoftendifficulttoreachthem。IntheMarineCorpsCaptainLeonard，whohadlostanarmatTientsin，withtwoofhislieutenantsdidthefiftymilesinoneday；fortheywerevigorousyoungmen，wholaughedattheideaoftreatingafifty-milewalkasover-fatiguing。Well，theNavyDepartmentofficialsrebukedthem，andmadethemtakethewalkoveragaininthreedays，onthegroundthattakingitinonedaydidnotcomplywiththeregulations！Thisseemsunbelievable；butLeonardassuresmeitistrue。Hedidnotinformmeatthetime，beingafraidto“getinwrong“withhispermanentsuperiors。IfIhadknownoftheorder，shortworkwouldhavebeenmadeofthebureaucratwhoissuedit。[*]
[*]Oneofourbestnavalofficerssentmethefollowingletter，aftertheabovehadappeared：——
“InoteinyourAutobiographynowbeingpublishedintheOutlookthatyourefertothereasonswhichledyoutoestablishaphysicaltestfortheArmy，andtotheactionyoutook(your100-
mileride)topreventthetestbeingabolished。Doubtlessyoudidnotknowthefollowingfacts：
“1。Thefirstannualnavytestof50milesinthreedayswassubsequentlyreducedto25milesintwodaysineachquarter。
“2。Thiswasfurtherreducedto10mileseachmonth，whichisthepresent’test，’andthereisdangerlesteventhisutterlyinsufficienttestbeabolished。
“IencloseacopyofarecentlettertotheSurgeonGeneralwhichwillshowourpresentdeplorableconditionandtheworseconditionintowhichweareslippingback。
“Theoriginaltestof50milesinthreedaysdidaverygreatdealofgood。Itdecreasedbythousandsofdollarsthemoneyexpendedonstreetcarfare，andbyamuchgreatersumtheamountexpendedoverthebar。Iteliminatedanumberofthewhollyunfit；ittaughtofficerstowalk；itforcedthemtolearnthecareoftheirfeetandthatoftheirmen；anditimprovedtheirgeneralhealthandwasrapidlyformingatasteforphysicalexercise。”
Theenclosedletterraninpartasfollows：——
“Iamreturningunderseparatecover’TheSoldiers’FootandtheMilitaryShoe。’
“ThebookcontainsknowledgeofapracticalcharacterthatisvaluableforthemenwhoHAVETOMARCH，WHOHAVESUFFEREDFROM
FOOTTROUBLES，ANDWHOMUSTAVOIDTHEMINORDERTOATTAIN
EFFICIENCY。
“Thewordsincapitalsexpress，accordingtomyidea，thegistofthewholematterasregardsmilitarymen。
“Thearmyofficerwhosemenbreakdownontestgetsablackeye。
Theonewhosemenshowefficiencyinthisrespectgetsabouquet。
“Tosuchmenthebookisinvaluable。Thereisnodangerthattheywillneglectit。Theywillactuallylearnit，forexactlythesamereasonsthatourfellowslearnthegunneryinstructions——ordidlearnthembeforetheywerewithdrawnandburned。
“BUT，Ihavenotbeenabletointerestasinglenavalofficerinthisfinebook。Theywilllookatthepicturesandsayitisagoodbook，buttheywon’treadit。Themarineofficers，onthecontrary，areverymuchinterested，becausetheyhavetoteachtheirmentocarefortheirfeetandtheymustknowhowtocarefortheirown。Butthenavalofficersfeelnosuchnecessity，simplybecausetheirmendonothavetodemonstratetheirefficiencybypracticemarches，andtheythemselvesdonothavetodoastuntthatwillshowuptheirownignoranceandinefficiencyinthematter。
“Forexample，sometimeagoIwastalkingwithsomechapsaboutshoes——thenecessityofhavingthemlongenoughandwideenough，etc。，andoneofthemsaid：’Ihavenouseforsuchshoes，asI
neverwalkexceptwhenIhaveto，andanyoldshoesdoforthe10-
mile-a-monthstunt，’sothereyouare！
“Whenthefirsttestwasordered，Edmonston(Washingtonshoeman)
toldmethathesoldmorerealwalkingshoestonavalofficersinthreemonthsthanhehadinthethreeprecedingyears。Iknowthreeofficerswholostbothbig-toenailsafterthefirsttest，andanotherwhowalkedninemilesinpracticewithapairofheavywalkingshoesthatweretoosmallandwaslaidupforthreedays——
couldnotcometotheoffice。Iknowplentyofmenwhoafterthefirsttesthadtoborrowshoesfromlargermenuntiltheirfeet’wentdown’totheirnormalsize。
“Thistestmayhavebeenabittoostrenuousforoldhearts(ofmenwhohadnevertakenanyexercise)，butitwasexcellentasamatterofinstructionandtrainingofhandlingfeet——andinanemergency(suchaswesoonmayhaveinMexico)soundheartsarenotmuchgoodifthefeetwon’tstand。
“However，the25-miletestintwodayseachquarteransweredthesamepurpose，forthereasonthat12。5mileswillproducesorefeetwithbadshoes，andsorefeetandlamemusclesevenwithgoodshoes，iftherehasbeennopracticemarching。
“Itwasthenecessityofdoing12。5MOREMILESONTHESECONDDAY
