Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-07-09
Uncle SANS Army.
HOW 1T IS RECRU1TED-THE EXAMINATION
APPLICANTS, ETC,

|
From rather an unpretentious house on II
street from am until pm floats the Amer
lean flag, and placard on the outer walls gives
| the information that II a man has nothing else
to do he can step In, call upon Capt. H. C. Cor
bin, the U. S. recruiting officer. and apply for
enlistment In the army OF Uncle Sam. The
however, any certainty that an enlistment is to
follow, for before he can be accepted the appll-
cant must needs subject himself to most crit
| Barnes, the son OF the surgeon general of the
army, who Is assigned to this duty by the Sec
retary OF War. Capt. Corbin first takes In the
his previous calling In life, age, nativity, &c.
| Then comes
THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION
The applicant Is stripped to the buff, and first
ton, it does not measure 81 inches the examns- r
ton is at an end and the candidate is rejec ed.
If 1t exceeds the required number Of inches,
am1ned to see that none are broken or strained.
| Then he is required to hop over the room twice
on the left and then on the right foot, holding
one foot In the hand alternately. Next the
heart Is examined, then the lungs Next the
| back and especially the spine, to see that 1t is
free from curvature: The examination is also
! ease, and every organ OF the body must not only
| be free from dseDse, but also free from any Of
me M traces OF any previous allment. The candi-
GATE must also be able to read and write; not
| only read legibly with both eyes, but also with
| one. II he goes through this Satisfactorily he
Is accepted, clad In suit Of army blue, and sent
| ernor's Island, New York. for drill practice and
| to learn the habits OF a soldier. From there he
IS sent to some regiment just as acquisitions may
| be made, to fill the regiments to the quota al
| lowed by law.
MANY CALL But FEW ARE CHOSEN.
ABOUT SIX men apply daily for enlistment, and
ens ee he q Il a n
sight. The loss OF the front teeth is also cause
Tor immediate rejection. II man is married
d me- is not 10 wanted as only single men are taken.
There is no restriction on account of color The
colored man has the same chance as his white
Drother, provided he can get through Or.
however, is about one to every thirty white
men, and nine In ten are rejected for bad feet
or general illiteracy.
THE RECORD FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE.
selecting men, the statistics of Capt. Corbin's
Office for the month of June Is a good flustra.
ton There were two hundred applicants. OF
e T a aed M
reasons:-25 were minors; under size; over
age; had vericole; 2 mental disability; syph-
m 81 the aPaGsi yaoss
English; IL incapacity OF chest; 10 too high: is
tso,ne; nad rect; 80 general unfltness 10 internal
born in Massachusetts; in New Jersey: 3 in
Pennsylvania; s In Maryland; I'm Maine: in
Vermont; ! In Connecticut; 4 in Virginia; In
Geoagia; @ In ireland. The occupations OF these
were as follows:-6 soldiers; 1 musician;
clerks; laborers; timer; painter; 1 black
smith; baker; cook; 2 machinists; plasterer:
salesman; c0achman; fireman: barber:
tanners; sten0grapher.
WHEN CANDIDATE Is REJECTED
at any OF the general recruiting rendezvous his
description Is at once sent to all the others, SO
as s 10 prevent MS being taken at some other
point Where enl1StTnentS are made Occasion
ally under fictitious name an applicant once
re1ected 1e manages to squeeze in at some other
pace, DuI the instances are rare. II the exam
ming surgeon enlist an applicant and subse-
quent examination develop that he has any
allment which was not discovered by the sur
geon @ @og1 who passed him, the expense Of such en-
Cal examining of1icer: IT ls credltable to DR..
Barnes that IL a service with the recruiting
rendezvous here he has never had man vet
charged against him.
JUDGE FREEMAN, assistant attorney genera
Tor the P. o. Department, has gone to Tennes-
see, bis native state, to be absent few weeks.
pr. pr. A. d. Blsseu Is the acting assistant at.
torLey general In his absence.
CANADIAN CUSTOM House PRAcr1sEs.-Mr.
Twitchell, the U. s. consul at Kingston, Cana
da, In despatch to the Department of State.
remarks that our exporters to Canada do not
seem TO understand the mode of appraisement
ADOPTED In Canada. The appraiser does not
consider the price for which the goods were
Rurcnased, T,aa or may be purchased, but hxes the
may have from the place where their goods
were purchased. Our exporters therefore
should consult th e "prlce current" of their To-
cailtles In making up their invoices.
THE FOLLOWING CASUALTIES occurred among
the commissioned of1lcers of the U. s. army
during the week ending July g. 1s79:-Captain
Thomas % @ q. Fisher. 22d infantry; died July 4, at
Fort Mckasett Texas. First Lieut. Henry M
McCaWley, 18th infantry; died June 80. at A.
lanta, ga. First Lieut.. Wallace w. Barrett.
Ksnsda 1sn infantry died July 1st, at Fort Riley,
Iantry; resigned July 1st. Second Lieut. Samuel
d. Loder, 7th infantry; died June 3Otl, at Fort
Benton, Montana.
PROF. GAMGEE Is moving on the President to
see what can be done towards equipping a re-
fr1gerat1ng ship.
The ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA.-Mr. Owen,
U. s. consul at Messina, sends to the DEPART
ment OF State. an account Of the recent erup-
lion OF Mount Etna. 1t broke out on the e6th of
May, and ceased on the 18th of june In Mes
slna the paVementS and balconies were covered
with dust. The villages near the mountain
were shrouded in darkness, and their inhabi
danss ISL neg M IN terror The damages are estimated
ment has contributed large sum- The King
gave personally 81 600; the city of Catania
$2,4oo, and the archbishop s4OO. On the 18th of
earth opened and swallowed up houses and hu-
man beings: The cause is attributed to the un-
ueI eIInlning, ioiioWlng the discharge OF lava In
large quantities. -
COMMANDER R. D. EVANS, commanding the
Saratoga, is In the city.
Cost OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS IN SOME OF
THE LARGE CITIEs.-The following details of
the cost Of public buildings Is interesting: The
chicago building, which was commenced in
1913, has already cost $4,000, 600, and the last
Congress made an appropriation Of s525, 900 to
complete the building this year. The Cincin-
cOmmnncp6 in hoso
date nearly $40O0,oOO. The Philadelphia build
lng, Deg1n In 1s73 has cost thus far 81. 800 900,
ana the st, Louis building, commenced in isI2'
has cost s, ,loO, 900. The Boston building is
ABOUT completed. and the Chicago building win
probably be finished by next year The other
three large buildings are all well advanced and
VIII not be long In completing When these
nve great structures are finished they will have
cost the government upwards of s25. 900 OO0.
al arc their completion Will save the government
from further apprOprfating on an average OF
from 81 100000 to $4,000, 600 year.
SENATOR BAYARD was rendered pleasant
reception by the Jefferson Club of WtlmnCton