Dit is te bereiken: een eervol bestaan, een behoorlijk tractement (This Can Be Achieved: An Honourable Existence, a Decent Salary), Royal Netherlands East Indies Army recruitment
A one-page recruitment poster for the colonial army. A soldier in tropical helmet and puttees stands at attention beside the headline 'This can be achieved: an honourable existence, a decent salary', a boxed pay scale 'since 1 January 1938' from private to second lieutenant, and the statement that the youngest soldier receives 5.25 guilders pocket money a week with food, clothing, bed, doctor and medicines free. The tell: the sheet gives pay and free provisions and nothing else about the service (card-stacking), and 'honourable existence' stands in for it (glittering generalities).
- Date
- 1938
- Period
- Interwar
- Made by
- Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger (KNIL, Royal Netherlands East Indies Army), recruitment through its Colonial Reserve at Nijmegen
- Region
- Southeast Asia
- Country
- Dutch East Indies
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Audience
- Mixed
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Techniques
- Card stackingGlittering generalities
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie photograph collection, Dutch Ministry of Defence), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC0 1.0 (Dutch Ministry of Defence photograph, stated on the Commons file page)
Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie / Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Landmacht, 1938, CC0.
Text on the object
DIT IS TE BEREIKEN EEN EERVOL BESTAAN- EEN BEHOORLIJK TRACTEMENT. HET KONINKLIJK NEDERLANDSCH- INDISCHE LEGER BIEDT HET U TRACTEMENTEN SINDS 1 JANUARI 1938 Soldaat 2e kl. van f 0.75 tot f 1.-- per dag Soldaat 1e kl. van f 0.85 tot f 1.55 per dag Brigadier (korp.) van f 1.15 tot f 1.85 per dag Sergeant van f 185.-- tot f 290.-- per maand Sergeant-maj. van f 190.-- tot f 330.-- per maand Adj.-onderoff. van f 200.-- tot f 375.-- per maand Onderluitenant van f 220.-- tot f 500.-- per maand Dit wil zeggen, dat de jongste soldaat in Indië per week aan ZAKGELD f 5.25 ontvangt. Immers, voeding, kleeding, ligging, dokter en medicijnen heeft hij vrij. Onderofficieren hebben alleen dokter en medicijnen vrij (ook voor het gezin). OORDEELT THANS ZELF OVER DEZE VOORUITZICHTEN Het Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indische Leger kan steeds FLINKE, GOED OPPASSENDE jongemannen van 18 tot 30 jaar (ongehuwd) gebruiken. Vraagt inlichtingen omtrent de dienstneming bij de INFANTERIE, CAVALERIE, ARTILLERIE, GENIE en den HOSPITAALDIENST aan den COMMANDANT van de KOLONIALE RESERVE te NIJMEGEN. KONINKLIJK NEDERLANDSCH-INDISCH LEGER
THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED AN HONOURABLE EXISTENCE - A DECENT SALARY. THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES ARMY OFFERS IT TO YOU SALARIES SINCE 1 JANUARY 1938 Private 2nd class: from f 0.75 to f 1.-- per day Private 1st class: from f 0.85 to f 1.55 per day Brigadier (corporal): from f 1.15 to f 1.85 per day Sergeant: from f 185.-- to f 290.-- per month Sergeant-major: from f 190.-- to f 330.-- per month Adjutant-NCO: from f 200.-- to f 375.-- per month Second lieutenant: from f 220.-- to f 500.-- per month This means that the youngest soldier in the Indies receives f 5.25 per week in POCKET MONEY. For he has food, clothing, lodging, doctor and medicines free. Non-commissioned officers have only doctor and medicines free (also for the family). SO JUDGE FOR YOURSELF THESE PROSPECTS The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army can always use SMART, WELL-BEHAVED young men aged 18 to 30 (unmarried). Ask for information about enlistment in the INFANTRY, CAVALRY, ARTILLERY, ENGINEERS and the HOSPITAL SERVICE from the COMMANDER of the COLONIAL RESERVE at NIJMEGEN. ROYAL NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES ARMY
Read from the 1280 px Commons rendering; a pencil mark over one figure in the pay table (adjutant-NCO maximum) is read as 375. Spacing of the table columns is approximate. Translation is FRAME's own literal rendering, machine-assisted and not verified by a fluent reader.
