New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-02-10
KEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10. 1869

provisions out on the Plains 10 feed his soldiers.
Icannot see why officer should be allowed to sell those
provisions any pretense whatever Surely common
sense may tell any that the system OF allowing every
company commander to sell his companys rations When
ever he pleases end in fraud and corruption, for
who ia 70 know how much he sells in reality
no protection for the soldier against being robbed Of his
ratons II he complains to the cooks they are likely to
scad him or kick him out Of the cookhouse II he COM
plains to an officer he will get sent to the guardhouse
tied ND by the wrists or thumbs or have ball and chain
put him for growing
The soldier who went through two years OF
this sort of thing is not without his notions as
to the proper remedy. Congressman whose
specific for the army is the retention OF great
crowd of useless officers, because they are so
admirably qualified for their work, may stlli
find it suggestive:
"Thero has been goodideal said and written iaIey
about the causes Of desertion and the remedy Tor IT,
assert that the Of deseron out on the Ironte IN
the Territories the Plains is poisoning Win Dad ra
tons and starving with scanty ones have spoken to
many deserters and asked them the reason they de-
serted and iudging from their answers and my own
experience 1 believe that almost every cause
Of desertion can be traced TO bad ana scany raons
ace some members of Congress believe that II the pay OF
the soldier was increased 1t would stop desertion Ins
idea Ia simply ridiculous. Soldiers have more pay no"
NA
spend their money in drunkenness, gambling ana de-
hatchery I think 1 can tell them how to bene
1T the soldier First let every officer caught
selling his mems rations be severely pun
,sbed Stop the sale Of soldiers rations at
the different frontier posts and allow none TO DC sofa on
any pretense whatever Second Let there be IN every
company weights scales and measures so that II SOL
der thinks he has not got fair ration he can take up
and have 1t weighed and measured. Let 1t be under
stood that every soldier the right to do this; Also
let IL bo understood that II soldier objects TO the quail
y of his ration that he has the right to bring IL TO the
DOCTOR and that the doctors duty to examine IT, ana
II UNIT for human food to condemn It, and order the SOL
der another ration"
We have preferred to confine this exhibit
to single class of abuses in the army on the
frontier. There is a sickening list OF others,
only too we'll authenticated in individual cases.
Soldiers are still tied up by the thumbs in spite
of the Congressional prohibition. Drunken
officers have tried to shoot men who anSered
them. Mutinies have been provoked by long
continued abuse Steamboats, have been
ordered ont from under the protection OF a
forts guns, at night, in the Indian country.
because of their refusal to sell whisky. Men
enlisted for soldiers are employed as laborers.
These cases may not be general-we trust
they are not. But we insist that
enough is known to warrant
thorough pruning of the Army Register. A
iudicious muster out of one-third of these Off
GERS ought to leave body having fewer mem
bers capable of such enormities. We believe
in taking care Of the army; but the first men
in it to command our sympathy are the men
in the ranks.