was not practicable to relieve their men from special duty or specialists' duties so that they could receive effective and consecutive training and instruction. In altogether too many cases the best laid plans to relieve men from special duty or specialists' duty to enable them to train for range practice and fire on the range was frustrated by some emergency that could not be anticipated, and the man or men in question were thereby deprived of the same chances for qualification as other men. This brings up another requisite for high percentage of qualification for any organization-namely, that each man firing must be afforded ample opportunity to train and demonstrate during preliminary firing that his training has been thorough and efficient, or otherwise. We have therefore decided that in the next target season this requisite must be given more consideration. As a result of the past target season it has been demonstrated beyond a doubt that the system of training as laid down in Rifle Marksmanship, 1920, is far superior to anything that we have ever had previously in the Army. The soundness of the system is I shown mainly by results obtained in this regiment and apparently in other regiments throughout the service, but even before we knew what the results in percentage of qualification would be it was very evident that we would get a decided improvement over the results obtained in previous years. After two weeks' careful study of Rifle Marksmanship by all officers, non-commissioned and selected privates in schools conducted in each battalion, and an equal time in preliminary exercises, organizations went on the range better equipped for beginning range practice than I have ever observed before, and the average individual soldier had a better understanding of the principles of training and how to apply them. It would seem that with such a splendid system of training that every Infantry soldier should be able to qualify under the present requirements. Perhaps when the application of these principles reaches the same state of perfection as the system itself and we can control the human element so that every man will keep himself in perfect physical condition, we may feel disgraced if more than one soldier in every hundred fails to qualify. Philippine Service 1st Lieut. S. M. Prouty, Infantry HERE are many officers in the Army today who know what service in the Philippines is, or at least what it used to be. They need no introduction to the charm of the life there. Most of them, I dare say, have had a hanker ing more than once to be back at McKinley or Zamboanga. There is another host, a much larger one by far, who have yet to sail through the San Bernardino Straits past Corregidor and up Manila Bay. For these the future has much in store. Service in the Islands is not what it was in the old days. The days of soldiering in the field are over. The head hunters of Luzon take but few heads and the Moros of Lanao and Jolo are for the most part peaceful. Whatever field service is done in the provinces and the Moro country is performed by the Constabulary. The Scouts did their last bit on Lake Lanao in the summer of 1917. Nevertheless, service in the Islands offers much that is pleasant and interesting in the ex treme. Many of the old stations are goneabandoned or turned over to the Constabulary. The Scouts are still at Zamboanga, but all the rest of Mindinao and the Southern Islands are garrisoned by small Constabulary companies. Camp John Hay, at Baguio, that famous mountain resort on the edge of Gontoc, has the Igorot Battalion, and all the rest of the troops, native and American, are in easy distance of Manila or else in and about the city itself. Consequently, nearly every of ficer who goes to the Philippines now stands a good chance of being stationed near Manila. Manila is a city of everlasting charm to the tourist, no matter how case-hardened he may be. It is a place that never loses its charm for those who learn to love the tropics. It is one of the most wonderful mixtures of old Native Woman Weaving Cloth on Her Spain, the East and the modern West, that exists anywhere in the world today. There is no more fascinating sight than that which greets a person strolling along the Luneta during the band concerts just before sundown. It is the treat of a lifetime to watch the ever-shifting crowd of Spaniards, Filipinos, Hindus and foreigners of every race. Dignified Spanish señoras in their victorias, dainty señoritas, resplendent in their native dress, mingle with the uniformed processions of boys and girls from the convents in Intramoros, and the soldiers of the garrisons. One hardly knows whether he is looking at the people of some city in old Spain or one in the Orient. You may wander around or sit quietly on the porch of the Army and Navy Club nearby and watch the sun set majestically behind the Mariveles Mountains across the bay. No sight is any more beautiful than this, especially when the spectator is in no way embarrassed by any enforcement of the Volstead Act. The city is full of wonderful sights and well deserves the name so often applied to it, "The Pearl of the Orient." The old walled city, the river life of the Pasig, the Escolta and the native quarter to the north are places one never tires of wandering through. Certainly, you need never feel far from the