The evening times., 1896-11-03

reward OF $40 is paid by the commanding
officer OF warship for the capture OF a de-
serter, but this reward Is selGom claimed in
home ports. In ports on foreign stations,
however, it is different.
In every port in the world. even In China
ana Japan, the special officers ashore know
| ofthe reward paid for deserters, and dthcy are
| interchangeable i'll their efforts TO lay hold OF
escaping blucjackets and marines AS in
The army, IL nianmay be absent from his POST
for ten days before he is declared deserter.
| SO in the navy
The sailor and the sea soldier must have
] ten days leeway before the capital ~
is written after their names on the ships
| muster rolls. 1t very often happens. how
| ever, when a man of war is short-handed in
| a foreign port, by reason of transfers and
discharges that the commanding officer will
| offer the reward Of $40 for the return OF
men who are merely overstaying their
shore leave. By doing this the commanding
| officer has no intention of indicating that
| he regards the delinquent as particularly
| desirable men, but he requires blueJackets
to work the ship and marines to stand
| guard.
THE DANGER.
The commanding officer hardly ever fails
| in such cases to get them. In dcserting OH
foreign station tie man-of- warsman is thor
| oughly aware of the danger OF remaining
| IN the port OF the harbor in which his snip
| les, and lie starts out with the deterInina-
ton or immediately striking out up country,
| Tor his only safety from capture lies in the
| interior.
| Almost invariably, however he accuinu-
| ates load Of saki or mescal or some other
Darbarous compound Of the country he hap
pens TO be in. aad he doesn't get FAR before
| lie Is taken To gendarme at Barcelona,
| for instance, $40 in American gold is "A con
| siderable sum, as it is also to the poorly
| DillU ctllDS up naItca iprlt of foreign
ports, and for SIMPLY carrying drunken
! sallorman or sea soldier off to the gang
| way OF man-of- war III a shore boat 1t is
money easily earned. That is so If the vic
| tim is drunk enough to be helpless Other
wise II occasionally happens that the port s
whole constabulary has to he brought into
| action To get determined, fighting man
| aboard.
| very large ma jority OF til e men who are
now serving time for desertioD at tn army
| garrison prisons and at the naval prisons al
| Boston, and Mare Island. Cal. voluntarily
surrendered themselves. Deserters get hun
| cry, as do other persons. and also cold.
"hen they are suffering from combination
| or the two ills, and are friendless and un-
able 10 get work. they are exceedingly apt
| 10 draw comparisons in their minds be
| tween their pres . woeful condition and
| Inc comparative comfort and cheer even Of
| military prisons, and thus gradually work
e'ei'SNiNtS UP 10 ilit DtlHt Oi SulrcHutrlDE.
| lhey are not taken by the hand and greet
| ed enthusiastically when they do this De
| serters from the navy generally give them
selves up on ''guardos, y or receiving ships
Ihey are regarded with disgust by the off
| Ger OF the deck, to whom the Y present them
| selves, as well as by all enlisted men who
happen 10 be around. IL has happened
| that Officers to whom deserters have an
| nounced IN emselves on receiving ships
| have had them fOrCibiy fired over the side
oy the master i-arms, rather than en-
| gag IN The lob al hunting up records and
| undergoing all III @ rest Of the W orry incident
| TO the surrenderiiig Of deserters. This. of
| course. Is strictly forbidden by the regula-
| tions. for both in the army and navy de
serters who come into camp or aboard ship
| are required 10 be Immediately confined
| and held for orlers from Washington. But
| IL is very often differently arranged, and
| the higher authorities ignore little slips OF
| the kind
A LONG TRAMP
| Anew year, ago tygO hungry marines, who
| had deserted an the Pacific coast and
| tramped half way across the continent, de
| CidCd to give themselves up TO the military
| authorities at Fort keogh, Mon. Under
| the regulations they should have been re-
| celveda nd confined until such time as orders
| could be received for turning them over to
| the naval au;rnrli"s- tut tI"y Were EGt
received. Instead they We're escorted to
| the gat" of lie post by Il detail OF The guard,
| and told to get out. They wasted no time
in following the advice.
Enlisted men IN f,iih the array and navy
| detCst deScr;crs who surrender themselves
detoSf them for their Cowardice aud Lack OF
gamcness. Moreover, a deserter occasion
ally gives hin self up at an army post where
the gUarlhouse happens Ia he free OF pris
rrUrS. or aboard . ship where tn" brig. or
,ra . rppFinaTuppt iuaparDlly for ward
the berth deck. E.ay be for the time. He
thus makes guard duty for additional sen
tries, soldiers or marines and thereby brings
uncn himself additional dislike and ami
| mostly.
Eyrrin foreign ~ rts u of'"n ~ rr,ars .far
deScrters are permitted to depart from
ships without any efforts being made on
the part of commanding officers to hold
them, although it is known that they are
about To desert, or to bring them back to
the ship after they have deserted.
As matter of cod urtesv. the police au-
thorities of foreign countries make every
effort IT, apprchend dcsertcrs from ships
spreading the flags Of countries with which
their own nation may be upon good terms.
but assistance of this character is very
rarely asked by American comma nders
whose ships are fun anded. Not long ago
two marines deserted from an American
shin stationed in the harbor OF Honolulu.
They deserted i'll order to enlist in the
Hawaiian army. the privates and non-cOn-
missioned officers of which ire exceedingly
well paid and have little to do-two fea-
lures which have attracted to its ranks
such numbers of the free-lances and sol
diers of fortune that it is almost entirely
, composed of material of this sort
The two dcserting marines were admit
ted promptly to the ranks of the provisional
governments army, and Were assigned to
duty as part of the guard of Mrs DOminis,
the ex-queen, who was then a prisoner in
the palace of the Kanakas. While per
forming this duty these two marines were
seen often by officers OF the American war
ships. packing their rifles and ''hunipin' :"
their posts around the palace grounds. and
looking well fed and innocent. Moreover
the comm ander of the Hawaiian army is an
ex-officerof the Americannavy, and he coul
scarcely have been ignorant OF the identity
of his two new recruits.
---- -
"Au Absent Boy opens tomorrow In
Brooklyn. under A. NJ. Palmer. Can this
be his absent son?