WITHSOREFEETANDLAMEMUSCLESthatmade’emsitupandtakenotice——made’empracticewalking，made’emavoidstreetcars，buypropershoes，showsomecuriosityaboutsoxandthecareofthefeetingeneral。
“Allthispassedoutwiththeintroductionofthelasttestof10
milesamonth。Asonefellowsaid：’Icandothatinsneakers’——
buthecouldn’tiftheseconddayinvolvedatramponthesorefeet。
“Thepointisthatwhereasformerlyofficershadtopracticewalkingabitandgivesomeattentiontoproperfootgear，nowtheydon’thaveto，andthenaturalconsequenceisthattheydon’tdoit。
“Thereareplentyofofficerswhodonotwalkanymorethanisnecessarytoreachastreetcarthatwillcarrythemfromtheirresidencestotheiroffices。Somewhohavemotorsdonotdosomuch。Theytakenoexercise。Theytakecocktailsinsteadandaregettingbeefyand’ponchy，’andsomethingshouldbedonetoremedythisstateofaffairs。
“Itwouldnotbenecessaryifserviceopinionrequiredofficerssotoordertheirlivesthatitwouldbecommonknowledgethattheywere’hard，’inordertoavoidthedangerofbeingselectedout。
“Wehavenosuchserviceopinion，anditisnotinprocessofformation。Onthecontrary，itisknownthatthe’PrincipalDignitaries’unanimouslyadvisedtheSecretarytoabandonallphysicaltests。He，acivilian，waswiseenoughnottotaketheadvice。
“Iwouldliketoseeatestestablishedthatwouldobligeofficerstotakesufficientexercisetopassitwithoutinconvenience。Forthereasonsgivenabove，20milesintwodayseveryothermonthwoulddothebusiness，while10mileseachmonthdoesnottouchit，simplybecausenobodyhastowalkon’nextday’feet。Asfortheproposedtestofsomanyhours’exercise’aweek，theflatfootsofthependulousbellymusclesaredelighted。Theyarelookingintothequestionofpedometers，andwillhangoneoftheseontheirwheezychestsandletitcounteveryshufflingsteptheytakeoutofdoors。
“Ifwehadanadequatetestthroughout20years，therewouldattheendofthattimebefewifanysacksofblubberattheupperendofthelist；andserviceopinionagainstthatsortofthingwouldbeestablished。”
Thesetestswerekeptduringmyadministration。Theywereafterwardsabandoned；notthroughperversityorviciousness；butthroughweakness，andinabilitytounderstandtheneedofpreparednessinadvance，iftheemergenciesofwararetobeproperlymet，when，orif，theyarrive。
Innocountrywithanarmyworthcallingsuchisthereachanceforamanphysicallyunfittostayintheservice。Ourcountrymenshouldunderstandthateveryarmyofficer——andeverymarineofficer——oughttobesummarilyremovedfromtheserviceunlessheisabletoundergofarsevererteststhanthosewhich，asabeginning，Iimposed。Tofollowanyothercourseistoputapremiumonslothfulincapacity，andtodothegravestwrongtotheNation。
Ihavementionedalltheseexperiences，andIcouldmentionscoresofothers，becauseoutofthemgrewmyphilosophy——perhapstheywereinpartcausedbymyphilosophy——ofbodilyvigorasamethodofgettingthatvigorofsoulwithoutwhichvigorofthebodycountsfornothing。
Thedwellerincitieshaslesschancethanthedwellerinthecountrytokeephisbodysoundandvigorous。Buthecandoso，ifonlyhewilltakethetrouble。Anyyounglawyer，shopkeeper，orclerk，orshop-
assistantcankeephimselfingoodconditionifhetries。SomeofthebestmenwhohaveeverservedundermeintheNationalGuardandinmyregimentwereformerclerksorfloor-walkers。Why，JohnnyHayes，theMarathonvictor，andatonetimeworldchampion，oneofmyvaluedfriendsandsupporters，wasafloor-walkerinBloomingdale’sbigdepartmentstore。SurelywithJohnnyHayesasanexample，anyyoungmaninacitycanhopetomakehisbodyallthatavigorousman’sbodyshouldbe。
IoncemadeaspeechtowhichIgavethetitle“TheStrenuousLife。”
AfterwardsIpublishedavolumeofessayswiththisforatitle。Thereweretwotranslationsofitwhichalwaysespeciallypleasedme。OnewasbyaJapaneseofficerwhoknewEnglishwell，andwhohadcarriedtheessayallthroughtheManchuriancampaign，andlatertranslateditforthebenefitofhiscountrymen。TheotherwasbyanItalianlady，whosebrother，anofficerintheItalianarmywhohaddiedondutyinaforeignland，hadalsogreatlylikedthearticleandcarrieditroundwithhim。IntranslatingthetitletheladyrendereditinItalianas/VigordiVita/。Ithoughtthistranslationagreatimprovementontheoriginal，andhavealwayswishedthatIhadmyselfused“TheVigorofLife“asaheadingtoindicatewhatIwastryingtopreach，insteadoftheheadingIactuallydiduse。