MODERN HIGHWAYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 June 1927, Page 4

MODERN HIGHWAYS

RUBBER COMING IN. A military correspondent of the London “Morning Bost” understands, he says, that the War Office is not averse from officially sanctioning the. wearing of rubber heels by the “other ranks” of the Brigade of Guards. In all probability the matter will be finally settled in the near future, and rubber pads will be made a public charge. “A year ago I started exclusively in the ‘Morning Post’ that Guardsmen of the Brigade of Guards quartered in the London District Command had beeh given freedom to attach rubber pads to the heels of their boots. This concession established a precedent of military interests and importance, and other Commands have since considered the utility of the rubber heel. “It; is not an easy matter to secure the approval of the Guards for an innovation of this character. If it could be shown that the rubber heel would, in ever so slight a degree, tone down the smartness of the drill, the rubber heels would certainly he doomed. The non-commissioned officers who are primarily responsible for the smartness and precision which attend every movement of the Guards have a decided prejudice qgainst the use of rubber. “In. fact they say that the turning movements arc impeded if the heel is ‘cushioned,’ and that in the ‘right-about-turn’ it occasions delay. These objections however, are not taken too seriously. “The efficacy of the rubber heel has been proved in its relation to marching. The hard, smooth, sometimes treacherous tar-sprayed road tells heavily on troops marching in column of route. The untreated macadamised road is not free from dust, but it offers a better foothold. “Lord Ruthven has given careful consideration to the whole question. His desire has been to relieve the soldier on the march of some of the added strain which modern road construction and treatment involved. “At present the Guardsmen covers the cost of the rubber pad. He has an allowance for boot repairs, and the purchase of the pad is an economical measure apart altogether from its other advantages.”