Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-10-17
AT A RECRUITING OFFICE.
WHAT THE sERGEANT ToLD TO d
REPORT TsE.

Men Who En,ist-Causes that Load
Them 70 JOin the Army-Why Some
Fail TO be Enrolled.
A Washington Star reporter has been
interviewing the sergeant in charge of
United States recruiting Office in that
city, with the following result:
''Do we enlist many2 Yes, all we can
get" said the sergeant, in response TO
the reporters questions, as he offered
him chair and closed his recruiting
book. "We take all we can get who
can pass the examination"
How many applications do You get
Ill day2"
1.-TWO is the most I remember of com.
ing in one day. Some days none come"
''Do most OF them pass2n
''No. Last month we had twenty ap-
plicants, and only eight were accepted
as physically sound. The month before
there were only eight accepted out OF
thirty"
"What is sufficient to disqualify an ap
plicant2"
"The absence of molar teeth is alone
sufficient. In old times it used to ba
that soldiers had to have good incisors,
or front teeth That was when they had
to bite cartridges, Now they have car
tridges that don't need biting and in
cisors are not indispensable in soldier.
Signs OF habitual drunkenness is sufii-
cient to disqualify man for the service.
He will be rejected for any serious physi.
cal weakness. Many are disqualified on
account CT big veins in the calves of their
legs-long marching might burst them. u
"What makes men enlistW
"Out Of work, out of money, out Of
friends. Anything. Some have lik,
ing for the army. Some have read books
and have romantic idea of frontier sol
dier-life. But the most of those whd
enlist are laborers who get out of work
and have nothing open to them but to
| go into the army. | don't know but it
is the best thing they can do. For a
single man without a trade the army is a
lot better than jobbing. They have their
pay sure and no expenses, and at the
end OF their term they generally have a
snug little sum of money. l have been
discharged twice and each time had $500
due me. That isn't bad"
ooh" he added, after a short pause,
during which he puffed his pipe violent
ly. "They come for various reasons. |
s'pose some young fellows enlist because
they have had quarrels with their sweet,
hearts. Some young fellows have beer
wild, and they run away from home and
join the army. Occasionally an educated,
efned-looking fellow will join. They
generally have good reasons for it. They
have been clerks, and have violated somt
trust or otherwise injured their reputa
ton, or have been ruined by bad asso'
ciates an and are aYip8g from RRfa RRfa SOON g4
tired of soldier life and desert befor'
their time is up2"
about nine -tenths of all the new re
cruits desert before the first year is up
Most of them never join their regiment
There are over hundred thousand de
serters at large throughout the countr,
now"
"Are these what you call bount,
jumpers2"
"No, they get no bounty. The
never get cent until they join thei
regiment. When we enlist them W
simply dress them up in uniform AM
ship them off.
"You say they are all single men
Don't married men ever enlist2"
"We won't have any but single men
They don't get pay enough to support
wife, and the government does not wan
to be burdened with their family"
"Don't they ever get married afte
enlistment2"
Sometimes, and those who hav
served several terms are allowed MOI
! privileges in this direction. But it
not very good for the new recruits t
get married. / remember one recru
: who was placed on duty here, who ma
riei a young Washington girl on th
, quiet. AS soon as they found him OF
though, he was ordered as far away frol
his bride as they could get him. No
Q his wife lives here dependent upon he
relatives, guess.