Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-10
AN AMNESTY PROCLAMATION.
Pardon Soon Expected For All
Army Deserters.
WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE 2
The Annual Loss to the Service AL
most Beyond Bclicf-Changcs
Expected in the Treasury
Departments.
WASHINGTON BUREAU, THE OMAHA BRE,
513 FouRTRENra STREET,

5l3 FouRTRENTH STREET,
WASHINGTON ID. c., June 0.
There seems to be good reasons for the be-
lief that President Harrison will shortly
issue second general amnesty" proolama-
tion, granting pardon to all deserters from
the army. The annual loss to the service
from this cause is almost beyond belief, and
the best minds at headquarters are constantly
trying to formulate some plan which will
bring the number of deserters down to tho
minimum. Referring to the subject, Colonel
II. II. Misener, Seventeenth infantry, COM
manding the post at Fort ID. A. Russell,
says:
GOOD soldiers do not desert the service,
and no better soldiers can be found than in
this command. Old soldiers very rarely de-
sert desertions being generally confined
to recruits. With all the COM
forts, recreations and indulgencies in
this garrison there have been
nine desertions from this command this
month, all without just cause. All the talk
about young men being disgusted by the bru-
tality or the coarseness of the old soldiers Is
simply rot. AS a rule, old soldiers give the
new ones their first lessons In decency. The
youngest men are proverbialy the worst"
1t is said that in spite ofColonel Miselner's
views and the fact that the army and navy
are recruited from the same class of citizens,
there are 80 per cent more desertions from
the former than from the latter arm of the
service Desertion is the great curse of the
army, and one of the most unpleasant fea-
lures of the whole thing is that the for
eign-born recruits stick more closely to their
duties than the native American. AT least
three-fifths of the army are of foreign birth,
but scarcely half of the deserters are. The
question has puzzled the war department Of
fcials more than a little but, so far, no
| remedy or, for that matter, no reason has
All,
The presidents proclamation will remove
the cloud which now hangs over thousands
of young men, but whether that will act as
an incentive to more desertons is a question
| army officers are unable to answer.
A SINGULAR FATALITY.
| It is discovered that IN the new revised
army regulations, which the war department
has been distributing, the payment of
troops monthly has been omitted, reform
which Paymaster-General Rochester worked
hard to secure and which he finally had
| adopted by the war department. 1t is said
| at the war department that the omission was
| due to the hurried manner in which the
work was prepared, and the general dispo-
| sition seems to be to throw all the blame on
| the government printing Office. But as ''no
| copy'' of this important reform in the army
| was ever sent to the government printer. ii
| is singular, to say the least, how any blame
| can be attached to him. A sort of fatality
has attended the issuing ofthese regulations.
| 1t took board of officers at least three years
| to get them in shape. They were approved
by the war department anu ordered to be
printed, and since then there has been notht
| ing but succession of blunders. Twice
| they were run through the press, only to
| make the discovery that some important
| matter was left out and the matter had to be
| corrected accordingly.
CHANGES EXPECTED.
| 1t is expected that there will be several
| important changes in the treasury depart
| ment during the remaining days of the cur
| rent month, and that the president will an
nounce several important appointments in
| this branch of the government service DUR.
| ing the present week. One of the changes
| expected is the appointment Of SUCCESSOR
| of the present director of the mint, apd the
| current opinion is that Director Kimball
| will be superseded by his present assistant,
| Captain Leach. The former director was
| Mr. Burchard, of Illinois. He held that
under the law he could not be disturbed until
| the expiration of his term, which he asserted
| is fixed at six years, but the Cleveland adj
| mnistration took contrary view, and there
| is no reason why President Harrison should
! not be equally prompt in hnding republican
to fill the place. The democratic bureau
| chiefs still in the treasury department are
Third Auditor Williams, Register
Kimball, Superintendent Thorne, of
the coast survey; Commissioner of Naviga-
| CATION Morton, Mr. Bennett, chief of the
| revenue marine division; Major Kritz, chief
of the mail division, and Mr.. Swtzer, chief Of
the bureau of statistics. 1t is said that all of
these gentlemen, with the possible excep-
tion of Third Auditor Williams, will be re-
| lieved by republicans by or before the 1st of
| July. Mr.. Williams may retain his office for
| a longer term and may possibly not be dis
| turbed at all because of his friendly relations
| with the president. There are now vacant
| two very important positions under the inter-
| state department caused by the resignation
| of Commissioners Stocksager and Oberly,of
| the land and Indian offices, respectively. IT
| is thought both these places will be filled this
week. Iowa expects to get the former and
| it is generally thought that the latter will 60
| to Rhode Island. PERRY S. HEATH.