homeland when your every Asturius Gate-Entrance to the Walled City of Jolo want can be satisfied in the modern stores along the Escolta. The city is as interesting at night as it is in the Army and Navy Club, Manila, P. I. the dances at the Manila Hotel, one of the finest hotels in the East; Lerma Park and the Polo Club, whoever may be an enthusiastic devotee of Terpsichore may dance to their heart's content to good American jazz. However, all the charm of life in the Philippines is not found in and about Manila. There are many who prefer to be stationed outside the city. Ft. McKinley is near enough to permit one to get in and out of the city with ease and all the other stations on Luzon are near enough to permit a comfortable week-end in the city. All the posts provide wonderful attractions in themselves and their surroundings. All are comfortable in the extreme. The quarters are kept in excellent condition and splendidly equipped. Each post offers plenty of amusements-golf, polo, tennis and baseball are always means of outlet for surplus energy, except for a time during the rainy season. The Philippines offer strong inducements to the devotee of the shotgun and rifle and is a fisherman's paradise. Snipe, jungle fowl and wild hog can be found almost anywhere near most of the army posts and offer plenty of good sport and excitement. If one wants to try their hand at really big game, it is not a long or a hard trip into Nueva Ecija or Mindoro where the wild caraboa and tamarau are plentiful. There one may have all the sport and excitement he wants, for neither animal is game for the novice to meddle with. They are formidable antagonists, hard to hit and dangerous when wounded. The fisherman finds himself in a place that will some day be a deep-sea fisherman's mecca. Barracuda, tarpon and tuna are abundant in the waters off Mindoro and there are numbers of other kinds of game fish to be had in season, all of which furnish wonderful sport. For those who would rather hunt with a camera there are never-to-beforgotten trips to take. One often does not know which way to start-the prospects are so many and inviting. Baguio is a mountain resort that has few equals. You may leave the heat of the tropics in the morning and be amongst the pines of the temperate zone in a few hours' travel over wonderful motor roads. From Baguio you may go on into the Benguet country and the wild tribes, over good trails furnished with comfortable rest houses. There you are in the "wild country," in the midst of wonderful mountain scenery, with its scenes of life and nature hard to equal anywhere. There are few who There are few who take this trip who do not want to repeat it at the first opportunity. Another favorite trip is by motor to Laguna de Bay, Tayabas and Antimonan. other is across Luzon to the Pacific. These take one through the settled provinces, cocoanut groves, hemp fields and sugar plantations. From Antimonan it is a short trip by boat to Mercedes and thence down to Legaspi through country of the same character but more remote from Manila and consequently less touched by the civilizing forces of recent years. This last part takes you through the volcanic region of Luzon and furnishes one a chance to see and climb, if you will, the most perfect volcanic cone in the world, Mt. Mayon. This mountain is one of the Picturesque View of Mt. Mayon, a Perfect scenic wonders of the Islands, rising almost out of the sea, and the sight from its summit is well worth the arduous climb. Those who may wish to go still farther away can find life and scenery almost untouched by the hand of civilization in Mindinao and the Sulu Islands. The Southern Island trip, which was once so popular for a month's leave, no longer exists. The transports go direct to Overton and thence to Zamboanga and back. But those places of interest may be reached easily by commercial steamers. Many, no doubt, wonder about the climate. It's really not bad nor hard to stand. With modern sanitation and the knowledge of the tropics that we now have, the climate of the Islands should have no terrors for anyone. Almost every one who goes there in the Service returns an enthusiastic booster for the Islands and the life in the open. Living conditions are not as expensive as in the United States, although many things that are imported are dearer. However, good servants are cheap and easy to get and the general run of living expenses is considerably lower than at home. All quarters are completely furnished and the average family need take only their silver and linen as everything else can be gotten in Manila and will be, in many ways, more suitable than that which could be brought from home. To the officer who has yet to serve in the Philippines the prospect should be one filled with enthusiasm and interest. He has a period of service before him ti.at he will enjoy from start to finish and he will certainly be out of the ordinary if, long before his tour is ended, he begins to dread the approach of the day he has to board the transport and say good-bye to the Islands. He will be like those who have been there, always waiting and ready for the day when he can see the Golden Gate sink away in the east, eastward bound for the land of the tao and the carabao. Portals of One of the Famous Old Churches in Intramuros, the Walled City Manila I |