THE ARTISTS' RIFLES.
ITO THE EDITOR OE THE " SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—May I beg a little of your valuable space to say a few words about the Artists' Rifles Regimental Association? As you know, the Artists' Rifles have been ever since the earliest days of the war an Officers' Training Corps, and, including some fifteen hundred officers and others attached for special courses of training, have handled about ten thousand men, of whom seven thousand have already been sent up for commissions. All these men are in principle eligible for membership of the Regimental Association, but they are scattered through every regiment of the British Army, and it is because in many cases the existence of the Associa- tion can only be brought to their notice through the Press that I am seeking your indulgence. Though the majority of these men enjoyed but a comparatively brief stay in the ranks of the Artists' Rifles, all have felt the need of a lasting association with the fine spirit and traditions of the corps, and it is to facilitate this that the Regimental Association has been formed. A pied+ terra has been opened at 17 Craven Street, W.C., and the publica- tion of the Artists' Rifles Journal has been successfully undertaken. But the aims of the Association look further than this. It may be not improperly described as an altar upon which the Imperial spirit will be kept burning in the years to come. For in its organization the fact has been taken into consideration that the old Artists are just the kind of men that have helped to build up the British Empire in the past, and that many of them will be its ambassadors upon the highways of the world in the years of pence to come. An employment -bureau has therefore been established in connexion with the Association through which ex-Artists, either as employers or employees, may be brought into touch with other old members of the corps who can be of use to them, and which will give special attention to providing positions and opportunities for the many men who after the war will desire to try their fortunes in various parts of the Empire. The bringing together of overseas Artists and -the establishment of branch Associations wherever two or more are gathered together will also be undertaken. As the demand for officers, and particularly for officers who have been trained in the Artists' Corps, still exceeds the supply, it can be gathered that the corps is still recruiting, and is always ready to consider the applications of well-educated men of the kind that make efficient officers. To such men, whether they have returned from abroad or are just reaching the age when they are required to serve, it should be of more than passing interest to know that by joining the Artists' Rifles they provide themselves not merely with a suitable channel leading to -a com- mission, but with associations that may be of immense practical value to them in after life.—I am, Sir, &e., [We deal with this subject in our leading columns.—ED. Spectator.]
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