The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-09-10
How French Soldiers are Punished.

In this year of the Exhibition, 1t
NAV interest our readers to know the
punishments inflicted for insubordina-
ton in the French Army.
AS every one knows, the French Sol
der has no choice in the matter; he is
bound to serve his time whether he
likes it or not, and consequently the
ranks are filled with very mixed lot
-townsmen, countrymen, the well-to-
do, and the abiectly poor. Many OF
the recruits have not the slightest taste
for soldering, and these have mlsera-
ble time of it, and suffer a martyrdom
if they offend the n0n-commissloned
officer SET over them.
When a man gets into trouble over
some minor offence, he Is told OIL 10
clean up the barracks and the court
yards three times a day immediate
ly the men are turned out in the morn-
ing, and after the morning and eve
ming rations of soup. In addition to
this he is frequently forbidden to leave
the barracks after supper. Next in
degree comes the guard-room. Not
only has the soldier to do MARY ANN
as before, but he also has to sleep on the
boards in the guard-room, with moth
ing but blanket and a rug. Inc
fourth punishment for minor offences
consists Of imprisonment. The man
is confined to prison day and night,
only being allowed out to go through
series of most difficult and fatiguing
exercises for three hours in the morn
ing and three in the afternoon. As
before, he has to sleep on the boards,
but this time with only one blanket.
Lastly comes the cells, in which the
soldiers suffers solitary imprisonment
day and night for the whole OF his
term. He has to get what sleep he
AN, with the aid of one diminutlve
rug.
These comprise the minor, or,
as the French call them, the 'barrack''
punishments. For old ana hardened
offenders much more severe course
is adopted. They are dismissed from
their regiments and sent to one DIS
ciplinary Corps in Algeria, OF are
attached to one of the regiments serV-
ing in Algeria, according to the nature
of the offence. When a man has been
condemned by court-martial ne IS
sent to work out his sentence in one ol
the military prisons. Here he has a
very heavy task set him every day.
and on the due completion of his
work depends his obtaining his meal
of SOUP atnight. If his work remains
unfinished he has to sup on bread anu
water. Twice week, if his conducl
is satisfactory, he gets Il ration OF
meat.
Occasionally it happens that a re-
fractory prisoner absolutely refuses 10
do any work, but instead OF merely
putting him upon bread and water
and waiting until such time as 1t may
please him to do his work, the French
have adopted very ingenious plan
for insuring that the prisoner does a
certain amount of hard labOur. The
recalcitrant is sent TO one of the Forts
Burreaur, where he is placed in cell
into which stream Of water is always
running. The place, in fact, is some
thing like we'll furnished with Il
pump, which affords the only means
of keeping the water down. The re-
fractory prisoner is placed in one OF
these cells, and unless he sets to work
at once, the water rises higher ana
higher, until he las no choice but to
work the pump or drown. IN thls
way he has to Spend the number of
davs inflicted on him, wet through,
and pumping away for dear life. II
he pauses to rest his arms, the pitiless
wafer at once begins to gain on him,
and he has to redouble his efforts to
keep the water below the level OF his
chin. AS many rs ninety days OF
this horrible punishment can be in
ficted.
When a soldier has been condemned
by court-martial, to more than TWO
wears imprisonment he is confined IN
one of the special military prisons,
such as ClarvauN. In Africa, ali the
conyicts prisons are under the man
aeement of the military authorities,
for though Algeria is euphemlstlcally
known as a colony, it is in reality
quite as much military settlement as
Gibraltar.
Of course, in an army raised by Con-
scription, dismissal with disgrace
from the ranks would have small ter
ror for the unwilling recruit who has
been torn from his fields to follow the
drum, and who has frequently been
known to sacrifice finger in the hope.
of avoiding the dreaded service:
Therefore it is that the p"nlshments
are more severe, and that mutiny and
INSTRUMENTATION are made exceedingly
uncomfortable to the hard bargain OF
the Third Republic.-1it-Bits.