Military service here is essentially a home

The Bulgarian soldiery can never be called upon to serve out of their own country except in time of war. In consequence, they are not separated for long periods of time from their homes and families in the same way as the troops of States which have colonies or outlying possessions. Military service here is essentially a home .service ; and the only valid objection to a large army, from a popular point of view, is the necessity it involves of restricting the supply of the labour available for the cultivation of the land, in which, either in his own person, or as a member of a family, every Bulgarian soldier is individually interested The men are well fed, well clothed, and well housed ; and dull as the Bulgarian towns, in which the troops are mostly quartered, may seem to strangers, they probably present great attractions to peasants whose lives have been passed hitherto in out-of-the-way villages.

Promotion is absolutely equal for all ranks and classes in the Bulgarian army. Any youth who has gone through his curriculum at the high schools, and who has risen into the upper class before leaving, has a right to enter the Military Academy at Sofia as a cadet; and after studying there for two years and passing a satisfactory examination, he is entitled to a commission. At the same time, any private soldier who has served for two years in the ranks, and who can pass the examination demanded of the cadets, is equally entitled to an officer’s appointment. From the nature of things, I presume that the cadets are, as a rule, sons of peasants somewhat better off than the mass of their fellow-countrymen.

Since the Russian officers

But the differences of fortune are so slight here, all classes are so equally removed from either wealth or poverty, that officers and privates do not represent different social strata, as they do in almost all other armies. Since the Russian officers were recalled on the eve of the Servian War, the army, with hardly an exception, has been officered by native-born Bulgarians; that is, in the vast majority of instances, by the sons of peasants. The pay of the officers is liberal and, according to a Bulgarian standard, even lavish. For instance, a sub-lieutenant receives £100 a year, a captain £200, a major £300, and a colonel close on £5oo. The military salaries are, in every case, relatively higher than those paid to civil servants occupying analogous positions.

Military service here is essentially a home

The Bulgarian soldiery can never be called upon to serve out of their own country except in time of war. In consequence, they are not separated for long periods of time from their homes and families in the same way as the troops of States which have colonies or outlying possessions. Military service here is essentially a home .service ; and the only valid objection to a large army, from a popular point of view, is the necessity it involves of restricting the supply of the labour available for the cultivation of the land, in which, either in his own person, or as a member of a family, every Bulgarian soldier is individually interested The men are well fed, well clothed, and well housed ; and dull as the Bulgarian towns, in which the troops are mostly quartered, may seem to strangers, they probably present great attractions to peasants whose lives have been passed hitherto in out-of-the-way villages.

Promotion is absolutely equal for all ranks and classes in the Bulgarian army. Any youth who has gone through his curriculum at the high schools, and who has risen into the upper class before leaving, has a right to enter the Military Academy at Sofia as a cadet; and after studying there for two years and passing a satisfactory examination, he is entitled to a commission. At the same time, any private soldier who has served for two years in the ranks, and who can pass the examination demanded of the cadets, is equally entitled to an officer’s appointment. From the nature of things, I presume that the cadets are, as a rule, sons of peasants somewhat better off than the mass of their fellow-countrymen.

Since the Russian officers

But the differences of fortune are so slight here, all classes are so equally removed from either wealth or poverty, that officers and privates do not represent different social strata, as they do in almost all other armies. Since the Russian officers were recalled on the eve of the Servian War, the army, with hardly an exception, has been officered by native-born Bulgarians; that is, in the vast majority of instances, by the sons of peasants. The pay of the officers is liberal and, according to a Bulgarian standard, even lavish. For instance, a sub-lieutenant receives £100 a year, a captain £200, a major £300, and a colonel close on £5oo. The military salaries are, in every case, relatively higher than those paid to civil servants occupying analogous positions.