(_Leslie's Weekly_)

TAKING THE STARCH OUT OF THE MARCH

BY GERALD MYGATT

Don't most of us--that is, those of us who are unfamiliar with army
life and with things military in general--don't most of us picture
marching troops as swinging down a road in perfect step, left arms
moving in unison, rifles held smartly at the right shoulder, head
and eyes straight to the front (with never so much as a forehead
wrinkled to dislodge a mosquito or a fly), and with the band of the
fife-and-drum corps playing gaily at the head of the column? Of
course we do. Because that's the way we see them on parade.

A march is a far different thing. A march is simply the means of
getting so many men from one place to another in the quickest time
and in the best possible condition. And it may astonish one to be
told that marching is the principal occupation of troops in the
field--that it is one of the hardest things for troops to learn to
do properly, and that it is one of the chief causes of loss.

ADDRESSING THE READER DIRECTLY. A direct personal appeal makes a good
opening for an article. The writer seems to be talking to each reader
individually instead of merely writing for thousands. This form of
address may seem to hark back to the days of the "gentle reader," but
its appeal is perennial. To the pronoun "you" may be added the
designation of the particular class of readers addressed, such as "You,
mothers," or "You, Mr. Salaried Man." The imperative verb is perhaps the