Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-11-07
BOLD SOLDIER BOYS.
Picked with the Greatest Care from
Among the Youth Of the Country.

answer the searching questions OF the
recruiting officer and pass the sur
geon's examination he may we'll be
proud of himself. And it is necessary
to have superior men in the army,
for more than ordinary physical and
mental stamina are required to chase
Apaches over the thirsty deserts Of
Arizona, trail bandits through the
thOrny chaparral of Texas, fight the
willy Sioux in the biting cold Of Da
kota winter, and anon stand firm and
silent before the taUnts and missiles
of a bowling mob of strikers.
Our army of $4,000 men requires
about 5000 recruits annually to keep
it up to full strength. There have
been great changes lately in the meth
cd Of Obtaining these men, and more
are contemplated by Secretary La
mont. For many years it was the
custom to collect recruits enlisted in
the large cities at what were known
as ''depots," located in New York har-
Dor, Columbus, O., and st. Louis.
There they were kept under inStruc
ton for three or four months, when
they were forwarded in detachmentS
of forty or fifty to regiments. The
plan resulted in keeping about 1900
men constantly out of the ranks;
very serious loss, considering the
smaIlness of the army as a whole.
When the regiments began to move
east they were made to recruit for
themselves, and the system proved
success from the outset. \ better
class Of men were secured and they
Joined their companies at once. over
half the recruits enlisted last year
were obtained i'm this way. The de
pots have been discontinued as such,
and garrisoned with regiments
brought from the frontier. Only small
detachments of recruits are now kept
at each, and these are sent west just
as quickly as enough are assembled
to make it worth while. In addition
to all this, the number of recruiting
stations in the large cities is being
reduced as fast as possible, half
dozen having been discontinued dur
ing the past year.
There are some thirty of these sta
tons now. Three are in Chicago, two
in New York, one each in Philadel-
Dhia, st. Louis, Cincinnati and st.
Paul, and the remainder i'll cities of
large size throughout the country.
Every ONE is ill charge of an officer,
who is assisted by a picked party
of non commissioner officers and pri-
Yates. Outside the stars and stripes
float gracefully over the door, while
a trim orderly PAGES to and fro, his
belt q marvel of polish and his gloves
of immaculate white. 1t is his duty
TO answer questions and exclude any
person who may he objectionable.
Inside are the office, examination
room and the quarters for the party,
and such recruits as are Waiting
transportation elsewhere. Men are
furnished a uniform the moment they
enlist and from that moment also are
paid and cared for by the govern
ment
At every station Il stream of APP
plcants, good, bad and Indifferent, is
constantly coming and going. But
those who are in the slightest degree
intoxicated, or who present any Wis
iblc disqualification, never get past
the orderly. That individual has the
keen glance of Il detective. He has
seen hundreds of men come and 90
i'm the army, and has Il very accurate
idea of the kind that are wanted.
once before the recruiting officer,
the candidate is asked long string
of questions, the answers to which are
recorded and signed by him. This
record is filed in the war department.
and if at any subsequent time the
man lis proved to have used deception
to obtain enlistment he is tried by
court-martial and dismissed. In ad-
dtion to having a good physical rec
ord he must be not under n nor over
30 years of age. unmarried, able to
speak, write and read the English
language, and be vouched for by some
responsible parry. He must also be Il
citizen of the UNITED States, or at
least have tax 9n out his naturaliza-
tion papers. Failure to comply with
any of these requirements is a cause
for instant rejection.
When he gets through this trying
ordeal the applicant breathes a sigh
of relief to think his trials are over.
But they have just begun. He is inn
mediateIy led away by a sergeant,
who makes him take a bath and SUI
perintends the operation himself to
see that it is well done. The surgeon
then appears, thumps him and
whackS him. makes him go through
the most unheard of contortionS, and
finally winds up by converting the
examination room into a race track,
around which the naked applicant is
put through his PAGES. Then, with
out warning, the surgeon catches him
in his arms, claps his ear to his chest
and listens intently to the heart beat.
II everything is found normal the
man is told to dress and await the
final act of swearing in.
Last year 50 per cent. of the applt
cantS failed to pass the examination
not including the many who were
turned away without being examined
at all OF those who were enlisted
twenty Weight were telegraph operators
lightweight BARRIERS. Lightweight
hostlers, ninety-eight cooks, 113 rail