Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-07-11
Lite at the Springfield Armory.

The soldiers life in these piping
times of peace is not so full of excite
ment as he might wish, but is by ne
means as unpleasant as has beer
pictured. Many young men who enlis
are fascinated by the uniforms, tales OF
the rebellion and a life of ease, as il
seems to them; and when they find thai
they are expected to work nine hour:
day the enthusiasm is dampened, anC
they want to get out. From the dis
satisfaction of this class has doubles:
arisen the prejudice against peaceful
army life. But there is another side tC
the question. The average soldier is
uneducated. has no trade and would
have to work as a common laborer il
discharged. 1t is said, however, that
he would get more pay, and so it seems
at glance, but there it really very
little difference between the remuner-
alton of the soldier and laborer. The
former receives from the government
his board, clothes and from Sl3 to SD
month. The average is not far from
SIS, or S2l6 year. The day laborer
working 300 days year at 81 day re-
ceives 5000. As good board and lodg-
ing as the soldier has will cost at least
So week, or $3.50 a year. Deducting
this and 800 for clothes from his full
pay, he has left S240, or S24 dollars a
year more than the soldier. But the
men are not all meducated. One or
two i'll the service here have been
through college and many are well-read.
Some men enlist to receive the restraint
which the soldier is necessarily held
under. And this is one way in which
army life does good, A man whose
passion for liquor is irresistible. cannot
devise a safer protection than that of
the army. The lives of many men have
unqueStionably been prolonged by the
restriction under which they have been
placed. This restraint is, of course,
irksome and disagreeable, but it is some
mems only salvation. Dissatisfied SOL
dierS resort to all sorts of eXpedients to
get away. One German said that he
got $50 drunk ash never vas'' i'll the
hope that he would be discharged, but
the scheme was too transparent. De
Sertl0nS have become So frequent that
Gen. Sherman argues that it would be
advisable to lessen the soldiers work;
but it is strange fact that quite large
percentage of deserters afterwaul give
themselves up. 1t Is seldom that any
two give the same reason for coming
back. One could not overcome the fas-
cination which had increased while he
served, another repented from consei-
entiOus motives, and still another found
that his lot as soldier wasn't so very
hard after all. But the prejudice
against army life has become SO strong
that there are very few enlistments
nowadays, and men will probably have
to be transferred from line service TO
ill five places soon 20 be vacated here
by soldiers who have served their time.
1t is often wondered what mode of life
is chosen after five years in the army,
but there is very seldom any difficulty
in a discharged soldiers obtaining a
place. Some of them make the most
of their time when in the service and
come out fitted for positions, which
they were wholly unable to Till when
they enlisted. Many become police
men; and almost invariably make good
ones. Fully one-half of the Washing
ton police force is composed of dis
charged soldiers, and one of Spring
fields best officers lived 10 years within
the iron fence.