St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-23
How Jefferson Barracks Of
fieers Beat Recruits Out Of
Their Money.
Games Of Chance Of Many
Kinds Brought to Bear on
the Youngsters.
The Food Given the Men Badly
Cooked and Poorly
Served.
Refractory Soldiers Hand
cuffed by the Wrists to the
Bars of a Cage.

WASHINGTON, Oct. %. The report OF
the army court of inquiry which investi.
gated the charges made with regard to
the treatment of recruits at Jefferson
Barracks, Mo-, has been laid before
Secretary Proctor by Capt. Ebstein,
member of the court, who came on here
for the purpose. The report consists of
a voluminouS mass of testimony and
summary of this evidence. No recon-
mendations or opinions are contained
i'll the report, as the articles of war pro-
vide that courts of inquiry shall not SUBJ
nit any opinions with their reports un-
less specifically ordered to do so, and
no such order was made when
the court was created. The testi,
m0ny taken shows that the charges
made were exaggerated, but that there
was some foundation for part of them.
The charges of extreme cruelty toward
the enlisted men were not proved. II
was found that the food given the men
was badly cooked and poorly served.
The ratlOnS were ample and the supply
of vegetables was particular abundant.
1t was shown, however, that too much
coffee and sugar had been saved and
turned over to the commiSSary for its
equivalent in money, and that the
meSSes had not been conducted judi
eiously. There was no misappropria-
ton of this money, and it was all placed
to the credit of the different messes.
The charges that non-commissioned
officers were taking advantage of
the recruits and were running games Of
chance, such as stud poker, ehuek-a-
luck and the like. and thereby getting a
part of the monthly wages of the men,
were sustained. Only one case of what
might be termed harsh treatmentby tn
non-eommiSSioned officers was discov-
cred, and this. branch of the allegations
practically fell to the ground. The as
sertion tnat men were strung up
By THEIR THUMBS
I'D the guard house was dispr0ved, al
though it had slight basis. Drunken
and refractory prisoners for their own
safety and that of other soldiers, and
of the government property, were
placed in a large cage and their
wrists handcuffed on the outside
nor cruel treatment, and was generally
necessary. The statements of Mr..
Woodward, the POSt-Dispateh reporter
who enlisted and wrote up the story
of the treatment of the men, were found
to be reliable so far as they concerned
matters within his knowledge, but the
stories told him by other enlisted men
could not be SubStantiated. Many of
these stories were exaggerated, and
were traditions which had been handed
down for years from one recruit to an
other. The worst of them detailed the
case Of the man who had been struck
down in the guard house by a SER
geant and left to die there with
out medical attendance. No founda-
ton whatever could be discovered for
this story. That a feeling prevailed
among the men that any who COM
planned to their commissioned officers
would in some way suffer for it, was
found to be undeniable, but could be
traced to no definite source. and ap-
peared to be simply an indefnable fear,
having little or no basis. The deSer-
lions from the post averaged about $50
year for the past three years. This is
in excess of assertions at other posts,
but Capt. Ebstein says he thinks it
traeeable TO the fact that it is in the
West, near a large city and the force
composed of cavalry recruits. 1t was
Many men, he says, enlist in the East
for no other purpose than to get West.
white many others enter the army
from q F'F'-4
SORT OF RESTLEssNESs,
or because of family troubles. These
men become weary of the discipline alb
solutely necessary iii the army, and ID
is then found some morning that they
have deserted and the number increases
with the proximity of the post to large
city where they can hide. jefferson
Barracks, Capt. Ebstein says, is partic-
ulariy unfortunate in the matter of de-
serti0ns, owing to the fact that many Of
the recruits are 'srepeaterS." or chronic
these repeaters. he says, having already
served in the artillery Or the infontry,
enlist in the cavalry, knowing that cav
airy recruits are sent to Jefferson Bar.
racks, and that the probabilities are
strongly agdinSttheir seeing any officers
there with whom they previously
served. The result of the Investigation,
Capt. Ebstern thinks, will be decidedly
beneficial, as it will result in righting
many grievances which have gradually
crept into the service. Col. Bernard
has heen placed in command at Jeffer-
son barracks, and has already taken
The cooking and serving of the foed has
been improved. and other things tend
ing to increase the comfort of the men
have been looked after. Secretary
Proctor will in a few days order to other
stations the non commissioned officers
who have been running games OF
chance, and will take measures to pre-
vent such things occurring in the fu-
5ure. Speaking of the food served the
enlisted men, Capt. Ebstern said that
he army had never been better fed
han now. He could speak from expe-
renee, as he had been twenty-five
years ia the army and had risen from
he ranks. He did not believe any men
ever deserted because of the food. The
soldiers throughout the country were
better fed than the laboring classes in
he ncighborhOod.