=877.= The officers of the company should do everything possible to make the organization contented and harmonious. Contentment and harmony are not only conducive to good discipline and efficiency, but they also make the government of the company easy and reduce desertions to a minimum.

The showing of favoritism on the part of the captain is always a cause of great dissatisfaction amongst the soldiers in the company. Soldiers do not care how strict the captain is, just so he is fair and impartial, treating all men alike.

=878. The Mess.= The captain should give the mess his constant personal attention, making frequent visits to the kitchen and dining-room while the soldiers are at meals so as to see for himself what they are getting, how it is served, etc.

It is not saying too much to state that, in time of peace, a good mess is the real basis of the contentment of a company.

Ascertain what the soldiers like to eat and then gratify their appet.i.tes as far as practicable.

Be careful that the cook or the mess sergeant doesn't fall into a rut and satiate the soldiers day after day with the same dishes.

Give the ration your personal attention--know yourself what the company is ent.i.tled to, how much it is actually getting, what the savings amount to, etc.

=879. Library and Amus.e.m.e.nt Room.= A library and an amus.e.m.e.nt room, supplied with good books, magazines, papers, a billiard or pool table, and a phonograph, are a source of much pleasure and contentment.

=880. Athletic Apparatus.= A judicious investment of the company fund in baseb.a.l.l.s, bats, dumb bells, Indian clubs, boxing gloves and other athletic goods, and the encouragement of baseball, basketball, quoits, etc., are in the interest of harmony and happiness.

Rewards and Privileges

=881.= 1. Deny all pa.s.ses and requests for privileges of men whose conduct is not good, and on the other hand grant to men whose conduct is good, as many indulgences as is consistent with discipline.

2. Judicious praise in the presence of the first sergeant, a few noncommissioned officers, or the entire company, depending upon circ.u.mstances, very often accomplishes a great deal. After the according of such praise, let your action toward the man show that his good conduct is appreciated and that it has raised him in your estimation, and make him feel you are keeping your eye on him to see whether he will continue in his well doing.

3. Publication of commendatory orders, desirable special duty details, etc.

4. Promotion, and extra duty details which carry extra pay.

5. Meritorious conduct of importance should be noted in the soldier's military record and also on his discharge.

6. At the weekly company inspection, each chief of squad picks out the neatest and cleanest man in his squad--the captain then inspects the men so selected, the neatest and cleanest one being excused from one or two tours of kitchen police, or some other disagreeable duty; or given a two days' pa.s.s.

NOTE: Some officers do not think that good conduct should be especially rewarded, but that if all soldiers be held strictly accountable for their actions by a system of strict discipline, good conduct attains its own reward in the immunities it enjoys.

=882. Company punishment.= It is neither necessary nor desirable to bring every dereliction of duty before a court-martial for trial. In fact, the invariable preferring of charges for minor[9] offenses will, as a rule, injure rather than help the discipline of a command. The 104th Article of War states, "The commanding officer of any detachment, company, or higher command may, for minor offenses not denied by the accused, impose disciplinary punishments upon persons of his command without the intervention of a court-martial, unless the accused demands trial by court-martial." The disciplinary punishments authorized may include admonition, reprimand, withholding of privileges, extra fatigue, and restriction to certain specified limits, but shall not include forfeiture of pay or confinement under guard. (Par. 333, Manual for Courts-Martial.)

Some Efficacious Forms of Company Punishment

=883.= 1. Extra fatigue under the Company Supply Sergeant or the noncommissioned officer in charge of quarters, cleaning up around and in the company quarters, scrubbing pots, scouring tin pans, polishing stoves, cutting wood, policing the rears, cutting gra.s.s, pulling weeds, polishing the bra.s.s and nickel parts in the water closets and bath rooms, washing and greasing leather, cleaning guns, boiling greasy haversacks, and in camp, digging drains and working around slop holes.

If the work be done well the offender may be let off sooner--if the work be not done well, he may be tried for it.

2. Men may not be allowed to leave the immediate vicinity of the barracks for periods ranging from one to ten days, during which time they are subject to all kinds of disagreeable fatigue, and required to report to the N. C. O. in charge of quarters at stated hours.

