The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-15
1Western Montana News

desk at which will sit the company
commanders and one lieutenant as
their commands are paid off in turn.
The line officers and the band are the
first and they are ready at the rear
door of the office by the time the
colonel has before him the pile of en-
velopes that contain the money for
them. The adjutant has charge of
these men, so he takes the chair at the
colonels right. He holds the roll and
as he calls the names the men enter
the rear door. receive their money and
pass out at the front entrance.
"Quartermaster Sergeant McDer-
mott" calls the adjutant, and a gray
moustached man with the key and pen
in his chevrons steps forward for his
pay. AS the name is called the lieuten-
ant at the coloners left calls out the
amount that is due on the roll in his
hand and the colonel takes from the
pile in front of him the envelope that
bears McDermott's name. The envelope
is opened and the money counted be-
fore IL is handed to the veteran SER
geant. 1t checks all right with the roll
and the soldier is paid lie has over $40
and IL is all profit. Not bad for clerk.
The paying has begun. After the band
comes the hospital corps and then the
companies. in order The noncommis-
stoned officers are paid first in each
company. and then the privates, in al
phabetical order. The men receive all
the way from S13 to $24. according to
their rank and the length of their SER
vice. IL takes just an hour and 40 min
utes to distribute $4.645.67 among the
240 men. When IL is all over there Is
no kick and no mistake. As the men
enter they salute and take the money
that is handed to them and pass out
quietly. Everything moves like clock
work.
There are all sorts of men in the sline
that passes through the Office, and they
receive their pay in all sorts of ways.
Some of them smile as they see the
money, some grab Ii as II is pushed to-
ward them on the table, some take II
as II they did not know what to do with
IL, and some are without any express
sion whatever. In the line are some
men who have been many years In the
ranks and beside them are men who
are serving their first month in the ar
my. One man has seen so years of ac-
tual service and one has been in the
ranks so short time that his pay this
time amounts only to $2.17 All of the
pay is calculated to the odd cents and
is paid in the same way. There are
many pennies in the envelopes. There
are no silver dollars. The odd dollars
are paid i'm 81 bills.
The colonel eyes each man as he
comes TO the desk, and the monotony
OF the paying is sometimes broken by
some remark of his to the man at the
desk.
your coat is not buttoned" or
There is a button off your coat Ser
geant, see that that man has that but
ton sewed on at oncer' Such remarks
as these are the things that make the
offenders wish that they had not come
to get their pay The first sergeant OF
each company stands at the entrance
as the men pass through the room and
takes note of the criticisms as they are
made, and II will go hard with the Of
| fender when he gets to his barracks.
| There are not more than two or three
men in the command who have to re-
ceive these reproofs. One poor fellow
comes i'm with a button gone, and he
has heard the man ahead of him get
| what he thinks he will get himself. He
looks as If he were on his way to his
execution, but he is in luck. The colo
nel's attention is called to something
else as the man comes up, and the miss
ing button is not noticed. He loses no
time in getting out of sight after he
has received his pay.
The pay disbursed, the men proceed
to get rid of Ii as they see fit. Some of
them are frugal and save their money.
These deposit some money every month
with the paymaster, and the govern
nltUI dllOWS lntIll per Ctnl.
on their deposits. One man who was
discharged last month had saved in
three enlistments $1,000. There are
about so of these deposit accounts in
the Fort Missoula garrison. The men
who do this are in the minority and
the major portion of the troops are in
this respect the typical Tommy At
kins. They blow in their money as soon
as they get 1t, and while IL lasts they
have a good time. There is one bill that
must be settled at once by all the men.
II IL is not there will be trouble. This
is the account at the canteen or post
exchange. If this is not settled at once
there will be no credit there for the Of
fender until il is paid, and this is a
sore punishment. AS a result of this
state of affairs, all of the men who
have accounts there do not lose any
time in getting them squared.
There was a time when the men. as
they came out of the pay room, had to
run the gauntlet of a lot of tradesmen
from this city, who wanted to get in
while there was sure to be money in
sight This became such a nuisance
that orders were issued forbidding any
collector on the ground while the men
were being paid off. The penalty for
any violation of this order is arrest.
and a man from town had a narrow es-
cape yesterday. He was let off on a
plea of ignorance. 1t is not likely that
he will try IL again. as he looked as II
he expected to be shot when his atten-
ton was called to the rule.
Their bills paid. the men have fun
with the money that Is left. 1t is not
so very much. but they make IL go a
long way. They are inveterate gamb-
lers, many of them, and in their bar
racks a hot game of monte and stud
poker is played. They are anxious to
get at their play as soon as possible,
and i'm their barracks. as soon as they
are at liberty, the fun begins. There are
many stories of big games here. and IL
is usually the case that a few of the
best of them get away with the Doodle.
Ii is the same old story There are
wise men and fools in every communi-
" and the fools have the best time
while IL lasts. IL any one thinks that
thea mar, do NOT have fun snnndinnr