The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-04
NO ALIENS IN THE GREEK ARMY.
Nor Any other Army of Europe, Save
Only in France and Holland.


Only in France and Holland.
From the Springfield Republican.
The action of the Greek authorities in
declining the offered services of English
men in the army has drawn attention to
the fact that not only are none but Greek
citizens permitted to serve in the Greek
army, but also that that is the case with
every other European power, except with
respect to the troops called 1.-The foreign
legion" in the armies of France and Hol-
land. These most undesirable branches of
the service are described in the New York
Tribune, which says that in both the
French and Dutch armies the foreign le-
gion consists of a brigade of several regi-
ments, and these, together with the corps
known as the regiments of discipline"
to which all military offenders who have
been expelled from the ordinary line as
incorrigible, in one word, military conVcts,
are assigned to all the work that Is re-
garded by the authorities at The Hague
and at Paris as too arduous, too unhealthy
and too dangerous for ordinary Dutch and
French troops Holland employs a foreign
legion exclusively for service in the West
Indies, while Frapce assists her foreign
legion aud her corps of military convicts
TO duty in the pirate-infested swamps in
Cochin-China and the sun-scorched forth
fed posts on the borders of the great Sa-
nara desert, to the south of Algeria and
of Tunis.
The recruits for the disciplinary corps
of the French army, who go by the name
of ZEPHYR" join their respective regi-
ments with their wrists shackled in hand
cuffs; the lot of the foreign legion Is but
httle better and the treatment to which
the men of both are subjected is brutal
and harsh in the extreme, the slightest
breach of the regulations being visited
with frightful punishments. The penalty
inflicted is either death or the crapaudine,
and not so very long ago four soldiers of
the legion, who had been driven by the
severity and brutality of the officer com
handing their company to murder him on
parade, were actually put to death, that
is permitted to die, by means Of the crap
audlne. The latter is unworthy of a civ
iliaed country, and its abolition has been
repeatedly demanded in the French iegis-
lature and by the French press, but with
out avail, the military authorities declar-
ing that inasmuch as death has no terrors
for nine-tenths Of the reckless men who
compose the foreign legion and the bril-
gade of discipline the only means by which
they can maintain control is the crapau-
dine.
The crapaudine. obviously derived from
the word "crapaud" or toad, consists of
shaekling mans ankles to an iron bar,
tying his hands behind his back and then
fastening his wrists to the same bar to
which his feet are attached, hands and
feet being thus brought close together,
ana the unfortunate individual lying
either partly on his side and partly on
his stomach, or else being actually sus-
pended In the air. II he cries out he is
Immediately gagged, and IL not released
In a short time he dies OF commissions.
Some men, however. have been known to
survive the tortures Of the crapaudine for
several hours. until death finally released
them from their agony.
The foreign legion OF France. as well as
that OF Holland Is composed Of natives
from almost every country under the sun:
large number OF Americans being noto-
rlously comprised Ia the ranks OF the for
eign legion of France. Providing a man
- physically III no questions are asked