The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-25
NOT EASY TO GET INTO lnI Au,..r,
Much Care Exercised in SeIeetfn.
Reeruits-Over 50 Per Cent. Re-
fecfed

| Entering the United States army a.
more difficult than having your life -
sured- II a man can successfully an
swer the searching questions of the re-
cruiting officer and pass the surgeons
examination he may well be proud NJ
himself And it is necessary to have su-
perior men in the army, for more than
ordinary physical and mental stamin.
are required to chase Apaches over the
thirsty deserts of Arizona, trail bandits
through the thorny chaparaI of Texas
hight the willy Sioux in the biting cold
of Dakota winter. and anon stand
firm and silent before the taunts and
missiles of bowling mob of strikers.
Our army of 5000 men requires about
5000 recruits annually to keep it up to
full Strength. There have been great
changes lately in the method OF obtain
ing these men. and more are contem-
| plated by Secretary Lamont For MANY,
years it was the custom to collect ~
cruits enlisted In the large cities AT
/ what were known as "depots." located
1 in New York harbor. Columbus, O. ana
/ ST. Louis. There they were kept under
instruction three or four months. when
| they were forwarded in detachmenfs Of
1
resulted in keeping about 800 men con-
stantly out of the ranks; a very serious
loss, considering the smallness of the
| army as a whole.
When the regiments began to move
| east they were made to recruit for them
/ selves, and the system proved success
/ from the outset A better class of men
were obtained this way. The depots have
i been discontinued as such, and garri-
soned with regiments brought from the
| frontier. Only small attachments of re-
cruits are now kept at each one, and
these are sent west just as quickly as
| enough are assembled to make IL worth
while. In addition to all this, the num-
Der of recruiting stations in the large
| cities is being reduced as fast as possi-
bic, half dozen being discontinued dur
ing the past year.
There are some thirty of these stations
| now. Three are in Chicago two In Neu
York, one each in Philadelphia, ST. Louis.
! Cincinnati and st. Paul, and the remainder
| in cities of large size throughout the coun-
| try. Every one is in charge of an officer.
who is assisted by a picked party of nom
! commissioned officers and privates Out
/ side the stars and stripes float graceful
ly over the door, while a trim orderly
PAGES to and fro his belt a marvel Of
| polish and his gloves of immaculate white.
1t is his duty to answer questions and ex-
clude any person who may be objection-
able. Inside are the office, the examine.
| ton room and the quarters for the party
and such recruits as are waiting trans
/ portation ell where. Men are furnished
a uniform moment they enlist, and
from that moment also are paid and car
ed for by the government.
At every station a stream of applicants,
| good, bad and Indifferent, is constantly
| coming and going. But those who are in
the slightest degree intoxicated or who
Il nrfcb a
get past the orderly. That individual has
the keen glance of a detective. He has
seen hundreds of men come and go in the
army, and has very accurate idea of the
kind that are wanted.
Once before the recruiting officer, the
candidate is asked a long string of guess
| lions, the answers to which are recorded
and signed by him. This record is filled
| in the war department, and if at any
subsequent time the man is proved to
have used deception to obtain enlistment
he is tried by court martial and dis
missed. In addition to having a good
physical record, he must be not under p.
or over 30 years of age, unmarried, able
TO speak, write and read the English Ian
guage, and be vouched for by some re-
sponsible party. He must also be cih-
zen of the United States, or at least have
taken out his naturalization papers. Fail
ure to comply with any of these require
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 Immediately led away
| by a sergeant, who makes him take a bath,
| and superintends the operation to see that
| 1t is well done. The surgeon then appears.
/ thumps him and whacks him, makes him
! go through the most unheardof contor-
! tions, and finally winds up by converting
| the examination room in to a race track,
| around which the naked applicant is put
! through his PAGES. Then, without warn
ing. the surgeon, cathces him in his arms.
! claps his ear to his chest, and listens in
| tently to the heart beats. If everything
is found normal the man is told to dress
and await the final act of swearing in.
Last year 81 per cent. of the applicants
| failed to pass the examination, not includ-
| ing the many who We're turned away with
| out being examined at all. OF those who
We're enlisted % were telegraph operators,
| So BARRIERS, IS hostlers, 9S cooks, 113 rail-
road men, 1856 musicians, and 321 teamsters.
| From the manufacturing trades came
| nearly 1900. There were also recruited,
besides electricians, teachers, and profess
| sional men, several hundred clerks and
! over twelve hundred farmers. of the
whole number enlisted only 300 had no oc-
| cupation.
The government does much to make
the service attractive. Our soldiers ara
| better paid, fed, and clothed than any in
the world. Discipline is strict, though not
| severe, and such a thing as striking or
even cursing man is not permitted for an
instant. The term of service has recent
ly been reduced to three years, although
every encouragement is held out for men
to re-enlist The longer a man serves, the
more pay he gets, and when he has thirty
years to his credit he can retire on enough
pension to support him for life There are
now nearly thousand veterans on the re-
tired list II a man becomes disabled in
line of duty, even though he should have
just entered the service, he can have a
pension or go to the soldiers home in
Washington at his option. With such in
ducements to remain with the colors, it is
easy to understand how one-third of our
soldiers have at least five years service
behind them.
Desertion was a great annoyance in the
old days. The war department. spent much
time in ascertaining its cause, and finally.
as result of this investigat ton, institu-
ted series Of reforms in food pay and
other matters. Desertion is now only one
fourth what it was ten years ago
There was one class of men, however,
who seemed to have a mania for skip