The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-10
SOLDIERS PUNISHMENT.
CORRECTING TIE RANK AND FILE
OF THE BRIIISd ARMY.

itsry Prisons-When the "Cat" May
Be administered.
(Copvright1
D New YORK, Jan. 9.-Liks every other
mortal, Tommy Atkins has his failings, and
as a natural consequence, he has now and
then to answer to the powers that be for
some infringement of rules. When
soldier is brought before his superior officer
the captain of his company, or the COM
manding officer. according TO the grav-
ity of the offense-iI nearly always
happens that some punishment is melted
out to him; and as military punishment
is feature of the service which is not pa
raded before the general public, few facts
there anent may be Of interest There are
three distinct varieties of military tribunal,
viz. The company officer, the commanding
officer and a court-martial. Courts-martial
are of three degrees Of Importance, and the
maximum sentence which a court-martial
may impose varies according as the cour5 is
regimen tai, district or general one.
To begin with, what is known as "minor'
offense, i. O., that which the captain of a
company has power to dispose Of sum
marty. we will suppose that No. l ,7l6 Priv
aus 1uOLldS AbhlnS, lbs De60 guilty. OF
remaining out of barracks for ten minutes
after "last post" 10 p NJ, the previous
evening. without being possessed of q pass
enabling him to do so. Some time during
tho following day the orderly sergeant
of his company brings him up-"Wheels
him up,n as it is called-before his captain.
states his offense and produces his "de-
faulter sheets, or record of his past mlsde-
meanors Should the sheets be clear or
Vne ri ca pCfl ha 50 L..
mans service, the captain will probably ad-
monish him; but should the unlucky wight
have been in any scrape lately, or should
he be an old offender, he will be sentenced to
lie confued to the barracks for any number
of daysup to seven, that being the limit of
power to punish of a company officer.
Let US suppose that our friend has been
sentenced to three days conf aement to the
barracks. One might imagine this to be no
punishment. Before jumping to concu-
sionS, however, let us see what &C. b." act
ually means. Besides being forbidden to
leave barracks the culprit must turn out in
full marching order, i. e., with pack, he'll
met and full equipment on, at least four
| times day. and oftener in many corps, and
each time be undergosS an hours default
ers' drill" which consists of a monotonous
march up and down the barrack square uu-
der the eye of an non-commissioned officer,
| usually the sergeant of the regimenJal
police.
or course this drill has to be performed
over aud above the usual days drill of the
regiment nor is this all, for the victim has
to keep bis ear open when off drill to answer
when the bugle sounds for ''defaulters,n as
it does with extreme frequency, the unhappy
| transgresSors against military Law being
| always held eligible for whatever fatigue
duty may be going
The unkindest cut Of ALL" however, to
the average private is the stern decree that
defaulters may not 60 into the canteen dur.
ing their days OF durance; SO that after the
days drill, etc., have been got through,
| there Is no solacing beer allowed.
Then indeed doth Tommy VOW never to
| offend again; but, sad TO say, on the com
pletion Of his time and the reRaining of his
freedom, he is apt to indulge in a small
spree which lands him in durance vile once
more.
To come to the next grade of military
punishment, let us suppose that Thomas
has just got drop too much, and finds
himself high and dry in the guard room,
from which he is marched next morning.
under an armed escort, into the dread pres
ence of the ''chiel" himself.
Should this 9 his first, second, or even
third appearance on such charge, he will
receive no further penalty than a fresh
and longer-term OF days &C. b. Should
he, however, have been up three times
previously for INDUCING, he will be
sentenced to fine in addition to being con-
fned to barracks. Fines range from 2
shillings and pence (62 cents two 10 shil-
ilnes az 5O) according to the length of time
which has elapsed since his last appear
ance, and they are kept off his pay, a sys-
lem which has been found most eGectuaI
III les5ening drunkenness in the service.
For graver offense, such as importi-
neace to a superior or refusing or noglec
ing to obey an order, soldier is usually
sentenced by his ,mmaoding oficar to
Undergo nEn.ber-fron n up to 16S-of
hours imprisonment with hard labor. A
man so sentenced is conveyed to the reei-
mental cells, where he exchanges his uni-
form for gray suit of uuhecomlnR cut,
and underQoe5 an operation at the hands IF
the prison barber, which is q Disagreement
FOR we ks after he is liberated, viz: His
hair is cropped as close az it can be all over
his head.
This is done even il the mons sentence
was twentysfour hours in cells, and is looked
upon as the worst part Of the punishment
While in cells a man has to pick oakum.
which is a larry abomination rulnous to
the fingers, and 10 perform a certain number
OF hours Of shot drill" This is I. mono
tonous process, consisting Of taking up a
fourteen or twenty pound shot in the two
hands, walking with it for few PAGES. lay
ing 1t down and picking up another aud
carrying Ii few yards, only so lay 1t down
and exchange il for a third, and so on in a
circle This process sounds simple; let any
che try 1t for an hour and then pronounce
os 70 It's enjoyable simplicity
The food given to a prisoner in calls is
neither over palatable nor over plentiful; it
consists chiefly of a sort of oatmeal cruel
KIN lwn as "skiily," and not much of that
such work. c0mbined with such fare,
makes few days with hard work" by no
means treat; in fact, many old hands
would far sooner undergo month in the
regular military prison than week in the
cells. Terms of confinement in military
prison can only be ordered by court-mar-
tial, and the several courts martial before
mentioned have different limits Of
power, viz: A Regiments court-martial,
which is composed of officers OF
one regiment, for the trial Of
a member of that regiment cannot order
more than forty-two days imprisonment,
while district court-martial, consisting Of
corps for the trial Of any soldier, may
sentence up to eighty-four days. Greater
still is the power of the highest military
tribunal in times Of peace, the general
court-martial, which has for its president
general officer, hence his name. This court
may order q man to be imprisoned for any
term up TO FIVE years, which is the longest
term given IN time Of peace. Should a SOL
der commit--at home-a very serious
crime, say murder, he Is handed over to the
OWL authorities TO be dealt with.
The usual sentence of O general court
martial Is Imprisonment with hard labor