3. Breaking rocks for a given number of days. For every man so punished, a private of the same company is detailed as a sentinel and for every four men a corporal is detailed in addition--the idea being to cause every man in each organization to take an interest in preventing his own comrades from violating rules and regulations.

4. When two soldiers get into a row that is not of a serious nature, a good plan is to set them at work scrubbing the barrack windows--one on the outside and one on the inside, making them clean the same pane at the same time. They are thus constantly looking in each other's faces and before the second window is cleaned they will probably be laughing at each other and part friends rather than nursing their wrath.

5. Confinement to barracks, reporting to the noncommissioned officer in charge of quarters once every hour, from reveille to, say, 9 P. M.

NOTE: Some company commanders follow, for moral effect, the practice of publishing to their companies all summary court convictions of soldiers belonging to the organization.

Withholding of Privileges

1. Withholding of pa.s.ses and of credit at the post exchange.

2. Withholding of furloughs.

=884. Control of Drunken and Obscene Men.= In order to control drunken and obscene men, they have been bucked and gagged until sufficiently sober to regain self-control and quiet down. The use of a cold water hose in such cases has been known to accomplish good results. Great care and judgment, however, should be exercised and no more force used than is absolutely necessary.

It may also be said that persistently filthy men have been washed and scrubbed.

=885.= Sat.u.r.day morning and other company inspections are intended to show the condition of the organization regarding its equipment, military appearance and general fitness for service, and the condition of the quarters as regards cleanliness, order, etc. Usually everyone except the guard, one cook, and others whose presence elsewhere can not be spared, are required to attend inspections, appearing in their best clothes, their arms and accouterments being shipshape and spick and span in every respect.

A man appearing at inspection with arms and equipments not in proper shape, especially if he be a recruit or if it be his first offense, may be turned out again several hours later, fully armed and equipped, for another inspection, instead of being tried by summary court.

Property Responsibility

=886.= Special attention should be given to the care and accountability of all company property.

1. All property (tents, axes, spades, chairs, hatchets, etc.) should be plainly marked with the letter of the company.

2. Keep a duplicate copy of every memorandum receipt given for property, and when such property is turned in or another officer's memorandum receipt is given covering the property, don't fail to get your original memorandum from the quartermaster.

3. See that the quartermaster gives you credit for all articles turned in, or property accounted for on statement of charges, proceedings of a surveying officer or otherwise.

4. Have a settlement with the quartermaster at the end of every quarter as required by Army Regulations, taking an inventory of all property held on memorandum receipt and submitting to the quartermaster a statement of charges and a certified list of the china and gla.s.sware unavoidably broken during the quarter.

5. Keep an account of all articles issued to the men, turned in to the quartermaster, condemned, expended, lost, stolen or destroyed.

6. Worn out and unserviceable, property that is beyond repair in the company should be submitted to the action of a surveying officer, the Survey Reports (Form No. 196, A. G. O.) being prepared in triplicate, and submitted to the commanding officer, who will appoint a surveying officer. No property that can be repaired in the company should ever be submitted to the action of a surveying officer or inspector. In this connection company commanders and supply sergeants should be thoroughly familiar with Ordnance Department pamphlet No. 1965 and G.

O. 26, 1917, the two covering the care, repair and disposition of unserviceable Ordnance equipment.

7. Property that is to be submitted to the action of a surveying officer or an inspector should always first be carefully examined by the responsible officer in person, who should be prepared to give all necessary information in regard to it.

The property should be arranged in the order of enumeration in the survey or the inventory report, and should be arranged in rows of five, ten, or some other number, so that the numbers of the various articles can be counted at a glance.

The Army Regulations require that the responsible officer shall be present at the inspection of property by a regular inspector. He should also be present when property is acted on by a surveying officer.

8. All company property (Ordnance, Quartermaster, Signal and Engineer) except the litter (Medical Department) is gotten from the unit supply officer on memorandum receipt. The litter is gotten from the surgeon on memorandum receipt. Settlements are required to be made quarterly with the officers concerned, and also when relinquishing command.

Company Paperwork

=887. Scope of subject.= To cover in full the subject of company paperwork would require more s.p.a.ce than it is practicable to spare in a manual of this nature, and consequently only brief reference is made herein to the princ.i.p.al books, records and papers connected with the administration of a company.