Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1894-11-08

Some time ago / pi omised to
give PRrs readers 1-ilsl II r.. army
life, | shall endeavor 70 give fsA
brief thoughts on that line.
A recent or - old soldiers cal
them aRsakie,, = wishing 4e-ialist in.
the army Is required to furnish q
recommendation of , good moral
character. He is then subjected to.
. rigid physical examination. Ii
be. passes this satisfactorily he IL
assigned to his troop and his career
rs soldier begins. He is put,
through q series of drills, such as
the ucannal of armies, saber drill,
foot and mounted drills by non
commissioned officer, until he is
efficient enough to join his troop in
their daily duties.
The first year of his enlistment ho
is allowed s75 for clothing, the sec,
ond year. $35 80 and the third year
s45.50, making total of $I55 for
the three years., If the soldier un-
der-draws his allowance for cloth
ing he is paid the. balance in cash
at the expiration of his service.
Many save. as much as So in this
way as it is almost impossible to
wear ont the clothing allowed.
During the first year a Soldiers
pay is $I3 per month, four dolIals
Of which is retained each month,
making s48 held during the inst
year. The second year he draws
SIS per month straight. The third
year he draws $l4 per month, one
dollar per month of which is retain
ed. This $50 retained is paid to the
soldier at the expiration OF h.s
term.
The soldier is also allowed q
three months furlough at the close
OF two years and nine months,
making q total service of three
years. During this fnrloush he
is paid SI5 per month and $3.50 for
rations. At the expiration Of this
furlough he is discharged from tho
army. A soldier can thus serve.
three years in the army, enjoy all
Of its advantages, and by stri',s
economy have $500 in cash at his
discharge.
The army has at each post rum
Der ofaaxilliary occupations such; !;
blacksmithing, clerks, carpente.s,
plumbers, printers, etc. {as each pt st
has a print shop" the printer IS moi
left ont). These occupations cmpoy
enlisted men instead of going Oh tne
outside for men. These get ut,
cents per day extra pay, which IS
equivalent to fifteen dollars pa-
month.
My first sergeant is a graduate &c
Harvard and lawyer by profess
ion. We also have a physician ami
several other professional men ii
our troop So you see there arn
all kinds of people in the United
States army.
We have night schools open .frve
to all who care to attend, also !.
post library open day and might. !,
In the summer our amHsements
consists of horseback. riding, foot
ball, base ball, lawn tennis ana
numerous other games. During
the winter months our principal
entertainment is in the gymnasium,
Ours is one of the finest ID tla
whole army.
We are also allowed d pass fos
from one to thirty days. No ia
quently take advantage of this n n
a grand hunt. A hunting pa,,s
is allowed a four mule team, wa..ts,t
and all Of the necessary snppiies'
and ammunition free OF expense \.
them. As time drags heavily en
our hands at the posts we spend
o great deal Of our time on these
trips.
There are soldiers here who have,
spent the best years of their life ~
the service and expect to spcnn thu
rest Of their lives here. Ont will Yas
tire in atew,days after thirty years
of continuous service.
/ a InIx~. xay " W .-a ~ s0 4